Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Revenge of the Spellmans: A Novel
    Revenge of the Spellmans: A Novel
    Revenge of the Spellmans: A Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    Revenge of the Spellmans: A Novel

    Written by Lisa Lutz

    Narrated by Ari Graynor

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    From the award-winning author of The Passenger comes the third novel in the hilarious Spellman Files mystery series featuring Isabel “Izzy” Spellman (part Nancy Drew, part Dirty Harry) and her highly functioning yet supremely dysfunctional family of private investigators.

    Private investigator Isabel Spellman is back on the case and back on the couch—in courtordered therapy after getting a little too close to her previous subject, leaving Izzy on hiatus from Spellman Inc. But when her boss, Milo, simultaneously cuts her bartending hours and introduces her to a “friend” looking for a private eye, Izzy reluctantly finds herself with a new client. She assures herself that the case—a suspicious husband who wants his wife tailed—will be short and sweet, and will involve nothing more than the most boring of PI rituals: surveillance. But with each passing hour, Izzy finds herself with more questions than hard evidence.

    Meanwhile, Spellmania continues. Izzy’s brother, David, the family’s most upright member, has adopted an uncharacteristically unkempt appearance and attitude toward work, life, and Izzy. And their wayward youngest sister, Rae, a historic academic underachiever, aces the PSATs and subsequently offends her study partner and object of obsession, Detective Henry Stone, to the point of excommunication. The only unsurprising behavior comes from her parents, whose visits to Milo’s bar amount to thinly veiled surveillance and artful attempts (read: blackmail) at getting Izzy to return to the Spellman Inc. fold.

    As the case of the wayward wife continues to vex her, Izzy’s personal life—and mental health—seem to be disintegrating. Facing a housing crisis, she can’t sleep, she can’t remember where she parked her car, and, despite her shrinks’ (yes, plural) persistence, she can’t seem to break through in her appointments. She certainly can’t explain why she forgets dates with her lawyer’s grandson, or fails to interpret the come-ons issued in an Irish brogue by Milo’s new bartender. Nor can she explain exactly how she feels about Detective Henry Stone and his plans to move in with his new Assistant DA girlfriend.

    Filled with the signature side-splitting Spellman antics, Revenge of the Spellmans is an ingenious, hilarious, and disarmingly tender installment in the Spellman series.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMar 10, 2009
    ISBN9780743583282
    Revenge of the Spellmans: A Novel
    Author

    Lisa Lutz

    Lisa Lutz is the New York Times bestselling, Alex Award–winning author of the Spellman Files series, as well as the novels The Accomplice, Heads You Lose (with David Hayward), How to Start a Fire, The Passenger, and The Swallows. She has also written for film and TV, including HBO’s The Deuce. She lives in upstate New York.

    More audiobooks from Lisa Lutz

    Related to Revenge of the Spellmans

    Related audiobooks

    Mystery For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Q&a With Richard Lui

      Mar 26, 2019

      Q&a With Richard Lui
      4 min read

    • Article

      Somehow I Became Respectable

      May 21, 2019

      Somehow I Became Respectable
      4 min read

    • Article

      More Than A Feeling

      Oct 13, 2019

      More Than A Feeling
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Beautiful Mind

      Jun 9, 2019

      A Beautiful Mind
      8 min read

    • Article

      Everyone Has 32 Teeth

      Sep 29, 2023

      Everyone Has 32 Teeth
      11 min read

    • Article

      Give Us An O!

      Dec 7, 2020

      Give Us An O!
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Ninth Step

      Aug 26, 2020

      The Ninth Step
      6 min read

    • Article

      'Wow, No Thank You': Samantha Irby Returns With An Antidote To Your Coronavirus Funk. You're Welcome.

