I'm enjoying this series of dysfunction, bad relationships, & intrigue. I like that the series is written as a report & love the footnotes ( )

Excellent addition to the Spellman case files, although it's weird that Izzy is the most grown-up. I love Sydney and D. They're great additions. ( )

Trail of the Spellmans is the fifth novel in the Spellman Series by Lisa Lutz.

Plot:
Spellman Investigations is busy as usual, but also as usual, Izzy has to keep a close eye on her family members as well because something is going on with pretty much all of them. Rae and David aren’t speaking, and neither is David’s little daughter Sydney. Rae has gone off to college. Izzy’s mother keeps finding new hobbies for herself so that she is barely home – only it doesn’t seem like she actually likes her new activities. And Henry’s mother is coming to visit and, what is even worse, Henry wants to have a talk with Izzy – two encounters Izzy has been trying to avoid by sneaking and hiding, her usual strategies. And Izzy’s father is working a case that seems to be connected to her own, but he won’t let Izzy peek at his files. Things are complicated indeed.

Trail of the Spellmans gives us some nice twists and turns that continue in the Spellman series tradition, but also add some new elements. It was fun and enjoyable until it ripped out my heart.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2020/11/27/trail-of-the-spellmans-lisa-lutz/ ( )

This can't be the end of Isabel and her dsyFUNctional family! ( )

Damn it book.

How can a book so irreverent and amusing also end with me in tears? Several points in this book hit far too close to home for me to be comfortable with. Suffice to say, this book was every bit as wonderful as the last few installments though a tad bit more serious.

The best way to sum up this book is with a quote: "Everything changes, and we change with it."

This book deserves a far longer review, but I honestly can't give it. ( )