Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Spellman Files (The Spellmans #1)” as Want to Read:
The Spellman Files
(The Spellmans #1)
by
Meet Isabel "Izzy" Spellman, private investigator. This twenty-eight-year-old may have a checkered past littered with romantic mistakes, excessive drinking, and creative vandalism; she may be addicted to Get Smart reruns and prefer entering homes through windows rather than doors -- but the upshot is she's good at her job as a licensed private investigator with her family'
...more
Get A Copy
Paperback, 470 pages
Published
January 27th 2009
by Pocket Books
(first published January 1st 2007)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
The Spellman Files,
please sign up.
Popular Answered Questions
Michele
Other than there being a mystery / investigation, not at all.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of The Spellman Files (The Spellmans #1)

The Spellmans are a dysfunctional family of detectives. When Rae, the youngest, goes missing, her sister Izzy drops what she's doing and goes looking for her while delving into the Spellman family's past. Who kidnapped Rae Spellman? And does it have something to do with a cold case Izzy is working on?
The Spellman Files reads like Sara Gran on mood elevators. The writing style reminds me of a more humorous version of the Claire DeWitt books. As for the Spellmans themselves, they remind me of The ...more
The Spellman Files reads like Sara Gran on mood elevators. The writing style reminds me of a more humorous version of the Claire DeWitt books. As for the Spellmans themselves, they remind me of The ...more

Jan 07, 2012
carol.
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
someone looking for the literary equivalent of Bringing Up Baby
This book won’t work for some, but head into it in the right frame of mind and it’s a fun ride, a modern screwball comedy crossed with spy caper, Harriet the Spy meets Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead.
Isabel is a private investigator in the family business, Spellman Investigations. It’s been a hard road getting there after a decade of childish rebellion. “Since David [her brother] had cornered the market on perfection, I had to settle for mining the depths of my own imperfection.” Spellman ...more
Isabel is a private investigator in the family business, Spellman Investigations. It’s been a hard road getting there after a decade of childish rebellion. “Since David [her brother] had cornered the market on perfection, I had to settle for mining the depths of my own imperfection.” Spellman ...more

I'm one of those people who will forgive anything of a movie or a novel as long as I enjoy the characters. If I like the characters, if I find them amusing or admirable or realistic, I'll gladly read hundreds of pages in which nothing really happens just for the pleasure of their company. This is one of those novels and, as such, while I enjoyed the hell out of it, I probably won't actively recommend it because I don't want anyone wondering, "I don't get it. What did she think was so special in
...more

Oh, that wacky Spellman family! I first read this book almost 5 years ago and I just finished it for the second time. I rarely reread books so that's a testament to how much I love this author and her crazy cast of characters.
Twenty-eight year old Izzy Spellman is a private investigator working for her parents' firm, Spellman Investigations. She has a straight-laced, lawyer brother and a fourteen year old sister named Rae. Spying on people and digging up dirt is what this family excels at and th ...more
Twenty-eight year old Izzy Spellman is a private investigator working for her parents' firm, Spellman Investigations. She has a straight-laced, lawyer brother and a fourteen year old sister named Rae. Spying on people and digging up dirt is what this family excels at and th ...more

Beach read.
Funny read.
I-want-to-be-this-character read.
Lisa Lutz, if you ever read this, please don't take it the wrong way. By beach read I mean that I was completely entertained, laughed out loud a couple of times, and didn't want to move while I read it. Your book sucked me in and kept me there. When I had to put it down, the story and characters stayed with me enough so it was easy to pick back up. Izzy Spellman reminded me of Thursday Next ( The Eyre Affair) and Jane Charlotte ( Bad Monk ...more
Funny read.
I-want-to-be-this-character read.
Lisa Lutz, if you ever read this, please don't take it the wrong way. By beach read I mean that I was completely entertained, laughed out loud a couple of times, and didn't want to move while I read it. Your book sucked me in and kept me there. When I had to put it down, the story and characters stayed with me enough so it was easy to pick back up. Izzy Spellman reminded me of Thursday Next ( The Eyre Affair) and Jane Charlotte ( Bad Monk ...more

