At the ripe old age of thirty-two, former wild child Isabel "Izzy" Spellman has finally agreed to take over the family business. And the transition...
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Jul 12, 2011
Kris
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Sep 08, 2010
Jami
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I heart The Spellman Files books and have been completely enamored since book one. I make no apologies for giving this fourth book in the series five enthusiastic stars because I pretty much think anything Lisa Lutz writes is pure genius. For some reason, her writing style really clicks with me.
This book, like its predecessors, was witty, hilarious, clever, and managed to have great relationships without getting sappy or sloppy. The mystery of the book is always a nice twist, bu More...
This book, like its predecessors, was witty, hilarious, clever, and managed to have great relationships without getting sappy or sloppy. The mystery of the book is always a nice twist, bu More...
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Dec 16, 2011
Paula
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If you are like me and love light-hearted and fun mystery novels, then Lisa Lutz's series "The Spellman Files" are definitely books that should be found in your dark alleys of the reader's corner. According to other reviewers, if you like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series then this is something similar , for me I'm just starting on the Stephanie Plum books as I got Book #1 One for Money out of the library. The Spellman family consist of Olivia and Albert Spellman (Mum and Dad) ,
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Feb 24, 2011
Paul
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The Spellmans are back and at it again. The Spellmans are up to their old antics of spying on each other and paying nominal attention to the bad guys.
Isabel is taking over the business but is having problems with boyfriend #12. Isabel's mothe, Olivia, has agreed not to harass her if she dates a lawyer once a week.
Lisa's younger sister, Rae, who is a lot older that her age, is back to her old tricks of blackmail, coercion, and bribery. She is not beyond doing anything to More...
Isabel is taking over the business but is having problems with boyfriend #12. Isabel's mothe, Olivia, has agreed not to harass her if she dates a lawyer once a week.
Lisa's younger sister, Rae, who is a lot older that her age, is back to her old tricks of blackmail, coercion, and bribery. She is not beyond doing anything to More...
Jan 08, 2011
Frances
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I was looking for books that were on the lighter side to read over the holidays and this was perfect. I read the first two books in the series a couple years ago (The Spellman Files and Curse of the Spellmans). Now over the past few weeks, I finished the third book (Revenge of the Spellmans) and this one, the last in the series. They are so HILARIOUS. Many times I was laughing out loud. The Spellmans are a family of Private Investigators who seem to spend more time spying on eachother than
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Sep 17, 2010
Jlaurenmc
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Lisa Lutz first introduced Isabel Spellman and lunatic-ridden family in her 2007 debut novel The Spellman Files. The Spellmans run a family-owned private investigation agency in San Francisco, but they are far from your typical small family business owners. They are each other's worst nightmare. In fact, they spend almost as much time spying on one another as they spend conducting investigations for paying customers. Izzy, the narrator, is the thirty-something middle child who never grew up -- o
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Aug 25, 2010
Tim
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Written for the KAZI Book Review (http://kazibookreview.wordpress.com/):
Anyone with a taste for fast-paced, funny fiction with an authentic feel will enjoy Lisa Lutz’s latest novel, The Spellmans Strike Back.
For anyone not acquainted with the Spellmans, they are a dysfunctional family of San Francisco PIs that are as likely to be spying on each other as they are to be on a paying job. The novel is set up as a “document” written by Isabel Spellman, the thirty-something middle More...
Anyone with a taste for fast-paced, funny fiction with an authentic feel will enjoy Lisa Lutz’s latest novel, The Spellmans Strike Back.
For anyone not acquainted with the Spellmans, they are a dysfunctional family of San Francisco PIs that are as likely to be spying on each other as they are to be on a paying job. The novel is set up as a “document” written by Isabel Spellman, the thirty-something middle More...
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Jun 16, 2010
Tara
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Jun 08, 2010
Rhonda
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In San Francisco, thirtyish Isabel Spellman knows the family rules rule having broken all of them at one time or another, but now she grooms herself to take over Spellman Investigations from her retiring parents Albert and Olivia. Her older brother David is downsized corporate America lawyer and her other sibling is simply Rae, no description necessary beyond she is seventeen.
