Description

AT THE RIPE OLD AGE OF THIRTY-TWO, FORMER WILD CHILD ISABEL "IZZY" SPELLMAN HAS FINALLY AGREED TO TAKE OVER THE FAMILY BUSINESS. AND THE TRANSITION WON'T BE A SMOOTH ONE.

First among her priorities as head of Spellman Investigations is to dig up some dirt on the competition, slippery ex-cop Rick Harkey -- a task she may enjoy a little too much. Next, faced with a baffling missing-persons case at the home of an aging millionaire, Izzy hires an actor friend, Len, to infiltrate the mansion as an undercover butler -- a role he may enjoy a little much.

Meanwhile, Izzy is being blackmailed by her mother (photographic evidence of Prom Night 1994) to commit to regular blind dates with promising professionals -- an arrangement that doesn't thrill Connor, an Irish bartender on the brink of becoming Ex-boyfriend #12.

At Spellman headquarters, it's business as unusual. Doorknobs and light fixtures are disappearing every day, Mom's been spotted crying in the pantry, and a series of increasingly demanding Spellman Rules (Rule #27: No Speaking Today) can't quite hold the family together. Izzy also has to decipher weekly "phone calls from the edge" from her octogenarian lawyer, Morty, as well as Detective Henry Stone's mysterious interest in rekindling their relationsh...well, whatever it was.

Just when it looks like things can't go more haywire, little sister Rae's internship researching pro bono legal cases leads the youngest Spellman to launch a grassroots campaign that could spring an innocent man from jail -- or land Rae in it.

The Spellmans Strike Again is hands down the most hilarious, thrilling, and moving book in this bestselling, award-nominated series. And it proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Isabel Spellman, no matter how much she matures, will never be able to follow Rule #1: Act Normal.

About the Author

Lisa Lutz is the author of The Spellman Files, a New York Times best-seller; Curse of the Spellmans, a national best-seller and nominee for both the Macavity and Edgar® Awards for Best Novel of 2008; and the critically acclaimed Revenge of the Spellmans. Although she attended UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, the University of Leeds in England, and San Francisco State University, she still does not have a bachelor’s degree. Lisa spent most of the 1990s hopping through a string of low-paying odd jobs while writing and rewriting the screenplay Plan B, a mob comedy. After the film was made in 2000, she vowed she would never write another screenplay. A motion picture adaptation of The Spellman Files is in development with Paramount Pictures.

Praise for The Spellmans Strike Again…

Praise for Edgar Award Nominee Lisa Lutz and her bestselling Spellman series

“The wisecracks crackle . . . . Those in the market for mayhem and mirth will revel in Lutz’s irresistible blend of suspense, irony, and wit.”

—Booklist (starred review)

“A series that keeps getting better and better.”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This is one of the best comic novels I’ve ever read, and that includes Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich. The Spellmans—a collection of misfits whose family business is a private detective agency—are hilarious, smart and irresistible.”

—The Globe and Mail (Canada)

“Casual, swift and hip . . . . A fresh story that works real issues through an offbeat premise.”

— Kirkus (starred review)

“Congratulations to Lisa Lutz, who has created the Spellmans, the most hilariously dysfunctional family since the Royal Tenenbaums. … Lutz’s style is refreshing and razor-sharp.”

—Mystery Scene Magazine

“Fun and irreverent.”

—Entertainment Weekly