      Apr 22, 2020

      CHICAGO - I should've written this Q&A with Samantha Irby about "Wow, No Thank You" - her latest incisive and brilliantly ribald essay collection - days ago. But, like many during this coronavirus moment, I couldn't focus. Instead, I found respite in

      5 min read

    • Article

      Dad’s Legacy Of Love

      May 14, 2020

      Standing on top of Senlac Hill in Hastings, I took my place in front of the camera. ‘Three…two… one… Action!’ my dad Martin, then 39, said in his best director’s voice. It was April 2000 and my homework was on the Battle of Hastings. Most other kids

      3 min read

    • Article

      A Kind Of Magic

      Oct 2, 2022

      The first thing I notice about my new therapy appointment is that I’ve worn the wrong shoes. I’ve done everything else correctly: washed my hair, used deodorant, selected an age-appropriate shirt, practised my calm and knowledgeable voice. But thongs

      5 min read

    • Article

      A Father’s Touch

      Jan 30, 2021

      A Father’s Touch
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Last hang Over

      Jan 18, 2024

      The Last hang Over
      7 min read

    • Article

      Dirty Daddy

      Sep 7, 2023

      Dirty Daddy
      6 min read

    • Article

      What I’ve Learned

      Nov 23, 2022

      What I’ve Learned
      3 min read

    • Article

      Samuel West

      Aug 30, 2021

      Samuel West
      5 min read

    • Article

      When My Son Came to Me

      Feb 6, 2023

      And I asked him... Baby, baby, be easy, so easy, because your father is hard.  And I craved things… To fuck but not his daddy, and so I ate peanut butter-banana sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and vanilla ice cream inside of espresso cups

      3 min read

    • Article

      Ask A Silly Question

      Aug 5, 2022

      I SIT IN THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE. He asks: “So, when did you know?” I say: “Always.” Because I’ve heard that simplicity gets results. It is one phrase that has spanned my lifetime. No matter what setting, country or occasion, it remains un defeatable. Li

      12 min read

    • Article

      I'm in Prison During the Shutdown. I Didn't Get "Holiday Steak."

      Jan 18, 2019

      We wait by the door for our turn at chow. It's Christmas dinner—really, early lunch since it's only 10:30 in the morning. Here, holiday meals are something to look forward to. They're never great, but the guys in the kitchen try hard. Life

      5 min read

    • Article

      Table Talk

      Jun 1, 2019

      Table Talk
      9 min read

    • Article

      Virginia Ironside

      Mar 6, 2024

      Q We live next door to two high-flying business people. They're lovely parents, when they're around – but the rest of the time the child is looked after by a French au pair and we can hear her screaming at the little girl. As a result the child is ve

      3 min read

    • Article

      Henry Winkler

      Jan 8, 2024

      Henry Winkler
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Revenge of the Spellmans

    4/5

    504 ratings66 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Just as fun as the first one. I started reading it on Saturday and finished it Monday afternoon. It's a fast read, but enjoyable at the same time.
    • 3/5
      Needed something quick and light after Grapes of Wrath.
    • 3/5
      great series. so funny. with a bit of romance.
    • 4/5
      Curse of the Spellmans is the second book in Lisa Lutz's Spellman series. This series follows the misadventures of Izzy Spellman, an overly suspicious private investigator with a dysfunctional family (most of whom are employed by the family's p.i. firm and love to spy on one another) and a long list of ex-boyfriends. In this installment of the series, Izzy notices that all the members of her family are behaving suspiciously so she begins to keep "Suspicious Behavior Reports" on them as well as her new next door neighbor and potential ex-boyfriend. Izzy practically wears herself out trying to spy on all these different people, and leaves little time and energy for the case that she is actually being paid to investigate - the vandalism of a widow's holiday yard displays which are exact replicas of the vandalisms that occurred when Izzy was a teenager and which she insists that she knows nothing about. Through the course of trying to solve all these mysteries, she gets arrested 2 times (or 4 times, but Izzy doesn't think arrests 2 and 3 should count), loses her rent-controlled apartment, and feels inadequate for never having been in the Olympics.

