Spellman Six (The Spellman Files #6) – Lisa Lutz

The sixth and final (to date) installment of The Spellman Files series sees Izzy at a crossroads in her life.  Having instigated a coup against her parents and becoming the majority shareholder of Spellman Investigations, Izzy quickly finds herself in over her head.

Izzy’s benefactor, Mr. Slaytor, who bankrolled her ability to gain majority ownership of her family’s detective agency, asks her to investigate a company prior to a corporate takeover.  While Izzy is preoccupied with that job, her sister Rae begins work as a mysterious Conflict Resolution Specialist offering little to no explanation as to what she’s actually doing (par for the course for the Spellmans).  Meanwhile, a sudden deluge of funds in the company account has the FBI sniffing around looking for answers.  The bills are piling up and the Spellman parental unit have begun slacking off.  Can Izzy gain control or will Spellman Investigations become a thing of the past?

I have no idea how Lisa Lutz plots these books.  I feel like she bunkers down in a basement with three tack boards, a sharpie, a stack of cue cards and a mile of red string.  Not only are there seemingly a half dozen storylines occurring at the same time, but she has to try and outsmart people who outsmart others for a living while maintaining an air of believability.  There’s no point in this book or the preceding five where you feel like Lutz has anything less than full control of where things are going and her track record leaves you with no reason to doubt her.  I’m not sure Lisa has ever met a plot hole she didn’t fill with a wheelbarrow of gravel.

If you’re a fan of the series, then I can’t imagine you would have a problem with Spellman Six.  The comedy is here on full display and Izzy is as charming as ever.  She’s the kind of person you would absolutely love to share a drink with, but would laugh at you and call you an idiot for wanting to do so.  Now that I’ve read all six novels, I’m going to miss her whisky soaked retorts.  Hell, I’m going to miss the whole Spellman clan.

If this truly is the end of the Spellman series, it’s hard to complain where Lutz leaves the story.  For purely selfish reasons, I could read another half dozen of these books, but I could say that for a handful of other series that leave well before I’m ready to say goodbye.  I’m absolutely going to check out the rest of Lutz’s catalog sooner rather than later.