Book Review: The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker

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The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker  was published on March 17, 2025. It opens with Detective Declan Shaw at a closed subway station trying to work up the nerve to commit suicide when he receives a call from his partner about a break in and homicide at the home of a true crime author. Shaw makes his way to the crime scene to work the case, and in a turn of events, Declan comes under scrutiny in another case loosely connected to this new case. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Writer  from NetGalley and Little , Brown, and Company for free in exchange for my honest review. I'm appreciative that my request for this book was approved. With this story opening with the main character trying to commit suicide, I almost didn't go any further with the book. However, I am glad I stuck with it as it took me on a fantastic ride and had my emotions all over the place. There were so many twists and turns that just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was ...
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Book Review: Trail of the Spellmans (The Spellmans, #5) by Lisa Lutz

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book review trail of the spellmans lisa lutz

Trail of the Spellmans (The Spellmans, #5) by Lisa Lutz is the fifth installment in the book series about Isabel "Izzy" Spellman and her family of private investigators. For the first time that she remembers, Izzy isn't the "odd man" in the family. Older brother David and younger sister Rae are in an impasse and not speaking to one another. Albert, the dad, is hiding something and has gone to great measures to hide it. And, Izzy's mom, Olivia, has herself booked solid with several new hobbies. Then, Demetrius Merriweather keeps going on first dates without any second dates. On top of this, several of the family cases have become intertwined with each other.

Grab yourself a ginger ale and settle yourself down for the ride of a lifetime. I don't know how Lisa Lutz keeps doing it, but each book in this series is better than the last. I love the fact that there are several mysteries going on throughout the book . . . my favorites being the one with the banana (don't worry, it's not lewd in any way) and Olivia's obsession with getting a multitude of new hobbies. With all the dysfunction in the Spellman family and how well it's written, it does make me wonder how much of it is autobiographical. And, I have a strong hunch that the character of Izzy is hugely drawn from Lutz's own life . . . whether or not it is, that's how it feels to me.

I also enjoy the author's sense of humor in the book. It's a bit warped, but that's what I love about it. I'll admit, it's not for everyone. And, the footnotes are awesome! They add additional quirkiness and originality to this novel. There isn't anything negative I can really say about Trail of the Spellmans as I was immediately drawn into the story, and it played like a movie in my mind. I would love to see this installment of the series, and all of the others, as a mini-series on television or a movie.

Five out five stars is how I ranked Trail of the Spellmans (The Spellmans, #5) by Lisa Lutz, and it was a blast rereading it for the second time. However, it felt like the first time since it had be almost nine years to the date of when I read it the first time.


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