      The book remains consistent with the writing style that Lutz developed in The Spellman Files, the first book in the series. It is fun and quirky, with plenty of footnotes and even an appendix containing several lists including a list of ex-boyfriends. I still found the footnotes to be a little distracting and annoying, but they did break things up a bit and added some additional interest. And I still love Izzy. She consistently makes bad choices, but they are so funny! I should add, however, that this book continues to see her grow and mature, a process that she began in the first book. I am also very excited about the development of Henry Stone's character. I can't wait to see if he and Izzy ever have a romantic relationship! The book ended with something of a shocker concerning Izzy's status with in the family business - I won't divulge it here, but I have to admit that it has me intrigued enough that I already checked the next book out from the library and plan to start it soon.
    • 3/5
      A reliable entry in the series, good vacation reading.
    • 1/5
      Not funny.
    • 1/5
      I had some hopes after reading the first book that Lutz would stop forcing her characters to be so hopelessly quirky (solely for the sake of "humor") and concentrate on the plot, but this one is even worse. And, Izzy now makes cutesy comments on her own dialogue(!). And the wildest thing she does is go out the window and down the fire escape rather than through the house and out the door and all the other characters just think she's so outrageous and craaazy. Tedious!
    • 5/5
      Lisa Lutz writes another fantastically fun novel filled with the fabulous Spellman family. All the family members are back and up to their old investigating tricks in this sequel to The Spellman Files. The plot was fast paced but didn't pack the emotional punch that first book had. I did enjoy the larger role of Henry Stone as Rae's best friend and (possibly?) Izzy's new love interest. Actually, my favorite parts of the novel were Henry, Rae, and Izzy hanging out together because the dialogue between them was hysterical. Overall, a great addition to the Spellman series and I can't wait to read #3.
    • 4/5
      This book was hilarious! I didn?t like the ending though. It seemed strange to end such a funny book on a depressing note. I?ll still check out the next book in the series though because Izzy and Rae are the type of characters you can?t help but to get attached to.
    • 5/5
      This was just hilarity itself. It?s the third book (possibly, unfortunately, the final book) in the Series, and it ties up any and all loose ends while carrying through with its own plot. There were scenes in here that made me laugh out loud so hard I was getting weird looks from people around me, and at least one scene that made me cry. Definitely recommend this book -- but not if you haven?t read the other books in the series. If you have, I recommend you read the whole series...
    • 2/5
      A family of private investigators who get themselves involved in wacky cases. The 20 something Izzy Spellman is the focus of the books, and she works for the family business. She seems a less amusing version of Stephanie Plum.The first book, The Spellman Files was clever and funny. This second one is okay but a little heavy handed and the footnotes (yes! foonotes) are positively annoying.
    • 4/5
      My little mystery group decided to read Lutz's second title in the Spellman series for 2 reasons: 1. We read the first one in the series The Spellman Files and 2. It was in the bargain section. So we like cheap and familiar. Sue me.That being said, Lisa Lutz is a lunatic with a wild sense of humor and an obsession with footnotes. It was hilarious and mysterious, all at the same time. While I wanted to strangle the youngest Spellman in the first book, I have rather taken a like to the little witch (although I still might choke her a little if I hear "Shotgun!" one more time). The actual mystery (and yes, Virginia, there IS a mystery in this book) competed with several family mysteries... and all were resolved nicely. I enjoyed this book much more than I did the first. I listened to the first one and perhaps this is an author best savored in print rather than audio.I am looking forward to getting into the Spellmans again (I might not even wait for the next one to go to bargain). I recommend this author to fans of Janet Evanovich. Lutz is a very funny lady
    • 4/5
      Lisa Lutz made me laugh out loud again. You know that Izzy is misguided and way out of line. You know she's crossing boundries that she shouldn't, but you still root for her. Getting her act together would "spell" the end of the fun.
    • 5/5
      Again, don't read this for the "mystery" aspect if you're a mystery snob. Though the "main" set of unsolved circumstances does reappear on a regular basis with new facts to move the quest along, this is not the primary to read Spellman books. Even if no one, but no one, would think you could be addicted to a series about a 30-year-old virtual juvenile delinquent and her seemingly dysfunctional family, these books will such you in (hard, fast, as if into a vortex). I highly recommend that you read them with a friend, preferably in the same room, though. Otherwise you'll be trying to read 2-3 page passages to whoever is with you, and if they're reading, say, an analysis of management styles in the Afghan conflict, much as they love you, they just won't appreciate the humor the way you are.
