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(101 reviews)
Author: Visit Amazon's Lisa Lutz Page
ISBN : 1451686668
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Format: PDF
Download electronic versions of selected books Epub The Last Word: A Spellman Novel (Spellman: Document) Hardcover from mediafire, rapishare, and mirror link
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*Starred Review* Trouble always has a way of finding Isabel Spellman, the snarky, whip-smart sleuth at the heart of Lutz’s best-selling series. Although Izzy has plenty of clients to keep her busy, much of her time is devoted to dealing with the mischievous staff at Spellman Investigations, aka her own family. Her mother and father lack any semblance of professionalism, opting to hide out in their bedroom sipping coffee rather than attending firm meetings (or do much work, for that matter). And Izzy’s sassy younger sister, Rae, has proved herself a master (mistress?) of blackmail and bribes. This time around, however, Izzy’s woes stem not from next of kin but from an uberwealthy former client named Edward Slayter, who’s accused Izzy of embezzlement. Slayter, it turns out, has early-stage Alzheimer’s and is desperate to hide his diagnosis from colleagues and friends. Izzy is doing her best to keep Slayter’s secret—and save her own neck. Many of Lutz’s quirky characters make appearances here, from Izzy’s charming ex-boyfriend (and San Francisco cop) Henry Stone to her brother, David, who’s traded the buttoned-up world of high finance for the demanding—and disheveled—life of a stay-at-home dad. Edgar-nominated Lutz is in fine form, delivering another killer whodunit packed with plot twists and wit. --Allison Block
Review
"The Last Word is Raymond Chandler meets Arrested Development. Zany, witty and full of dark surprises, Lisa Lutz's novel is pure fun-and Izzy Spellman, PI, tops the list of 'Fictional Characters I'd Like to Meet for a Bourbon.'"
(Gillian Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl)
“The sly trick of Lisa Lutz’s Spellman novels is that they’re so funny and so smart that you’re taken by surprise by all the insights they offer---about loneliness, about the tumult of love and most of all about the tender chaos of families. Like Raymond Chandler-meets-Salinger’s Glass family, with The Last Word, Lutz offers her richest, funniest and most bittersweet Spellman tale to date.”
(Megan Abbott, author of THE END OF EVERYTHING and DARE ME)
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Direct download links available for Epub The Last Word: A Spellman Novel (Spellman: Document) Hardcover
- Series: Spellman: Document (Book 6)
- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (July 9, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1451686668
- ISBN-13: 978-1451686661
- Product Dimensions: 1.3 x 6.3 x 9.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Epub The Last Word: A Spellman Novel
This is the 6th book in the Spellman series and the last book by Lisa Lutz that I will read. And that should be a shame because she has a commanding way with words and a unique approach to progressing a story line. She is definitely a good author, in both her technical command of the craft and in her ability to stir feelings in her readers. So what happened with this book that has made me decide to remove her from my reading list?
First, the emotional and psychological tone of each book, since the 2nd, has deteriorated steadily. But, in this book, the doom, despair and desperation are oozing out of every pore of every page, right from the opening paragraph. I just wanted to get to the end so that the continual stupidity and constant emotional bloodletting would end.
Secondly, on the last page of the book, in the last paragraph of the page, the author truly wrote "THE LAST WORD." Shades of Sookie Stackhouse, she defended the way she wrote the end of the book/series.
Every author has their own personal belief system and that system almost invariably shows up in his or her novels as an extension of one or more character's personalities. Every author writes either for him or herself or for a target audience or some combination thereof. And no author should feel that he or she needs to apologize for what he or she writes or why he or she writes it.
That being said, here are the words of the defense, THE LAST WORD of the book:
"Finally, I'd like to thank my readers for staying with me all these years. I especially want to thank the ones who understand that the world isn't made up of happy endings, but messy, complicated, and untidy ones."
No happy endings? Nothing but mess, complications and untidiness?
Izzy is in a bit of a bind. After performing a hostile takeover of the family business, she's now the boss but that doesn't mean that anyone listens to her. In fact, both of her parents are doing everything they can to undermine her authority - somewhat understandable considering Izzy became a bit of a dictator there for a while. But now the bank records are kind of wonky and Izzy is being accused of embezzling from one of her clients. She knows it's a set up but the feds aren't going to just take her word for it.
Each and every new Spellman book (or book from Lisa Lutz for that matter) is a guaranteed hilarious read! THE LAST WORD was certainly no exception in that regard. If you've not had the pleasure, you're really missing out. Never fear, all previous five books are now out in paperback and if you're really anxious, you can kind of dive in with this sixth installment without issue (but you'll have to go back to the beginning to get all the references.)
I'm kind of in awe of how Lisa Lutz's brain works. I mean she includes footnotes for goodness sake! If you've read any of her books, you know her characters are pretty carefully drawn, too: she's got individual profiles of each one, even going so far as to outline their childhood antics as well (some of which play into individual stories).
Plus, she's done this: http://howtonegotiateeverything.com/ Oh, yes, it's for real. Lisa Lutz is a bit of a genius in my opinion!
(Is it wrong for me to say that Izzy Spellman is kind of my hero? I mean, I know she's a thirty-something who isn't really all that grown up, but I'm a thirty-something who doesn't really FEEL all that grown up! And while I'd never do half the things Izzy does, it's mostly because I'd never have the nerve.
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