Reading Group Guide
This reading group guide includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Lisa Lutz. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.Introduction
Lisa Lutz is back with the third installment in her sleuth series, Revenge of the Spellmans. Still reeling from the confinement of a restraining order and court-ordered therapy (See previous document, Curse of the Spellmans), Isabel Spellman finds herself removed from her investigative life, serving drinks in a Bay Area dive bar.
But when her boss, Milo, insists that she do some detective work for one of his friends, Izzy is thrown back into the business, as one curiosity leads to countless more. What ensues is a hilarious and mysterious case of mistaken identities, dysfunctional relationships, and much-needed family therapy.
Isabel -- under the pressure of inheriting the family business, taming her manipulative sister, uncovering her brother's strange actions, and getting to the bottom of her one and only commissioned case -- finds herself broke, living secretly in someone else's apartment, and being blackmailed by an unknown assailant.
As new and old romances surface, friends leave, and jobs disappear (well, she was fired), everything in Izzy's world is about to change, and she is left with a choice: grow up or get left behind.
Questions for Discussion
1. The story begins and ends with a therapy session. Do you think Isabel has made anypersonal progress through the narrative? Has she simply resurrected an inclination to investigate and tail everyone she meets? What do you make of the different approaches of her two therapists? Is Dr. Rush going to tame the Spellmans?
2. How do you view morality throughout the novel? Discuss, in particular, Olivia's doctoring of Rae's grades, the various forms of blackmail by assorted parties, Henry and Isabel's revenge, and Morty's exaggerated illness.
3. In the same respect, how do you feel about the seemingly endless violations of trust and privacy that Rae practices?
4. Many romantic relationships appear throughout the narrative. Do Connor and Isabel stand a chance? What about the underlying tension between Henry and Isabel? The blossoming romance between Gabe and Petra? David and Maggie? Ernie and Sharon/Linda?
5. Continuing in the spirit of prior Spellman Files, footnotes play an important part in the reading experience of the novel. How did they affect the flow of the narrative? Were the helpful? Distracting? Purely comical? Informative?
6. Isabel describes Connor as "one of those people," (p. 161), referring to his ability to express his emotions without embarrassment or reservation. Is Izzy truly irked by this, or does she envy Connor's unflinching candor? Look at some of the conversations and transcripts between Izzy and her various counterparts, and discuss the instances of both guardedness and full disclosure. Consider her therapists, lunches with her father, Henry, David, Morty, and Milo.
7. How do you envision Rae's future? Is she the craftiest Spellman yet? Why can't she seem to be kept under control?
8. Who do you think is the sanest Spellman? Or is that an oxymoron?
9. By the story's end, the mystery has full unraveled, and all blackmailers, tailers, private investigators, and artificers are revealed. Was there a moment in the text before the end that you uncovered the mystery? Who was your first guess for Isabel's blackmailer? What did you make of the political consultant?
10. Discuss Isabel's clandestine inhabitance of David's basement apartment. Was she crazy to think that she wouldn't be caught? Should David have been angrier? Though we find out that David is simply having a form of MILFO, what were your hunches as to his sudden weight loss and truancy?
Enhancing Your Book Club
1. Read descriptions and reviews of Lutz's previous two documents at SimonandSchuster.com. (If you haven't heard, The Spellman Files and Curse of the Spellmans are available in paperback). Use these two preceding tales as a companion piece for Revenge.
2. Perform a mock stake-out (within the limits of the law, please) of a local eatery or luncheonette. Use your novice detective skills to make Spellman-like observations about some of the passersby. What can you discern about people through focused observation?
3. Go to http://lisalutz.com/bio and read/watch the various interviews and Q&A's on the right side of the page. Hear Lutz's insight into her fictional world and discuss how this racks up against your interpretations as a reader. Or, just enjoy a funny and smart author!
