Spellman Files

By: Lisa Lutz

Narrated by: Christina Moore

Isabel Spellman may have a checkered past littered with romantic mistakes, excessive drinking, and creative vandalism - but she's good at her job as a licensed P.I. with her family's firm, Spellman Investigations. Invading people's privacy comes naturally to Izzy and all the Spellmans. If only they could leave their work at the office. Izzy walks an indistinguishable line between Spellman family member and Spellman employee. But when Izzy decides to get out of the family business in search of normalcy, she ends up taking on the most important case of her life. The Spellman Files is an unforgettable introduction to the Spellman family in all its lovable chaos.

©2007 Lisa Lutz (P)2011 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"Fast-paced, irreverent, and very funny, The Spellman Files is like Harriet the Spy for grown-ups." (Curtis Sittenfeld, author of The Man of My Dreams and Prep)

"Hilarious. My enjoyment of The Spellman Files was only slightly undercut by my irritation that I hadn't written it myself. The funniest book I've read in years!" (Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing)

" The Spellman Files is hilarious, outrageous, and hip. Izzy Spellman, P.I., is a total original, with a voice so fresh and real, you want more, more, more. At long last, we know what Nancy Drew would have been like had she come from a family of lovable crackpots. Lisa Lutz has created a delicious comedy with skill and truth. I loved it." (Adriana Trigiani, author of Lucia, Lucia and Big Stone Gap)

Very Funny Book

This was a very funny and light hearted mystery. The only problem I had with it was that the pauses in the narration was a little off. More then once the pauses were so long that I thought the audible app had closed.

Good read

Surprised by final ending. Enjoyed the family dynamics and wierd ways. Will listen to more of these.

great Read

loved it. funny family antics, great story line. would definitely recommend this book !

Perfect tone, lighthearted mystery 

This novel is a great escape. The narration was well done, and the voices were spot on.

Wait! What happened to a promising story??

The beginning...what’s not to like? The protagonist is a snarky recovered juvenile delinquent, now 28, buried deep in a quirky family of PIs. Hilarious without being silly. The characters are flawed, infuriating, care deeply about each other and have a moral code of their own unlike any other.
Then it flatlines. The characters don’t learn, don’t grow, and any change in character is for the worse. The plot, always secondary to the characters, stumbles along. The story becomes repetitive, then a little depressing, then just sad. I’ll look at another Spellman story with the a little hope—better?—after I’ve recovered from the disappointment.

WONDERFUL AUTHOR, AND VERY GOOD STORY LINE.

LOVE THIS WACKY SPELLMAN FAMILY. PI INVESTIGATORS WHO RAISE THEIR CHILDREN TO TAKE UP THE SAME VOCATION. IT IS SO FUNNY AND AND THE STORY IS GREAT. I AM GLAD I STARTED WITH BOOK NUMBER 1, AND NOT ANOTHER; IT REALLY EXPLAINS EACH PERSON'S PERSONALITY AND WHY WHILE NOT GETTING TECHNICAL. LET YOU ASSURE YOU IT IS WELL WORTH THE CREDIT.

Count me in for more.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I needed another series to start and am glad that I found this one.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It wasn't want I expected. It didn't keep me on the edge of my seat. But I liked the twist and turns of the plot.

What a ride!

While our main protagonist is a young female detective, this book and the entire series is about Izzy, her dysfunctional family, their family business and the interesting cases they take on. It is also about the growth of Izzy, our heroine, outgrowing her youthful rebellion and trying to find her place in the family business. There are also the very interesting characters; her family members, the cop she desires, the bar she loves and her own moral compass of what is right and what is wrong.

I had many laugh out loud moments in these books, but there were also some very poignant moments that left me quite choked up. I will be sure to revisit Izzy and her family in the future.

Really?

Great listen even though I already read the book the old fashioned way. Well done

Started out humorous

The book seemed promising at first, but the storyline was pretty bad. The quippy one liners ceased to be funny after the storyline plummeted. Pretty disappointing.