    • 4/5
      I *really* enjoy this series - the quirkiness of the family has grown on me. And Christina Moore's narration of the books really brings the characters to life.
    • 4/5
      This second installment in the Spellman series does not disappoint. How many times can Izzy get arrested in a three month period? Does the "Subject" have something to hide? What's the deal with Mr. and Mrs. Spellman's disappearances? If Rae growing up? All these questions are answered in this book. This is a fast read series that will keep you guessing and laughing out loud. If you thought your family was dysfunctional, read on and feel normal!Recommended for anyone who wants a just for fun read.
    • 5/5
      HILARIOUS! Izzy, Rae and the entire Spellman family (including Henry Stone) make me giggle. The way this book ends it seems a third story will follow! It would be a shame if one didn't because if you are in a bad mood read these books and you'll start to grin!
    • 5/5
      I love the Spellman books! These books are absolutely hilarious. The Spellman family returns in Lutz's newest Spellman novel. Isabel is endlessly intrigued by her parents' new neighbor, while Rae nearly stalks Henry Stone. Izabel fins herself being arrested numerous times throughout the novel under incredibly hilarious circumstances and her perfect brother, David is acting really funny lately....
    • 5/5
      Two words: Henry Stone (I love him!) and can't wait to read more of his relationships with the Spellman clan.
    • 3/5
      Sequel to The Spellman Files. Izzy and her dysfunctional family return for another set of humorous investigations. Izzy is obsessed with the mysterious new next-door neighbor. Rae is now a teenager and shows an occasional sign of normality, although her attachment to adult policeman Henry Stone illustrates all the things she's not getting from her parents. The story lines are negligible and serve only to give the characters space in which to be eccentric. The humor doesn't quite work for me; I didn't have any trouble finishing the book, but it will soon return to the library garage for their next book sale.
    • 5/5
      A great follow-up to the Spellman Files. You got to know the characters a little more and appreciate their quirks. It's entertaining to follow Izzy along when she has tunnel vision. Hope there are more to come!
    • 4/5
      This was a great listen! Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Even better than the first one! Usually, a sequel to a unique book is never quite as good but Lutz manages to take all the great stuff from the first (wacky situations, wonderful characters, hilarious dialogue) and add a little depth to the main character as well. This series is funnier (and infinitely more clever) than the Evanovich series.
    • 5/5
      It's here it's here it's here!!!! Finally. I've been waiting for this sequel for what seems like years. I'm waiting till tonight before I break the seal and delve into Lutz's pleasingly nuerotic family.I read this in 24 hours. Would have been less, but darn real life kept intruding. I say this, because, unless abslutely forced to, this book is one that sucks you in and demands you continue until you're finished. Izzy is arrested 4 times throughout the book. Though 2 and 3 don't count she inists. There are several mysteries to unravel in the book, most I figure out right away, including the "Suspects" story. The fact that I solved the mysteries quickly in no way detracted from Lutz's magic in telling the story, through recorded conversations and reports, to your basic telling of the tale. I am impatiently waiting for the next installment, hoping there will be one. These books are freaking awesome, and I can't get enough of Izzy.
    • 5/5
      Pages and pages of fun. Even more enjoyable than the first.
    • 5/5
      Izzy Spellman, PI, is at the epicenter of all the drama involving her file-snooping, car-following, information finagling family who all happen to be private investigators too. But for Izzy, being a private investigator is more than just a job, it?s an obsession. So when a new neighbor moves in who seems to have too many locked doors and only vague answers, Izzy?s inner snoop goes into hyperdrive.Also, Izzy?s best friend and brother are hiding their dirty laundry from the family, creating an insatiable itch in Izzy that needs to be scratched. If that wasn?t enough, Izzy?s younger sister Rae decides to take an almost stalker-like interest in Investigator Henry Stone, Izzy?s ?best friend?.After Izzy?s fourth arrest in three months (yes, I said fourth), she finds herself recounting the events of the previous months to her lawyer in an effort to establish her defense and keep her out of jail. This is the point where we find Izzy at the beginning of ?Curse of the Spellmans? as she recounts the twisted and poorly executed (by Izzy, not the author) sequence of events that befell her despite her good intentions.Lutz easily surpasses her