Like Being Spied On By Your Little Sister (The Spellman Files - Lisa Lutz)

Member Name: kinky_lil_kitten

Product:	The Spellman Files - Lisa Lutz
Date:	30/08/08 (163 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A nice easy, relaxed read

Disadvantages: None

For Izzy Spellman life doesn't seem to be working out the way she would like. She's 28 years old and works for her family's business, the Spellman detective agency, which has prevented her from finding herself a boyfriend. After a string of unsuccessful relationships she decides to keep the identity of her latest boyfriend secret or so she thought till she discovers that her family have assigned her 14 year old sister to find out his identity. Now Izzy wants out and her parents agree, as long as she solves one last case....

This is another of the books I've picked up whilst randomly walking through an airport WH Smith's. It was part of the book of the week promotion that Smith's run on a weekly basis and something about the plot outline really grabbed my attention. The author, Lisa Lutz, is a relatively new author on the scene and this is her debut novel. It has an appealing story and an attractive colourful cover that really caught my attention and once again I fell for the buying a book because of its cover.

I found that once I started to read this book I got very immersed into the plot. I found myself really caring about the lead character Izzy and found her to be a very well created and expressed lead character. I was also very pleased with the other characters and I think that all added to the main appeal of the novel. I found myself picking the book up in the morning and apart from drinks breaks I didn't put it back down again till I had turned the last page.

I really found Lisa Lutz novel easy going reading and a book that really captured my imagination. I actually found the story had quite a few identifiable moments and that perhaps made it a lot easier to enjoy. I thought that the Spellman files fits in nicely between the heavier going crime drama's and the more easy going books by some of my favourite authors Sophie Kinsella and Harriett Evans. Had I been more stretched for time I'm sure this book would have been easy to dip in and out of and with quite a large font and page spread it does perhaps take up a few more pages in its 384 pages than it actually needs.

While this isn't the most taxing book I've ever read it is fair to say that it is very enjoyable. It kept me entertained on a say off work and I certainly am looking forward to reading more of Lisa Lutz books in the future. If you are looking for a decent book to while away time then for £3.49 from WH Smith's or £4.46 from amazon I don't think you can go far wrong with this one. If you like Sophie Kinsella but are looking for a bit of a mystery twist then I think you'll really like The Spellman Files.

Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Pocket Books

ISBN: 1416526404

Summary: An easy going detective read