The Last Word by Lisa Lutz

from goodreads

4.5 stars

Before university I read all the time. At least, whenever I wasn't doing homework, I would be reading. At the time I wasn't the fastest or most discerning reader, but it didn't really matter. I just loved reading. (And here I mean reading for pleasure, not because I had to.)

During my university time, I didn't have time to read anything except my text books. There was studying, euchre, doing crazy things with friends, that kept my leisure reading at bay.

After university the kids came a long and I was in a daze and wasn't even thinking about reading. But, eventually, by the time Miss G. was one, I knew I had to get back into the habit of reading. Reading for me, not reading stories for the kids. I had that habit down. It helped that I was in easy walking distance from the library at that time. I joined the book club at that branch  (that is where I met my current book club ladies, whom I am thankful for every day!) which totally helped me get into the habit of reading. It did start with being only a book a month. Now, I am reading more, much to the detriment of the tidiness of my house.

I am so glad that I got back into reading. I feel like I am playing catch up with all the books I missed during my non-reading time. So many books, so little time.

Synopsis

This is the next document in the life of Isabel Spellman, a PI living in San Francisco. Her family is crazy, her "friends" are interesting, and her life seems a bit of a mess.

My Thoughts

The Spellman series is one of my favourites. I recommend reading the series from the beginning. While the 5th book wasn't my favourite, I still was looking forward to reading this latest installment. I was not disappointed.

I love the character of Isabel (aka Izzy). She is raw, real, and completely true to herself. In other books I wanted to yell "grow up already", as she could be rather immature at times. But in this book I didn't feel like doing this. While she still came back with one liners or responses that made you roll you eyes, she seemed to be more comfortable in her own skin. I love how she treats everyone the same, whether it is a CEO of a company or a homeless person on the street.

Even her family seemed to be getting into a groove of being comfortable with each other and not always sabotaging or spying on each other.

From what I understand this is the last book in the series from Izzy's point of view. But, I think the Spellman's stories are going to be told but from the point of view from Rae. It will be interesting to see if I like Rae's voice or not, as for most of the books she was one of my least favourite characters.

Since this is most likely to be the last Izzy book, I liked how Lutz ended things. It was not all wrapped up pretty with a bow, and that's a good thing. Izzy is not a wrapped up in a pretty bow type of person. I felt that this book really stayed to true to her and to the readers.

In the acknowledgments, I love to read them for some reason, the last paragraph was written to the readers. She said "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." I loved this. If Izzy's life all of the sudden was perfect, with a functioning relationship, success in business etc., it wouldn't have been real and probably would have put the readers up for a loop. I'm glad that Lutz, stayed true to her character and thoughtful to her readers. This was the perfect way to end. While I will Miss Izzy's adventure, I feel satisfied with things, and where, it seems, her life is heading. It is nice when you can feel satisfied at the end of a series, instead of wishing for more.

If you are looking for a bizarre, funny and charming series, give the Spellman's a try. It starts with The Spellman Files.