CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS

TITLE: CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS
AUTHOR: LISA LUTZ
Pages: 407
Date: 03/02/2010
Grade: 4
Details: no. 2 The Spellmans
Library

Before I get into the story in the book, I have to address the cover of the copy I read.
Who designed it? Did they read the book before coming up with the picture? (Probably not.) Did they even bother to find out what the story was about? (Unlikely). For those who tend to  judge a book by it's cover let me say the following: no investigations are conducted on a bicycle, and no dogs are part of the investigation. I can't believe nobody involved in the publication of this book picked up on these, rather obvious, flaws.
With that off my chest, I can now focus on the story.
When Izzy Spellman is arrested for the fourth time in three months it is her elderly lawyer friend, Morty, who bails her out. It is also Morty who points out to her that this time it is serious and she'll have to explain herself in court and maybe face jail. Morty however is more than willing to defend her, provided Izzy gives him the full story.
And as Izzy tells her story we learn about four months filled with suspicious behaviour.
There is her father who is constantly coming home with wet hair, her mother's mysterious midnight excursions, and her brother's sudden and radical change in behaviour. But most of all, there is the very suspicious new neigbour of her parent's, John Brown (a very suspicious name to begin with), who won't give any details of his past and is behaving in a most suspicious way overall.
Izzy being Izzy can't help herself and has to investigate, finding herself at the wrong end of many sticks and in no end of trouble.
This really is an outrageous book, with a story that has very little to do with life in the real world. And there were times when I just wasn't sure if I even liked the book. 
But... I had a hard time putting this book down. The characters and the absurd story captivated me, and I'm now looking forward to reading the third instalment fairly soon.