The Last Word
by Lisa Lutz
Simon & Schuster, July 2013, $25.00
The Spellmans, led (reluctantly) by PI Isabel "Izzy" Spellman, are back just in time to sleuth away those summertime blues. The Last Word launches with Spellman Investigations embroiled in a labor dispute—Izzy has staged an agency coup, and mom and dad have gone on strike in protest. What's more, rebellious kid sister Rae comes back to the fold trailing nothing but trouble behind her, and now Izzy has been accused of embezzling from one of the agency's VIP clients—an accusation that threatens to strip Spellman of her license, her reputation, and Spellman Investigations.
Will the contentious clan be able to set aside their quarrels long enough to kiss and save the family business? Family dysfunction has never been so madcap, hilarious, or ultimately poignant. Perhaps the best Spellman novel yet. (Read a review of Curse of the Spellmans, the 2008 book that began the series.)
"For me, the books I read were the call—the call to adventure, to thinking, to acknowledging other points of view. But to complete the ritual, I needed to respond."
I am surrounded by books. Every room, every space in my large, sprawling 1750s house is full of books...
Our history and experiences can define us, inspire our actions, and as writers impact our words and stories. Mine most definitely has: my father was a small-time gangster. Really.
"My ah-ha moment came when I read The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.... That was it for me – I was off to the races."
Nietzsche once wrote, “There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”
"Mystery books were daring and exciting, firing up my imagination and making me yearn to become a girl detective or even a secret agent. They also empowered me to make up impromptu ghost stories around the campfire for my Girl Scout troop and sneak into the cemetery at night on a dare."
Fire and Ashes, the latest Angela Richman Death Investigator mystery, is an exploration of a fatal fire. To research this novel, Viets delved into the devastating consequences of junk science and arson investigations.