entertaining first book, ?The Spellman Files?, taking the story of Izzy and her family to a new level. Her ?screenplay? writing style makes this book an effortless read as the dialogue and action flow along. The first person narrative gives unique insight into Izzy?s thoughts and really amplifies the quirkiness of the story, making the novel a joy to read. Lutz delves even further into the character development in this book, enriching the story line and creating a strong connection between the reader and the characters. An interesting feature of the series is Lutz?s use of footnotes (yes, footnotes!). Although some readers may find this odd or distracting, I found it useful and insightful to the story. The footnotes help clarify things that otherwise may have left the reader scratching their head without bogging down the overall flow of the story. Last word:Izzy?s insatiable appetite to uncover the truth behind every secret, along with her blatant disregard for personal safety, property, and the laws of modern civilization make ?Curse of the Spellmans? one heck of a page-turner. The characters are charming and lovable, displaying the qualities, both good and bad, that make them easy to relate to. Overall, ?Curse of the Spellmans? is a lighthearted and entertaining romp that will have you on the edge of your seat as you wait with baited breath to find out what?s the next knuckle-headed thing Izzy is going to do. Lisa Lutz has written a winner.
    • 4/5
      This is the second book in the Spellman series. While I enjoy the series and the mysteries, I'm getting a little weary of the constant footnotes and bouncing around in time. It was very funny the first time, wearing a little thin this time. I'll try the next in the series and see if it still annoys me but this might be my last Lutz for a while.
    • 4/5
      3 1/2 stars for this one.Curse of the Spellmans is the sequel to The Spellman Files, a novel about an unconventional family that runs a private investigation firm. I really enjoyed The Spellman Files--it's light, amusing, and there is an inventive quality to the narrator, Izzy Spellman's, manner of conveying her story. Because of her training as a P.I., Izzy tells us everything in the form of case file reports and transcripts of secret recordings. What worked for the first novel lost some of its quirky charm for me in the second novel simply because I expected it. However, that is not to say that I didn't enjoy Curse of the Spellmans, because I certainly did.Izzy Spellman is now 30 years old and has spent half of her life working for her parents' private investigation firm. Because she was exposed to this lifestyle in her impressionable years, Izzy is pathologically suspicious of everyone and everything, and she lacks the ability to compartmentalize her work life and her personal life. With skills like surveillance, lock picking, on-the-spot lying, GPS tracking, and performing routine background checks, woe upon you if Izzy thinks you're hiding something from her. As one might expect, this wrecks any chance Izzy has for a normal romantic relationship. Izzy fast-forwards through the whole "getting to know you" stage of a blossoming romance in favor of gaining DOB and SSN to rummage around in the prospective romantic interest's background. This usually leads to some serious trust issues on the part of the men who fall for Izzy and, as a result, Izzy is still single. And it's just this pattern of thinking that leads her to believe that her next-door-neighbor-and-potential-future-boyfriend is hiding a criminal past behind his suspiciously average name and an even more suspiciously locked door in his home. In addition to this mystery, Izzy's family members seem to have secrets of their own and Izzy, a complete stranger to the concept of personal privacy, begins to ferret out why her brother's wife seems to have disappeared, why her mother runs suspicious errands at 2:30 a.m., why her father is rapidly losing weight, and why her loner sister suddenly has friends no one in the family has ever met.If this sounds like another light, chick-lit screwball comedy, it is. The novels don't focus on the serious investigations of the Spellman Agency and instead focus on what happens in a family trying to keep secrets and boundaries when their bread-and-butter is to cross boundaries as a routine part of discovering the secrets of others. The mysteries really don't matter. They're simply vehicles for getting to know this bizarre and dysfunctional and frequently amusing family.
    • 3/5
      In the second novel in The Spellman Series, the reader returns to the comical adventures of Izzy Spellman, PI. When a handsome but mysterious young man moves into next door to her parent's investigation business (and occasionally Izzy's home), Izzy becomes obsessed in her endeavor to discover John Brown's past. She is driven to succeed, if she only her investigations would not be interrupted by her periodic arrests. The series is an addictive read precipitating laugh-at-loud moments, especially during family interactions.
    • 4/5
      Another bundle of goofy fun. I'm starting to think Ms. Lutz may be a genius. There is no other explanation for my laughing out loud at some of the daft Dad-jokes in this book.