THE SPELLMAN FILES (Private Investigator, Izzy Spellman, San Francisco, Cont) – Poor
Lutz, Lisa – 1st book
Simon and Schuster, 2007, US Hardcover – ISBN: 9781415432392
First Sentence: I duck into the parking garage hoping to escape.
*** Izzy Spellman is a private investigator from a family of private investigators. Her parents sent Izzy and her brother David out on their first official surveillance when they were 12- and 14-years old respectively. Izzy eventually decides to quit the family business ...more
Lutz, Lisa – 1st book
Simon and Schuster, 2007, US Hardcover – ISBN: 9781415432392
First Sentence: I duck into the parking garage hoping to escape.
*** Izzy Spellman is a private investigator from a family of private investigators. Her parents sent Izzy and her brother David out on their first official surveillance when they were 12- and 14-years old respectively. Izzy eventually decides to quit the family business ...more

I still haven't forgiven this book for looking so appealing on my own, personal (also, in my bedroom) bookshelf that my daughter, who was about 12 at the time and a precocious reader, snitched it from my shelf and read it. I didn't find out until after she was finished. It's not the worst thing in the world that she could have read at that age, but it has some adult content that, let's just say, I wasn't quite ready for her to be exposed to yet. And yes, it was totally the book's fault and not m
...more

Oct 22, 2019
Marty Fried
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audiobooks,
humor
I had mixed feelings about this one. I think it would be better as a TV sitcom perhaps, mainly because there's not that much happening other than character development and humor. I liked the humor, but after getting close to half way, I started to get bored; it seemed to be going nowhere, and even though it was enjoyable, I wondered whether I wanted to finish it. But finish it I did, and I liked the second half better - either because there was more of a story, or I got to know the characters be
...more

Every once in a great while I stumble across a writer who just gets it, one who possesses The Humor – that elusive knack for expressing razor-sharp wit by fusing language and wordplay with insight into human nature and the ironies surfacing in relational complexity. Lisa Lutz looms large in this category. This opening entry in her series about the Spellman family introduces a spirited line-up of family members whose San Francisco private investigation business facilitates honing inquiry skills o
...more

As a mystery novel? No.
As a cute and funny chick-lit novel? Yes.
I asked my librarian to help me find a book that was good, but not sad, violent, or about animals (What? I don't like sappy books about animals.) I wanted something mind-numbing to pass the time. Something kind of funny maybe?
She gave me this book and told me, "My mother really loved it!". I really tried to smile at her when she said that. There's a possibility it looked more like a grimace. But I took it anyway, because it's just ...more
As a cute and funny chick-lit novel? Yes.
I asked my librarian to help me find a book that was good, but not sad, violent, or about animals (What? I don't like sappy books about animals.) I wanted something mind-numbing to pass the time. Something kind of funny maybe?
She gave me this book and told me, "My mother really loved it!". I really tried to smile at her when she said that. There's a possibility it looked more like a grimace. But I took it anyway, because it's just ...more

Aug 09, 2013
Lois Bujold
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
readers who like contemporary family dramedy
Recommended to Lois by:
random internet review
My casual reading didn't used to come with homework...
Anyway, that was fun. If required to succinctly sum up the mode, I'd dub it family dramady. An... alternatively-functional family of P.I.s in contemporary San Francisco combine variously to drive each other around the bend. The main character reminded me of that tune of Sheryl Crow's, which I mentally dubbed "the borderline-personality girlfriend song", the title of which escapes me just now -- might have been "Man Enough to Be My Man".
That p ...more

Well, I can honestly say that I have never read anything quite like this. This family was insane! Hilarious for us, but quite dysfunctional.
Pretty much everyone in the family, except the odd man out, David, works as a private investigator for the family company. Privacy is an alien concept to the Spellmans. To keep information to yourself in this family you'll need to lie, dodge tails, and constantly check for bugs. It's an interesting lifestyle, but it's getting exhausting for Izzy.
Izzy had a ...more
Pretty much everyone in the family, except the odd man out, David, works as a private investigator for the family company. Privacy is an alien concept to the Spellmans. To keep information to yourself in this family you'll need to lie, dodge tails, and constantly check for bugs. It's an interesting lifestyle, but it's getting exhausting for Izzy.
Izzy had a ...more

The book's first half spent way too much time on the family's background story. At first, the actions of the characters were mildly amusing; but then the author repeated the same humorous actions over and over until they became predictable and boring. This is the first book in a mystery series, but no mystery appears until half-way through the book. After that, the story gets a little interesting. I doubt I will read the next book in this series. A quick read, but nothing special.
...more

In this humorous mystery, the Spellmans - mom, dad, and two wacky daughters - run a private detective agency. The main character is the older daughter Izzy Spellman. She and her kooky family run surveillance, bugging, and info collection for their job AND on each other. There's no privacy in THAT family. Pretty fun book. ...more

