The Spellmans Strike Again (Izzy Spellman Mysteries, #4)

by Lisa Lutz

[Leah]

I love the Spellmans. They’re the kind of fictional family I’d love to join. Though I wouldn’t because the lack of privacy would drive me nuts. They put the ‘fun’ in ‘dysfunctional’ and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the three novels I’ve previously read to feature the family; The Spellman Files, Curse of the Spellmans and Revenge of the Spellmans. So on I went to the fourth book in the Spellman books The Spellmans Strike Again. It’s billed as the last book in the Spellman series but it’s not as a fifth book Trail of the Spellmans will be released in 2012 (woohoo!). If it’s possible, Curse of the Spellmans was just as brilliant, just as funny as just as zany as the previous books. I loved the book, and I’m so sad I have to wait until next March for book 5. That’s just too long to wait for the wonderful Spellmans.

The Spellmans Strike Again sees Izzy Spellman finally grow up. Well, a little bit. She’s decided that she wants to run the Spellman agency and as such, she takes on more responsibility. She’s got an ex-boyfriend, Connor (#12 for anyone counting) and she’s toning down her obsessive abilities. Kind of. And she’s stopped spying on her family. Until she’s blackmailed by her mother to spy on her brother. (Once a spy…) As usual, Izzy has taken on a ton of different cases ranging from a billionaire with potentially sticky-fingered staff who wants a new butler, a screen-writer who wants to make sure his ex-friend isn’t ripping him off and, of course, Izzy is busy trying to take down Rick Harkey a fellow PI. Of course, where the Spellmans are concerned that’s just the tip of the iceberg as Rae is as nuts as ever (she should really see a doctor), Izzy’s parents decide they want each Wednesday to themselves and instigate “Lost Wednesdays” and David is still jobless. See, nuts? And all of that is fitted into a novel UNDER 400 pages.

I don’t know how Lisa Lutz does it, but she manages to keep each novel nice and fresh. We never really go over old ground, the cases are never repetitive and I always find myself giggling away at the Spellman books (they’re genuinely funny!). I didn’t think I would enjoy The Spellmans Strike Again as much as I enjoyed Revenge of the Spellmans, but I did. It was amazing. Probably my favourite and there’s nothing better than a series that manages to maintain such high standards. I love the familiarity that comes with a Spellman novel. That Izzy won’t rest until the case is solved, that each member of the Spellman family (David excepted) will spy on each other rather than just come out and ask what the other members are doing, how Rae will undoubtedly start some big campaign and end up in trouble with her, shall we say, unortodox methods. I know what I’ll get when I pick up a Spellman novel and so far I haven’t been disappointed in the slightest.

What I love most about the Spellman books are the characters. It’s fair to say that the Spellman family aren’t necessarily representative of what a normal family is. Yet they love each other, a lot. Despite all the spying and blackmailing and revenge that goes on, the Spellmans do love each other. Deep, deep down. I love that. I love that Olivia, Mrs Spellman, has her kids back even if she does it in the strangest of methods (sending Izzy on blind lawyer dates!). I love the obliviousness of Albert, Mr Spellman, though he does have his moments, too. I love Rae. Full stop. She just… Some of her methods are wrong (See: Locking your sister in a room for 11 hours!) but I can see why she does what she does. And I love her for it. And then there’s Izzy. The most immature 32-year-old you’ll come across but I love her love of the job. Like Rae, her methods aren’t always straight-laced but she likes to get to the point of any case. She likes to make sure it’s solved. One of my favourite characters, though, is Detective Henry Stone. I heart him.

The Spellmans Strike Again was a brilliant addition to the Spellman series. I loved it. I loved it even more when Henry was totally honest with Izzy. My God, has it taken a while, but boy was it ever worth it. I love Lutz writing, too, you’ll never see a book written the way Lutz writes the Spellman novels. It hops from job to job, person to person all from Izzy’s point of view and although it might seem daunting at first it’s such a great way to portray things. I must admit, I was when The Spellmans Strike Again ended. (For more reasons than one. Low blow, Lisa to do that to a character I love. I hate you for it. Yup, Lisa killed off a character. Boo!) It made me cry (what’s new? I cry a lot at books. And movies. And TV shows.) and although I wasn’t surprised by the ending, it did make me really sad that said character won’t be in book 5. Unless they come back as an angel or a ghost. Which I doubt. But it’d be awesome. I can’t wait for Trail of the Spellmans and will even fork out for the American version if it isn’t released in the UK. This is an awesome series that deserves way more recognition than it seems to have. Chick Lit fans and Janet Evanovich fans will love this series. I swear it.