Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Curse of the Spellmans had been waiting for me, patiently, as I crawled through a few other agonizingly slow reads. Here’s how good it was when I finally got to it: 25 hours from page 1 to page 409, (meals, work, sleeping, but no video games).
I’m not a fast reader, but I’ll stick with a tome if I’m enjoying myself. I thoroughly enjoyed Curse of the Spellmans. I knew I was going to read it as soon as I finished The Spellman Files, and as soon as I’m done writing this review, I’m finding the closest library and heading over there for the third in the series.
Ignore the back of the book, where it says “part Bridget Jones, part Columbo.” Nobody’s into both, so it’s only meant to be a surface-level comparison, and it’s wrong. Izzy Spellman’s no stereotype, and these mysteries aren’t so pat. They’re fun, with enough of a serious edge to not come across as goofy or silly.
Because otherwise, the people in Izzy’s life comes across as goofy and silly. But in that way that your own friends and family do—doesn’t mean you don’t respect them. Doesn’t mean they don’t have depth.