Lisa Lutz’s first novel, “The Spellman Files,” introduces readers to the lovable, albeit highly dysfunctional Spellman family. Be prepared to adore this zany cast of characters, that will butt their way right into your heart and have you laughing along the way. A strong female protagonist with a meddling family may, at first glance, seem a bit blase’, but don’t be fooled, the writing, narrative, and perspective work together like a well-oiled machine generating the ideal reading experience…
Secre ...more
Secre ...more

4.5 Stars
This is the first book in the Spellman Series and I absolutely loved it. I found it refreshing and funny and although the Spellman family is bizarre, weird and bordering on completely insane, I simply adored this dysfunctional family.
Isabel, who is the main protagonist and tells the story from a first person narrative, is such a great character. She's strong, feisty and a teeny bit nuts. Brought into the family business, a private detective agency, and the life of a PI at the age of twe ...more
This is the first book in the Spellman Series and I absolutely loved it. I found it refreshing and funny and although the Spellman family is bizarre, weird and bordering on completely insane, I simply adored this dysfunctional family.
Isabel, who is the main protagonist and tells the story from a first person narrative, is such a great character. She's strong, feisty and a teeny bit nuts. Brought into the family business, a private detective agency, and the life of a PI at the age of twe ...more

Just to make one thing clear--I read this book, I didn't listen to the audio CD, but goodreads didn't have the hardback book (?!). Amazon has done this to me too...I'm confused, and unlike some I'm not a fan of audiobooks, so it irks me. Enough of this tangent though--on to the review.
The Spellman Files could have been fantastic! The setup was smart and right up my alley--family of private investigators who snoop on each other more than on strangers. Like The Thin Man, the dialogue was (intermit ...more
The Spellman Files could have been fantastic! The setup was smart and right up my alley--family of private investigators who snoop on each other more than on strangers. Like The Thin Man, the dialogue was (intermit ...more

Between this year’s Canada Reads books and Don Winslow’s The Border, I spent the majority of the first quarter of 2019 reading some really heavy stuff. So when I put down Lindsay Wong’s The Woo Woo last week, I perused my bookshelves for something fun and light. I settled on Lisa Lutz’ The Spellman Files, a book I picked up at a used book sale about a year ago. After checking out some reviews on Goodreads promising an enjoyable read, I sat down to dig in.
After finishing The Spellman Files today, ...more
After finishing The Spellman Files today, ...more

The Spellmans are a collection of quirky, self-possessed psychopaths in a family that operates a detective agency.
The main character is 28-year-old Izzy [Isabel] who tries to leave the family and the business to find a more normal life. In the process, she uses every underhanded, snooping, spying and lying PI technique to make the break. Her parents and younger sister Rae, 14, tap the same arsenal to track her because they feel she may slip back to her former hard-drinking ways.
Running parallel ...more
The main character is 28-year-old Izzy [Isabel] who tries to leave the family and the business to find a more normal life. In the process, she uses every underhanded, snooping, spying and lying PI technique to make the break. Her parents and younger sister Rae, 14, tap the same arsenal to track her because they feel she may slip back to her former hard-drinking ways.
Running parallel ...more

Newsflash: boring title conceals highly entertaining book!!! Thanks to Amy for giving it a rave review and piquing my interest :-)
*
I started out loving this book, but then ... not so much. It begins with lots of really fun character set-up, then there is a whiff of a plot, then there is more set-up, and then ... more set-up and more set-up. Finally there is a plot! The mystery was mildly interesting, but by that point I pretty much hated everyone in the book. There is dysfunctional and then ther ...more
*
I started out loving this book, but then ... not so much. It begins with lots of really fun character set-up, then there is a whiff of a plot, then there is more set-up, and then ... more set-up and more set-up. Finally there is a plot! The mystery was mildly interesting, but by that point I pretty much hated everyone in the book. There is dysfunctional and then ther ...more

This one was okay. A few parts a heck of a lot better than others but not as good as I was hoping for. This was a recommendation from my library's manager directly to me. I wish it had been better as there are more books that come after this. I don't know if I will read them at this point.
...more

