cover image Curse of the Spellmans

Curse of the Spellmans

Lisa Lutz, . . Simon & Schuster, $25 (409pp) ISBN 978-1-4165-3241-5

In the two years that have passed since the action in Lutz's hit debut, The Spellman Files (2007), zany Isabel Spellman, who works for the family PI firm in San Francisco, has become “a somewhat responsible member of society.” Unfortunately, she's also become obsessed with “Subject” (aka John Brown), a next-door neighbor who she's convinced has an evil secret she must expose, even if it means losing her PI license. Adding further hilarity is “The Stone and Spellman Show,” transcripts of recordings revealing 15-year-old sister Rae's fascination with her middle-aged “best friend,” stoic SFPD inspector Henry Stone, who endures Rae's adoration with liberal doses of Doctor Who watching. Henry's link to the Spellman family's fortunes suggests he might be a good candidate for Isabel's “Ex-boyfriend #11” when Subject fails to make the grade. Fans of The Spellman Files will laugh just as loudly at the comic antics chronicled in this sparkling sequel. (Mar.)