4. Possibly the most venerated of detectives/PI's is Sherlock Holmes, the masterful discerner created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Read any one of his capers (collected in a number of anthologies) and compare the intrigue that develops with the more airy, light-hearted mystery of the Spellmans.
5. Use old magazines to cut and paste together your own ransom note. If you feel so inclined, make it an invitation to a friend for a trip to some cultural destination (a zoo, museum, or play). For those with children, see if you can compose a request for a car wash. (And fess up quickly before your loved ones think they're REALLY being blackmailed!)
A Conversation with Lisa Lutz
1. How do you decide where you are going to insert footnotes, use the appendix, or include explanation within the body text? Is it an arbitrary process, or do you have a certain type of idea/factoid that you like to use for each part of the book?
It's a pretty organic process. Sometimes it's just a detail that doesn't fit in the main text that still seems necessary. An investigator, I would imagine, would always be obsessed with the minutiae.
2. Are we to trust Isabel? With her proclivity for paranoia and her lack of sleep, she can come off as a relatively unstable character. Do you intend for the reader to question her perspective?
I don't trust Isabel, so I don't see any reason why you should. She's a human being with her share of flaws -- paranoia being one of them. And sleep deprivation can do funny things to a person.
3. Have you ever done detective work of your own? Do you think it's immoral to snoop on someone?
I worked for a private investigative agency briefly. I rarely had the opportunity to snoop. I have certain rules for snooping, under which anything out in the open is fair game. But I also think, in light of some current trends in our culture, that privacy should be respected. I investigate more directly. I tend to ask a lot of questions and don't feel satisfied until I have the answer.
4. Who do you consider to be the most cunning Spellman? By the end of Revenge, one might be led to believe that Rae has the upper hand on the rest of her family. Do you see Rae inheriting the Spellman legacy?
Rae is definitely the most cunning Spellman. However, in a war, Isabel would never let Rae win the final battle. As for who will inherit the Spellman legacy, I'm not sure that has been decided yet.
5. What's your writing process like? How do you map out the various beats and misdirections that make a Spellman novel?
My writing process is chaos. I usually start with an overarching theme. Then I establish several story threads, but I don't outline. I just start writing and keep notes for what may come. It's an organic process that's usually pretty flexible.
6. Are there more documents in the works?
The fourth installment, The Spellmans Strike Again, is currently in the works.
7. Who would win a battle of wits between Sherlock Holmes, Dick Tracy, Inspector Clouseau, Angela Lansbury's Jessica Fletcher, Isabel, and Rae?
Sherlock Holmes would definitely win in a battle of wits. But if he kept company with Isabel and Rae, his drug addiction would eventually bring him to ruin.
8. Is family therapy going to be something that continues with the Spellmans? Is there any hope for some sort of familial evolution? Can they trust each other?
No, the family quits therapy. But I do think they continue to evolve and will eventually build some semblance of trust. You can't be suspicious 24/7. It's too exhausting.
9. Is Isabel capable of maintaining a romantic relationship? Is Connor destined to be ex-boyfriend #12?
I think this question will be answered in future books. No need for a spoiler.
10. What advice would you give to someone squatting in an apartment that isn't theirs? Say, for instance, they have a friend who is away on business for an extended period of time, and that said friend has been liberal in the distribution of "emergency keys." Should they tell their friend, or simply wash the sheets and refill all pilfered liquor? Your answer would be much appreciated!
Take pictures before you move in. Try to restore the place to its previous condition based on the photos. But, definitely, wash the sheets, do the dishes, and don't eat all the food and absolutely no pay-per-view.
Read an Excerpt
The Philosopher's Club
Tuesday
An unknown male -- approximately fifty-five years old, with an almost full head of gray hair, a slight build, an even slighter paunch, and a weathered but friendly face, garbed in a snappy suit and a not-unpleasant tie -- walked into the bar. He sat down at the counter and nodded a silent hello.
"What can I get you?" I said.
"Coffee," Unknown Male replied.
"Irish coffee?" I asked.