Sep 11, 2007
Lisa (not getting friends updates) Vegan
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
those who enjoy light mysteries, dysfunctional families & black humor
The Spellmans are one of the most unconventional dysfunctional families ever in a book, and they are hilarious. They are outrageous and over the top and have very peculiar ways of showing love. This delightful book is really, really funny, if you have a weird sense of humor, which I guess I do. It is interesting that what I’d consider disturbing and child abuse in real life can, in a book, cause me to feel affection for all of the characters and send me into frequent peals of laughter.
The friend ...more
The friend ...more

Boring storyline and writing style, annoying characters, pathetic, totally irritating 'heroine'.
Not recommended. ...more
Not recommended. ...more

Jan 10, 2010
K
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
Janet Evanovich fans
Shelves:
mysteriesthrillers,
humorous-or-trying-to-be
Isabel Spellman, the new Stephanie Plum, is a 28-year-old single woman from a dysfunctional family. That in and of itself is not unusual, but the particular form her family’s dysfunction takes is quite different – the family business is a private detective firm and snooping and blackmailing each other is a way of life for all family members, from the middle-aged parents down to Isabel’s tough-as-nails 14-year-old sister. The family wouldn’t be complete without debauched live-in Uncle Ray, a heal
...more

Jun 13, 2018
Melissa
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
she-and-or-they-but-not-he
When you put your head down & plow through a book just so you can say that you finished it. I'm a tad disappointed because this should be right up my alley, I should eat a quirky family of PIs right up with a spoon, shouldn’t I? And indeed, there is a lot here that I did enjoy, mostly whenever Izzy was being an actual investigator, but once the characters are introduced and the novelty wears off, the middle of the book bogs down with Izzy’s baffling pursuit of Daniel, ex-boyfriend # whatever, an
...more

Apr 22, 2015
Christa
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ebooks-all-vendors
My perspective on The Spellman Files was a bit different this time, as I reread it after reading all the books as they were released. I enjoyed it at least as much this time, and I was definitely more invested in the characters. I also think I caught nuances that slid past me when all of the characters were new to me.
Isabella "Izzy" Spellman is a twenty-eight year old private investigator who lives at home and works in her family's business. She has never been an easy individual, and now she is ...more
Isabella "Izzy" Spellman is a twenty-eight year old private investigator who lives at home and works in her family's business. She has never been an easy individual, and now she is ...more

I can't decide if I want to give this four or five stars....
I loved the book.. I loved Isabelle's voice and commentary.. And Christina Moore's narration was perfect <3
I am going to re-listen soon/right away I think, maybe? I don't know?
I can't think right now because motorised gardening implements >_< ...more
I loved the book.. I loved Isabelle's voice and commentary.. And Christina Moore's narration was perfect <3
I am going to re-listen soon/right away I think, maybe? I don't know?
I can't think right now because motorised gardening implements >_< ...more

I couldn't finish this one. I gave up at 29%. At that point I'd lol'd a handful of times, but everything else went nowhere. Absolutely nowhere.
...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Spies/YA/Young Adult/Fiction. [s] | 5 | 44 | Oct 18, 2018 08:03AM | |
Books on Tap Book...: * June- The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz | 1 | 4 | Jun 03, 2016 11:51AM | |
2015 Reading Chal...: The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz | 1 | 15 | Jan 28, 2015 08:31AM | |
Ask Lisa Lutz!: Ask Lisa about The Spellmans | 33 | 327 | Oct 23, 2013 03:14AM | |
It's Lisa Lutz, not Linda Lutz | 4 | 93 | May 15, 2012 05:42PM | |
Ask Lisa Lutz!: Ask Lisa any other question! | 15 | 103 | Feb 19, 2012 10:46AM | |
Win a Free Signed Copy of this Book! | 1 | 35 | Oct 05, 2008 09:02PM |
Lisa Lutz is the New York Times bestselling author of the six books in the Spellman series, How to Start a Fire, Heads you Lose (with David Hayward), and the children's book, How to Negotiate Everything (illustrated by Jaime Temairik). Her latest book, The Passenger, a psychological thriller, will be published March 2016 by Simon and Schuster. Lutz has won the Alex award and has been nominated for
...more
Other books in the series
The Spellmans
(6 books)
Related Articles
Need another excuse to go to the bookstore this week? We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day.
To create our list,...
26 likes · 19 comments
6 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“I have a weakness for tough guys who read.”
—
85 likes
“My father insisted that the boys in my life were directly responsible for my juvenile-delinquent tendencies.
My mother, more accurately, assumed that I was the bad influence.”
—
37 likes
More quotes…
My mother, more accurately, assumed that I was the bad influence.”