Currently, in spite of the DNA, Isabel learns one rule of private sleuthing is tediousness. Accompanied by h More...
Currently, in spite of the DNA, Isabel learns one rule of private sleuthing is tediousness. Accompanied by h More...
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May 01, 2010
Monie
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In this fourth and final installment in the Spellman series, Izzy Spellman is right smack in the middle of some of her wackiest adventures yet. Because her mom still holds Prom Night 1994 over her she has to agree to go on 20 blind dates with a different lawyer each time. This is because her mom cannot stand her dating Connor, otherwise known as ex-boyfriend #12. Her best friend Morty calls weekly from Florida with nothing but gripes. One of her cases involves her hiring her good friend Len, to
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Apr 16, 2010
Chantale
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The date I 'finished' the book is the day I gave up on it and the series. I got to page 116. Revenge of the Spellmans was bad, Curse of the Spellmans was worse, this book is more terrible. This series is declining.
The format for the second title in the series changed and it was awful, they changed it a little in the next titles but the first book was the best for format, plot, characterization. How sad, this series had such potential.
The reference to previous 'documents More...
The format for the second title in the series changed and it was awful, they changed it a little in the next titles but the first book was the best for format, plot, characterization. How sad, this series had such potential.
The reference to previous 'documents More...
Apr 02, 2010
Marlyn
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Izzy is now 32, which according to everyone else, means she is an adult, and should probably start acting like one. So, she finally agrees to take over the family business.
This means that she has to buy some grown-up clothes so that she can meet with clients, like the eccentric millionaire Franklin Winslow, whose butler is missing.
But mostly, it's business as usual in her life. Her mother is trying to break up the relationship between Izzy and her Irish bartender boyfrie More...
This means that she has to buy some grown-up clothes so that she can meet with clients, like the eccentric millionaire Franklin Winslow, whose butler is missing.
But mostly, it's business as usual in her life. Her mother is trying to break up the relationship between Izzy and her Irish bartender boyfrie More...
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Apr 02, 2010
Brenda
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I love the Spellmans. Why I can't get more people on board with this series, I don't know....Maybe it is because when I tell people about these books, our main character Izzy doesn't sound too good - immature, interfering, drinks too much, has been arrested and jailed several times, spies on her nearest and dearest, thinks of her romantic interests as "current ex-boyfriends", and her best friend is an octogenarian.
Yet she is oddly endearing. First of all, her and her quirk More...
Yet she is oddly endearing. First of all, her and her quirk More...
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Apr 01, 2010
Kate
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Have you ever shared a book you really loved with a friend because you thought they were the right personality/mind to appreciate it, and you were thinking, They'd better like it, because it's SO, SO GOOD!? Yeah, me too.
I opened my door a few minutes ago to just such a friend, to whom I had loaned all four of Lisa Lutz's Spellman books. My highly educated, articulate neighbor stood on the front porch sort of stammering. I will try to recreate approximately what she said: "I, I j More...
I opened my door a few minutes ago to just such a friend, to whom I had loaned all four of Lisa Lutz's Spellman books. My highly educated, articulate neighbor stood on the front porch sort of stammering. I will try to recreate approximately what she said: "I, I j More...
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Mar 26, 2010
Alisha
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I'm going to start off by saying that I love books. I mean all types of books (maybe except for romance, but that's a whole other topic). Every once in a while you will read a book that will just be like nothing you ever read before. A book which you will herald as your favorite literary masterpiece. The types of books that when you tell your friends you read it, they will look at you in amazement and say "Wait, you didn't just read it, but you actually enjoyed it? You complete and utt
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Apr 03, 2010
Judy
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I'm just going to say it right out--I'm in love with Lisa Lutz's books about the Spellman family. I enjoyed the first three and Isabel is right--you need to read them in order to enjoy the full flavor of the stories as they unfold. These books are like sitting around the dining table after a family meal and playing the "remember when" game. You can only appreciate each of the characters when you have seen their stories evolve in these hysterical novels. Lisa, in the name of all thi
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Jan 14, 2012
Jennifer
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The Good Stuff
* It's funny these reviews are hard to write since I am reading them sort of back to back -- don't want to keep writing the same things about them, I will try my best to mix it up - but please forgive repetition from previous books in series
* I love these books, they are always rip roaring good fun. I am constanly laughing about the antics of Isabel and her truly unusual family
* They are a totally dysfunctional family but in a sweet and loveabl More...
