Trail of the Spellmans

Document #5

By: Lisa Lutz

Narrated by: Christina Moore

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

The fifth installment in the New York Times best-selling series by Lisa Lutz, featuring the fearless private investigator Izzy Spellman and her quirky, yet endearing, family of sleuths.

For the first time in Spellman history, Isabel Spellman might be the most normal member of her family. Mom has taken on an outrageous assortment of extracurricular activities. Dad has a secret. Her brother and sister are at war, but neither will reveal the source of the conflict. While domestic disturbances abound, there is one source of sanity in the Spellman household: Demetrius Merriweather, employee of the month for 18 months straight.

Things aren't any simpler on the business side of Spellman Investigations. First, Rae is hired to follow a girl, only to fake the surveillance reports. Then a socialite has Isabel tail her husband, despite a conspicuous lack of suspicion. A man in a sweater vest hires the Spellmans to follow his sister, who turns out to be the socialite. Izzy won't stop hunting for the answers - even when they threaten to shatter both the business and the family.

Listeners are sure to love the next novel in a "series that keeps getting better and better". (Publishers Weekly)

©2012 Lisa Lutz (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Another great Spellman story

What about Christina Moore???s performance did you like?

Christina Moore does a great job with the narration.

Any additional comments?

You become part of the family in this series. The characters really draw you in. Isabel gets to be the sane member of the family in this one which is saying a lot.

Trials of the Spellmans

Love all her books..have listened to them numerous times..she is one of my favorite authors

I enjoyed it well enough but....

Would you try another book from Lisa Lutz and/or Christina Moore?

Ms. Moore's performance was excellent it is what pulled me through to the end.

Would you ever listen to anything by Lisa Lutz again?

I'm done with the Spellmans. This book was not awful, but the first four were excellent and this was not.

Good book, bad voice acting

The story was good but the narrator was really annoying. Not very crisp, no inflections at all. Got annoying.

Luvs me some Spelmans!

Lutz never disappoints and she's done it again. Get ready for a Rae that can drive, a David that doesn't patronize or judge, and parents who still have a few secrets. Lutz is often described as a West-coast Janet Evanovich, but these characters are fleshier and more unpredictable.

Excellent

I love the Spellmans. Very entertaining and heartwarming So sad that she breaks up with Henry

An escape from life complications

I love these characters and I have so enjoyed these stories to take me away from everyday stresses. The narrator is excellent as she captures each unique character with their own voice.

Hooray for Lutz and the Spellmans!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. The plot is interesting and surprising. I laughed out loud many times, and find myself musing about the delightful mind that constructed these unusual and peculiar characters. As usual, the narrator is superb---I love anything she reads.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I enjoyed the combination of interest in the machinations of the Spellman family and the sub-plots of their "investigations." I felt impatient to know how the plot lines would unravel, but found myself disappointed when the book came to an end.

Have you listened to any of Christina Moore’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Every one of Christina Moore's audio books are terrific---This one was no exception. I could listen to her for days.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book is hysterically funny, subtly chuckle-worthy---a great treat.

Thoroughly Izzy! An enjoyable Listen.

Although I prefer the previous narrator Ari Graynor, this book carries on in similar fashion with the beautiful semi-dysfunctional Spellman clan hard at work as private investigators. Most of the time its more fun listen how they constantly try to get the goods on one another as much as those they are hired to snoop on. If you are a fan of light-hearted mysteries and suspense then this carries on the tradition of Evanovich and Kolzak and will not disappoint!

Spellmans++

If you could sum up Trail of the Spellmans in three words, what would they be?

Characters you Love to hate. (Oops! That's five words.)

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot didn't exactly keep me on the edge of my seat. These books aren't like that, but if you've read the first four books, you already know that. This book does offer the reader more of what you would expect from Lisa Lutz and her family of Spellman Characters.

What about Christina Moore’s performance did you like?

This is the first of the five books I listened to as an audio book. Christina Moore did an excellent job bringing life to these characters without taking anything from the story. Indeed, she only added to my enjoyment. I gave her all five stars.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed a few times, as expected.

Any additional comments?

Lisa Lutz has done something wonderfully different from the standard narrative with these stories. They are completely character driven and oddly enough (pleasantly enough? Differently enough?) they have very little external conflict. She has done a great job of creating a set of characters interesting enough to perform such a feat.

I gave this particular story 4 stars (5 overall, counting Christina Moore's reading) only because I felt it on par with the rest of the books in the series, which I would definitely rate as 5 stars. When this series first came out, I felt it was quite different and intriguing in its presentation. Seeing as this was the 5th book, I felt it was time the author start pushing the envelope of this series a bit. Whether Ms. Lutz does this or not in the 6th book, I'm sure I'll be there to buy it if, and when, it comes out.