The Passenger by Lisa Lutz

Lisa Lutz has a new book out! Lisa Lutz has a new book out! Lisa Lutz has a new book out!

Can you tell I'm excited?

Tanya's husband is dead. He fell down the stairs. But the very thought that she could become the focus of an investigation prompts Tanya to hit the road, knowing that in the end it will only make her look guilty. 

See Tanya's been on the run for some time already. In fact, "Tanya" isn't even her real name. And it probably won't take that long for the police to connect Tanya to the girl she used to be, uncovering the secret she's been living with all these years. It's up to her to make sure she stays one step ahead and doesn't get caught. 

While The Passenger is definitely a far cry from the hilarious Spellman mysteries, it's still yet another example of Lutz's fabulous talent.

Tanya may seem heartless in the beginning. She's obviously married to a man she doesn't love and she doesn't mourn his death but for the fact that it means the loss of the life she's been living. A life concocted after some terrible event forced her to leave her own behind. And this loss means not only creating a new life and new persona in a new place, it means a total loss of security for Tanya as well.

At one point another character tells her she's only a shell and it's true. She's spent so much of her adult life trying to be anyone other than the person she actually is that to the average viewer she's blank. Inside (the pieces that the readers get to see) she's much more, but outside she has to be ready at a moment's notice to adopt new characteristics and adapt to a new identity making each subsequent one more and more thin and transparent.

It does take some time for us to learn exactly why Tanya is running, why she feels the need to hide, and even why she married this man. With each new piece of the mystery revealed, I warmed to Tanya a bit more. It does become clear, as her race to escape authorities becomes more desperate, that Lutz maintains "Tanya's" true nature through her interactions with the people she comes into contact with. Attempted avoidance aside, her actions speak to something deeper than the names she adopts and the traits she imagines and tries on for each one.

The Passenger is an intense read, one you'll likely want to gobble up in one sitting if you can. I did! This is more than a one-sitting read, actually, it's a lock the doors, bar the windows, and ignore everything else you have on your plate kind of read. And given that I'd meant to have this up yesterday but am late (sorry), it segues nicely into the topic of slump busting in today's other post.

Yep, Lisa Lutz - anything Lisa Lutz - is another of my handful of guaranteed slump busting reads. If you happen to be heading into one yourself or are just looking for something fabulous and fast paced to dive into, I can't recommend The Passenger highly enough. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Rating: 5/5

The Last Word by Lisa Lutz

Guys! Lisa Lutz says this is the last book from Izzy's perspective. *sniff*

Warning, fangirl review coming.

Izzy is in a bit of a bind. After performing a hostile takeover of the family business, she's now the boss but that doesn't mean that anyone listens to her. In fact, both of her parents are doing everything they can to undermine her authority - somewhat understandable considering Izzy became a bit of a dictator there for a while. But now the bank records are kind of wonky and Izzy is being accused of embezzling from one of her clients. She knows it's a set up but the feds aren't going to just take her word for it. 

Each and every new Spellman book (or book from Lisa Lutz for that matter) is a guaranteed hilarious read! The Last Word was certainly no exception in that regard. If you've not had the pleasure, you're really missing out. Never fear, all previous five books are now out in paperback and if you're really anxious, you can kind of dive in with this sixth installment without issue (but you'll have to go back to the beginning to get all the references.)

I'm kind of in awe of how Lisa Lutz's brain works. I mean she includes footnotes for goodness sake! If you've read any of her books, you know her characters are pretty carefully drawn, too: she's got individual profiles of each one, even going so far as to outline their childhood antics as well (some of which play into individual stories).

Plus, she's done this: http://howtonegotiateeverything.com/ Oh, yes, it's for real. Lisa Lutz is a bit of a genius in my opinion!

(Is it wrong for me to say that Izzy Spellman is kind of my hero? I mean, I know she's a thirty-something who isn't really all that grown up, but I'm a thirty-something who doesn't really FEEL all that grown up! And while I'd never do half the things Izzy does, it's mostly because I'd never have the nerve.)

Besides being fall on the floor and laugh out loud funny, with a set of the most fabulous characters in fiction (as if that weren't enough), The Last Word is a darn good story. Lisa Lutz knows how to plot an interesting mystery. The addition of Rae's new conflict resolution services here is a bonus, too, adding an interesting new aspect to the stories (and possibly some fresh new fodder for additional Spellman books).

We'll just have to wait and see what Lutz has up her sleeve next. I'm hoping this is not the last we'll see of the Spellmans.

The Last Word is due out from Simon & Schuster on Tuesday, July 9.

Pre-Pub Book Buzz: Trail of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz

While we're on the subject of lighter reads and sure-fire slump busters, it's the perfect time for me to tell you about the latest and upcoming book in one of my favorite series! Yep, Lisa Lutz's latest Spellman installment is due out Tuesday, Feb 28!