Dec 14, 2010
Barbara
rated it:
Izzy and family are back with more outrageous dysfunction!
The family is up to their old tricks--snooping around, surveilling each other and digging up all the family dirt. In this hilarious installment of the Spellman series, we find that things are a bit topsy turvy. Isabel is taking over the business, meaning that her usual tactics won't exactly fly. She finds herself involved in intrigue surrounding Rae's mysterious boyfriend, David & Maggie's relationship, missing household items a More...
The family is up to their old tricks--snooping around, surveilling each other and digging up all the family dirt. In this hilarious installment of the Spellman series, we find that things are a bit topsy turvy. Isabel is taking over the business, meaning that her usual tactics won't exactly fly. She finds herself involved in intrigue surrounding Rae's mysterious boyfriend, David & Maggie's relationship, missing household items a More...
May 22, 2010
Sarah
rated it: 
This was fun and I'm glad one of those loose ends got tied up the way it did at the end of this series, but I'm writing this 6 hours after I finished the book, and I can barely remember the plot, much less distinguish it from the other ones in the series. Part of me would like to see at least one more of these, with a little permanent growth on the part of the narrator, and part of me feels like this is a real place to end this series.
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Jun 12, 2010
Elaine
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Okay, the end of the Spellman family.
Not really, the Spellmans haven't been killed off or anything, but the author has stated this is the last book. She does a good job of tying up loose ends, straightening out relationships, etc. I just don't want the series to be over. I have really enjoyed these books and they are laugh out loud funny.
Rae is almost grown up.
Izzy is more grown up than anyone, including herself, ever expected her to be.
David is More...
Not really, the Spellmans haven't been killed off or anything, but the author has stated this is the last book. She does a good job of tying up loose ends, straightening out relationships, etc. I just don't want the series to be over. I have really enjoyed these books and they are laugh out loud funny.
Rae is almost grown up.
Izzy is more grown up than anyone, including herself, ever expected her to be.
David is More...
Jun 03, 2010
Kathy
rated it:
Ahhh... I actually cheated... when I finished #3, and Izzy was kissing Conner (the bartender) and Henry (the police officer) had sent her away I was quite irritated... so I read the last few pages of this book 1st to see if Henry made a come back... and he did : )
So... they storylines..
Conner & Henry... She and Conner have little quality time because of their mismatched work times... and though he generally comes home to her bed (after 3am) they don't really seem to be co More...
So... they storylines..
Conner & Henry... She and Conner have little quality time because of their mismatched work times... and though he generally comes home to her bed (after 3am) they don't really seem to be co More...
Jul 11, 2011
Ann Marie
rated it:
This was the best yet of the Spellman series. I spent the entire read marveling in how fresh, interesting, and super fun this book was! The investigations involved a lot of pro bono work by Izzy and Maggie trying to free innocent guys who were in prison. The missing objects in the Spellman house entertained me to no end. I loved it when the bathroom doorknob went missing and everyone carried their own spare knob. I'm not giving anything away when I tell you that boyfriend Connor becomes Ex #12 b
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Apr 02, 2010
Julia
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Picking up on a thread of story from her third Spellman book, Lutz has Isabel Spellman preparing to take over the reins of the family detective agency from her parents. However, nothing is that easy in this family and odd disturbances are taking place within their home/workplace while Izzy figures out how to take down their nemesis, another PI named Harkey. Rae, always clever, comes pretty close to crossing the line in this story and is on a new crusade to free innocent prisoners. David is happi
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Apr 10, 2010
Heather
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The conclusion to this hilarious series about a dysfunctional family of private investigators lives up to the expectations set forth in the previous three. Thirty-two year old “Izzy” Spellman is determined to uncover dirty dealings by Private Investigator Rick Harkey, a former policeman and main competitor to the family business. Of course, she’s also trying to keep up with her younger sister’s escapades, get a grip on her once perfect older brother’s midlife crisis, and solve the mysterious dis
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Feb 22, 2011
Emilie
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Much like early Evanovich, I have no doubt Lisa Lutz will make me laugh even before I read a word. I have grown to love the Spellman clan and almost (ALMOST) wish they were real people so I could be friends with them. This book definitely had the finality that indicates the end of a series. I guess never say never though, right? I have read rumors that a tv series is in the works. I would love for that to see the light of day! Let the casting discussions begin!