"Nope. Just the regular stuff."
"You know, they got coffee shops, if you're into that sort of thing."
"It's three in the afternoon," Unknown Male replied.
"It's still a bar," I responded, and poured a mug of the stale brew. "Cream and sugar?" I asked.
"Black," he answered. Unknown Male took a sip and grimaced. He pushed the mug back in my direction and said, "Cream and sugar."
"Thought so."
Unknown Male put a five-dollar bill on the bar and told me to keep the change. I rang two dollars into the cash register and put the remaining three into the tip jar.
"You Isabel?" Unknown Male asked.
"Who's asking?" I replied.
"Ernest Black," the less-unknown male said, stretching out his hand. "My friends call me Ernie."
I shook it, because that's what you do, and then picked up a dishrag and began drying some glasses, because that's what bartenders do.
"I heard you used to be a detective," Ernie said.
"Where'd you hear that?"
"I was in here the other day talking to Milo."
"You and Milo friends?" I asked.
"We're not enemies. Anyway, Milo said you used to be a detective."
"Private investigator," I corrected him, and dried some more glasses.
There was a long pause while Ernie tried to figure out howto keep the conversation going.
"It looks like you're a bartender now," Ernie said.
"So it seems."
"Is this like a career path or more like a rest stop on a longer journey?" he asked.
"Huh?" I said, even though I understood what Ernie was getting at.
"I'm just wondering, are you planning on doing this bartender thing long-term or do you think you might go back into the PI business some¬where down the line?"
I casually put down the glass and the dishrag. I reached over the bar and grabbed Ernie by the not-unpleasant tie he was wearing and leaned in close enough to smell his stale coffee breath.
"Tell my mother that if she wants to know my plans for the future, she should ask me herself!"
Wednesday
My dad walked into the bar. Albert Spellman is his name. I'd been expecting him. Three o'clock on Wednesday is his usual time. He likes an empty bar so he can speak freely.
"The usual," Dad said, mostly because he likes feeling like a regular. Dad's usual is a five-ounce glass of red wine. He'd rather order a beer or whiskey or both, but his heart condition and my mother prohibit all of the above.
I poured the wine, slid the glass in his direction, leaned on top of the bar, and looked my dad in the eye.
"Mom sent some guy into the bar yesterday to pump me for information."
"No, she didn't," Dad said, looking bored.
"Yes, she did," I replied.
"Isabel, she did that one time two months ago and she never did it again. I promise you."
"You have no idea what she's doing when you're not watching her."
"You could say that about anyone," Dad said.
"But I'm talking about Mom."
"I'd like to change the subject, Isabel."
I sighed, disappointed. I was not interested in the subject my dad had in mind.
"If you'd like to talk about the weather, I'd be alright with that."
"Not the weather," said Dad.
"Seen any good movies?" I asked.
"Haven't been getting out much lately," Dad said, "what with work and all. Oh yes. Work. That's what I'd like to talk about."
"I don't want to talk about work."
"You don't talk. You just listen. Can you do that?"
"I distinctly recall you telling me that I wasn't a good listener," I replied. "So, apparently I cannot do that."
"Isabel!" Dad said far too loudly, but who cares in an empty bar? "We are having this conversation whether you like it or not."
In case you were thinking the definition had changed, a conversation usually involves two people exchanging words, a back-and-forth, if you will. My dad provided a brief lecture that went something like this:
"You are a licensed private investigator. That is your trade. And yet, for the last five months, all you have done is serve drinks and collect tips. You have refused to work at a job for which you are highly qualified, which used to give you some real purpose in life. I spent seven long, hard years training you at that job, teaching you everything I know while you talked back, nodded off, screwed up, broke equipment, slammed my hand in a car door, lost me clients, and cost me a fortune in car insurance. Seven long years, Isabel. I can't get those years back. They're lost to me forever. Do you know how much more pleasant it would have been to have hired a nice responsible college student looking for a little excitement in his or her life? Someone who didn't insult my intelligence on a daily basis or leave cigarette butts and empty beer cans in the surveillance van, someone who said 'Yes, Mr. Spellman' instead of rolling her eyes and grunting? Can you imagine how my life might be different? How my health might be improved? Five months ago, when you took this 'temporary' job, you promised your mother and me that you would start actively thinking about your future, which is directly connected to our future, because it's connected to the future of this business we have built not just for us, but for you. So, tell me, Isabel, after five months of serving drinks and over two months of seeing a shrink, are you any closer to making that decision?"