The Spellmans are back in this fifth book of the series. This time they've been hired by a brother to follow his sister, a wife who wants her husband's every move tracked, and parents who want their college-age daughter investigated for possible bad behavior. Of course there's a twist to each one not to mention Izzy's mother's strange behavior, Rae getting kicked out of David's house for a reason no one is revealing, and some unexpected visitors.

What's that you say? You haven't read any of the Spellman books!? Rest assured that readers can jump in at any time. You'll WANT to read them all once you get started, but you can safely pick up Trail without first having read the others.

Be prepared to defend yourself or explain massive outbursts of out loud laughter. My husband still hasn't learned and he came with me to see Lutz when she was promoting Heads You Lose with David Hayward (Heads is a standalone and another hilarious one I recommend highly).

For a taste of some of the Lutz signature snark, here's a little promo video for Trail:

Heads You Lose is Hilarious!

I dragged Mike to another book signing recently. He would say dragged, but I suspected he would enjoy himself. I think he did.

It was Lisa Lutz and David Hayward at Tattered Cover this go-around, talking about their collaborative mystery, Heads You Lose.

In the book, pot growing siblings Paul and Lacey discover a headless body on their property. Of course they can't call the police, so they dump it and destroy the evidence, but then it comes back. Soon their small town of Mercer has a string of murders to its name and Paul and Lacey are determined to solve the case(es).

Funny thing is, there are two stories going on here. There's the mystery itself, which the authors alternated writing "blind" chapters. And then there's the authors themselves. Their notes and comments to one another along the way catapult this book from the mainstream mystery category into something completely different -- and hilarious. I mean laugh out loud snark fests! If you're looking for something to lighten your mood, you've got to read it. I would say this is one book so far this year that I don't think anyone should miss!

For a taste, check out this promo video the authors did:

A Case of the Wednesdays!

The week is halfway over, but somehow it never seems that way when you wake to over a foot of snow on the ground.

Yep, a snowstorm hit hard and heavy last night. The power even flickered a few times during Survivors and Lost (somehow, Tuesdays have now become my tv nights). It's a good thing I ventured out in my jammies and backed the car up during the commercial break, too. There's a tree in our yard whose snow-heavy branches reach all the way to the ground until everything melts again. One of the branches actually broke off sometime during the night and now sits in the front yard waiting for us to borrow a hand saw and break it into moveable pieces. Craziness.

So yeah, my morning did not start off very well. After I dug half of our sidewalk out, I ended up calling it a day and leaving the rest for Mike (thank goodness his knee is well enough that I don't have to do the whole thing anymore!). Cold and sore, all I really wanted this morning was to go back to bed! Fortunately the sun has come out since then and the snow is fast melting.

I'm so ready for winter to be over that I'm breaking out the beach reads! I'm not kidding. When the weather really starts to get me down, nothing cheers me up better than a good book, and nothing can lift my mood as much as something light and funny -- like Lisa Lutz! I was actually reading her latest last week when we had pretty nice weather, but today got me thinking: Izzy Spellman and her family definitely would have cured my blues, so I thought this would be a great time to do my The Spellmans Strike Again post!

If you haven't read Lutz yet, stop now and go out and buy all of her books. I'm not kidding. Now. All four! You definitely have to read them in order to get the full effect and you're going to want to gobble them up once you start.

In The Spellmans Strike Again, Izzy is once again facing blackmail from the Spellman matriarch. This time around, her mother has insisted that unless Izzy begins going on a series of mother-approved blind dates (i.e. with lawyers or otherwise acceptable professionals) the secret of Prom 1994 will be revealed. Meanwhile, Maggie (see Revenge of the Spellmans for her intro) and David are trying to maintain a healthy relationship with the Spellmans looming. They're hiding a secret, too, but is it as tantalizing as the one Izzy's parents are hiding? And not to be left out, the youngest Spellman begins an internship researching pro bono cases, which leads to her involvement in a new cause.

Hilarious as always! (I can't help but be a little cryptic when describing these. They are, after all, PI mysteries at heart. They're just all around great reads, too, so I never want to give too much away.) The whole time I was cracking up (out loud) while reading, Mike just kept asking, "What? What?! What's so funny?!"

Yeah, you might not want to read these in public for fear of looking a little crazy -- or maybe you should read them in public. Definitely! The people might run out and buy them for themselves to see what all the fuss is about.

A little backwards

I spent a fun evening back in March of '08 reading Lisa Lutz's second Izzy Spellman mystery, and now it's time for another. Yay! I'm super excited about reading the upcoming Revenge of the Spellmans (due out March 10) that I thought I would post about the earlier books. 

Now, I've got a raging headache and am a bit stressed (after a good afternoon in which I felt very productive, sucks don't it) and remembered that I had already reviewed a Spellman book here, but stupid me, I posted about book two without ever posting about book one! Ugh.

