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Many, many books line our shelves about dysfunctional families, heck that’s what most novels are about when you boil it all down. Angst (Jonathan Franzen “The Corrections”), John Irving’s roller coaster novels, the serious Jane Austin – well stop here, if you are a Jane Austin fan - “The Spellman Files” are not for you!
Lisa Lutz has created a breezy ,wacky San Francisco family. Mum and Dad meet on the job. Both are PI’s (Dad an ex-cop). Eldest son David is the perfect son, becomes the perfect lawyer who’s just perfect enough to avoid the PI tour, but tosses business (mostly background checks) to Mum and Dad. Daughter Isabel is our centre, Nancy Drew meets Britney Spears. Izzy has natural talent for detection and dope. (she and her best friend often got high and watch episodes of “Get Smart”)
Blame the parents, they’ve been training her in PI work since she was 4. At 12 she’d aced surveillance and she’s was always good at connecting the dots for missing persons. But that was a mandatory family skill – acquired again, and again, from locating Uncle Ray on his “lost weekends”.
Along comes baby sister Rae (named after Uncle Ray who was going to die, but didn’t, and subsequently traded health food and exercise for gambling and booze). During car chases (Izzy being chased by Mum and Dad), dead bolts being picked (by Uncle Ray) Isabel’s cast of ex-boyfriends, the saucy Spellman family provide a really funny, page turner book. It sort of makes you sad your parents weren’t private investigators! Can’t wait to read the second one. Now another fun dinner would be with Lisa Lutz and Janet Evanovich. On second thought, perhaps Isabel and Stephanie should just attend?