As for the plot of the bo More...
As for the plot of the bo More...
Apr 04, 2010
Maddy
rated it:
PROTAGONIST: Isabel "Izzy" Spellman
SETTING: San Francisco
SERIES: #4 of 4
RATING: 4.75
WHY: The eccentric Spellman family are back - yay! Izzy Spellman is gradually taking over her parents' PI firm, but they really can't let go of that or running their adult children's lives. There's no big case in the book, but several smaller investigations, each of which is treated with great wit. Izzy is finally maturing except in love, where she is involved with an Irish b More...
SETTING: San Francisco
SERIES: #4 of 4
RATING: 4.75
WHY: The eccentric Spellman family are back - yay! Izzy Spellman is gradually taking over her parents' PI firm, but they really can't let go of that or running their adult children's lives. There's no big case in the book, but several smaller investigations, each of which is treated with great wit. Izzy is finally maturing except in love, where she is involved with an Irish b More...
Apr 24, 2011
Diane ~Firefly~
rated it:
The last book of the Spellman series currently. I really hope there is another in the future, but could see how this could be the last. Izzy is growing up and starting to take some responsibility. This time out she's got a few things on her plate: a couple of weird clients, stuff disappearing from the house, taking down another PI and stopping her mom from blackmailing her into dating lawyers.
What I enjoyed:
* I love the Spellmans, although I wouldn't want to be one. They are a More...
What I enjoyed:
* I love the Spellmans, although I wouldn't want to be one. They are a More...
Apr 26, 2010
Chris
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In the 4th (and possibly last!) Spellman Files, Izzy is dating an Irish barkeep but mom Olivia is sure it won't last and blackmails her into dating random lawyers. Rae becomes obsessed with freeing a wrongly-accused man (Free Schmidt!). David tries to warn Maggie what she's in for if she plans to stay in a relationship with him. After dumping Izzy for being too immature, Henry now seeks her friendship. Morty is moving back from Florida, Al declares Sundays a family dinner night, doorknobs ar
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Apr 19, 2010
Samantha
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Oh, what I wouldn't give to be an insider at the Spellman house! In the Spellmans Strike Again, Isabel and the gang are back and, possibly, better than ever! Isabel is taking over the family business, Spellman executive board meetings are held on forced family camping trips, Rae commits a felony, bits and pieces of the house are disappearing on a regular basis and, naturally, it's all in the normal course of business at the Spellman's!
This is quite possibly my very favorite book of t More...
This is quite possibly my very favorite book of t More...
May 19, 2010
Jane
rated it:
Argh, just spent ages typing in a review... And the mobile app of goodreads ignored it and now it's gone!
Ok, new (worse) attempt:
In this 4th installment of the Spellmans, everything comes together perfectly--writing, plot, characters, etc. Which is why I was so horrified to read on goodreads that this is the last book in the series.
The Spellman books are hard to fit into current genre definitions. They're sort of mysteries, but written like screenplays (no surpris More...
Ok, new (worse) attempt:
In this 4th installment of the Spellmans, everything comes together perfectly--writing, plot, characters, etc. Which is why I was so horrified to read on goodreads that this is the last book in the series.
The Spellman books are hard to fit into current genre definitions. They're sort of mysteries, but written like screenplays (no surpris More...
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