So, here it is. If you want to go back to my musings from last march on the fantabulous Curse of the Spellmans, here it is (and it's out in paperback now, too). If you aren't familiar with this hilarious series yet, then this is the post for you. 

Straight from the BB archives, here is my review of Lisa Lutz's give-Janet-Evanovich-a-run-for-her-money (are you loving the hyphens) debut, The Spellman Files, in which we are introduced to Izzy and her wacky family of PIs:

Meet Isabel Spellman. She’s a spunky troublemaking private eye who works for her parents’ P.I. firm. The story begins with Izzy being interrogated in regards to her young sister Rae’s disappearance. What follows is a hilarious chronicle of Izzy Spellman’s life leading up to the event in question. As a child and young adult, Izzy tormented her parents. She keeps an exhaustive list of all the “crimes” she got away with and a list of “interrogations” held in her parents’ basement for crimes she is suspected of having committed. She also keeps a running list of all ex-boyfriends, the most recent of which has led Izzy to the decision that she must leave the family business and try to live a “normal” life. Unfortunately for Izzy, her parents are not willing to let her go without a fight. Before they will agree to let her go with a reference that will allow her to gain employment elsewhere (and move out of their house) Izzy’s parents force her to work one last case – a twelve-year-old missing persons case that they hope will convince their daughter to stay. It is at this point in the story that fourteen-year-old Rae goes missing. Hilarity ensues as this quirky and dysfunctional family reluctantly pulls together to find its youngest member. Anyone who loves Janet Evanovich has to try Lisa Lutz.

This series is great if you really are looking for something to get your mind off of things. Izzy and her family are the ultimate in somewhat functioning dysfunction and the truly make for some of the best reading there is. I promise you, Lisa Lutz will definitely hit the spot for you if you're a fan of the Stephanie Plum books like I am. 

Now, I'm off to finish my Antarctic thriller (more on that later) and take some headache meds and try not to stress out too much before I can jump into Revenge of the Spellmans. Oh, and now that both Spellman Files and Curse of the Spellmans are out in paperback, do yourself a favor and splurge on them both, you'll laugh your ass off and love it!

Another Laugh Out Loud Read

Everyone knows that Janet E. and her Stephanie Plum series are just about as funny as it gets. Well, today I want to introduce you to another funny lady, Lisa Lutz and her PI Izzy Spellman. There are now two books in the series and I can't wait for the next one. Izzy is quirky and hilarious and her family of oddballs are perfect accompaniments.

Here's my review from when Spellman Files first hit shelves:

Meet Isabel Spellman. She’s a spunky troublemaking private eye who works for her parents’ P.I. firm. The story begins with Izzy being interrogated in regards to her young sister Rae’s disappearance. What follows is a hilarious chronicle of Izzy Spellman’s life leading up to the event in question. As a child and young adult, Izzy tormented her parents. She keeps an exhaustive list of all the “crimes” she got away with and a list of “interrogations” held in her parents’ basement for crimes she is suspected of having committed. She also keeps a running list of all ex-boyfriends, the most recent of which has led Izzy to the decision that she must leave the family business and try to live a “normal” life. Unfortunately for Izzy, her parents are not willing to let her go without a fight. Before they will agree to let her go with a reference that will allow her to gain employment elsewhere (and move out of their house) Izzy’s parents force her to work one last case – a twelve-year-old missing persons case that they hope will convince their daughter to stay. It is at this point in the story that fourteen-year-old Rae goes missing. Hilarity ensues as this quirky and dysfunctional family reluctantly pulls together to find its youngest member. Anyone who loves Janet Evanovich has to try Lisa Lutz.

Lisa Lutz You Owe Me a Nap

Curse of the Spellmans - Lisa Lutz - Hardcover - Due out 3/11

If you aren't familiar with Lutz, she made her debut last year with the hilarious Spellman Files. In The Spellman Files readers are first introduced to Isabel Spellman and her crazy family of PIs. Isabel, Izzy, is 28 and, when the story opens, is being interrogated in regards to her younger sister's disappearance. The wacky story that follows can only be compared to Janet Evanovich and her fantastic Stephanie Plum series. 

In the second book of the series, Isabel has been arrested now for the fourth time in about a month (second really cause she doesn't count arrests two and three). As she explains her recent exploits to her lawyer we come to realize that Izzy's overly suspicious mind has gotten her into trouble once again when. She's convinced that her parent's new next door neighbor is hiding something and is determined to find out what. In fact, it seems that almost everyone around her has been acting rather suspiciously lately  - Izzy's nature won't allow her to let it be and the consequences make for some pretty amusing reading. 

I was up all night reading this book and I don't regret it one bit! Every single "I don't know what you're talking about" left me in tears I was laughing so hard. I'm sure I kept everyone in the house up as well. 

If you haven't read The Spellman Files (now out in paperback), I recommend you run out and pick it up, you won't regret it. If you love Janet E. you're guaranteed to like Lisa Lutz.