I'm not usually one who follows the adage "Honesty is the best policy," but my dad's speech exhausted even me, and so I decided to go with the very short truth.
"Nope," I said.
Dad sucked the last drop of alcohol out of his wineglass. He searched the empty bar as if he were looking for assistance. He made brief eye con¬tact, but he couldn't hold it. The disappointment was evident. Even I felt some sympathy.
"Sounds like you could use a real drink, Dad," I said as I poured him a shot of Maker's Mark. "This will be our little secret."
Friday
A middle-age man walked into the bar followed by a teenage girl. The man appeared angry, the teenager defiant. Meet my sister, Rae, and her "best friend," Henry Stone.
Three bar stools divided them. Henry unrolled the New Yorker magazine he was carrying under his arm and began reading. Rae dusted off the already-dusted-off counter and said, "The usual." Her usual is a ginger ale followed by a reminder that she's not actually supposed to be in a bar since she's only six¬teen (and a half!) years old. I poured Rae's ginger ale and served Henry his usual club soda. I waited for the unusual stretch of silence to end. Rae watched Henry out of the corner of her eye. He studied his magazine with rapt attention, uninterested in -- or at least pretending quite well to be uninterested in -- the rest of the room. As an act of what appeared to be mimicry, Rae pulled out her geometry textbook and gave a performance of rapt attention. Hers failed where Henry's succeeded. She checked him out of the corner of her eye, wait¬ing for some acknowledgment of her presence. Rae downed her ginger ale and smacked the glass on the counter, making her presence impossible to ignore.
"I'll have another," she said.
"Does somebody want to tell me what's going on?" I asked as I served her second round.
"Nothing. Henry just needs to chillax," said Rae.
"Do you have any response to that?" I asked Henry.
"Isabel," he said, "this is a bar. Not a soda shop. Adults come here to get away from children. I could have you shut down for serving minors."
"Rae, go home," I said, sensing that Henry needed some space.
"I don't think so," was Rae's response.
"I tried," I said, turning back to Henry.
Henry finished his club soda and asked for something stronger. I sug¬gested 7UP, but he had bourbon in mind, which meant my sister had done something terribly wrong. I was intrigued.
"What did you do?" I asked Rae after I served Henry his Bulleit.
"Tell Henry," Rae said, "that what I did, I did for his own good."
"Did you hear that?" I said to Henry.
He looked up from the magazine and said, "Hear what?"
"Um, Rae said that what she did, she did for your own good."
"Well, you can tell your sister that it was not her decision to make."
"What did he say?" Rae asked, even though Henry's response was perfectly audible.
"You're kidding me, right?" I asked.
"What did he say?" she insisted.
"He said it was not your decision to make."
"Tell him he'll thank me later."
Henry returned to his magazine and continued pretending that Rae existed in some parallel universe where only I could see and hear her. I decided to play along for the time being, since I had to admit I wanted the scoop.
"She said you'll thank her later."
"Tell her I won't. Tell her she's forbidden to come to my house ever again."
"You can't be serious," she said. Apparently my translating skills were no longer required, because this was directed at Henry's back.
"Oh, I'm very serious," he replied, finishing off the last of his bourbon. I was shocked when he pointed to his glass and asked for another, but I assumed this meant further information would be forthcoming, so I served the drink and eagerly awaited the rest of the story.Copyright © 2009 by Spellman Enterprises, Inc.
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