Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz

Curse of the Spellmans Lisa Lutz Fiction    2008 Rating: A-

Curse of the Spellmans is Lutz's second book about a crazy family of private investigators, the Spellmans, and their ne'er-do-well daughter, Isabel, specifically.  This series is very hard to describe - Izzy is nosy and in both this one and the first, The Spellman Files, she is on the trail of something, so there is a mystery element, but mostly this is humorous fiction, the little mysteries providing insight into the complexities of these Spellmans relationships with each other.  Think Stephanie Plum, but smarter, wittier, and not at all slapstick.  That's the best I can do.  The Spellman Files was one of my favorite discoveries of last year.  I didn't write a review for it because I was stumped as to how to accomplish it, but since I liked Curse of the Spellmans even better, I'm giving it a college try.

The action starts when Izzy finds herself self-evicted from her somewhat illegally occupied rent-controlled apartment after the guy she's subletting from leaves his wife and comes "home."  He's older, a bit lecherous, an inveterate gambler, smoker, and drinker, and even hard living Izzy can't imagine spending more than a minute in his company.  So she decides to crash in her old place - the attic of her parents' old San Francisco Victorian.  Enter the drama.  

The Spellmans, apropos of their collective career choices, like to be in the know, but they don't like others to be in the know about them.  After Izzy moves home she observes her mother sneaking out at night routinely to sabotage the same motorbike.  Her father has become a secretive health nut, but, strangely enough, doesn't want to talk about it.  Her precocious younger sister, Rae, has made new friends including a forty-something police officer, Harry Stone, and Izzy has gotten roped into posing as Harry's fiancee to thwart Child Protective Services' nosy questions about the relationship the elder Spellmans think is the most positive one of Rae's life.  And then there's the neighbor next door - a suspiciously named John Brown who is too sexy for Izzy's good.  Izzy can't help but poke around his business and discovers that he has links to two women who have disappeared.  She pokes and pokes and pokes relentlessly until she finds herself on the bad end of a restraining order - and an arrest.  

It's hard to describe what makes this book such a delightful read, but it comes down to characterization and Izzy's rather sly and sarcastic way of viewing things.  Besides the Spellmans, there are a number of other quirky characters, including Izzy's octogenarian defense attorney who mainly wants all the details of Izzy's obsession with her neighbor because for him retirement is boring and nothing is better than a good story.  Izzy also has a couple of actor friends she keeps trying to rope into her crazy schemes regarding John Brown.  And I must have laughed fifty times at all the crazy badinage between Izzy and her family.  Rae in particular is a delight.  Her friendship with Harry is unlikely and unusual, but very sweet.  

Izzy is a complex character.  She's very smart, but not very motivated about regular things and has a history of substance abuse and vandalism she doesn't take seriously.  Her behavior in this book borders on stalking, although it's not personal.  It's more that she can't control her urges to investigate and is sure that Brown is a danger.  It will be interesting to see if she will develop into more of an adult if the series continues into the future.  There is a hint of a romantic relationship developing in Curse of the Spellmans, but it's certainly no guarantee of an eventual HEA for Izzy.  She is fairly self-destructive.  

I give Curse of the Spellmans four snaps in a Z formation.  It's fun and funny and surprisingly well plotted.  Unusual.  Do pick it up if you're looking for a good book, or if you're tired of Stephanie Plum's same-old, same-old shenanigans but like that kind of read.

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