Izzy Spellman

Izzy Spellman is the middle child in Lisa Lutz's San Francisco family of private investigators, where surveillance is both work and a family habit.

Izzy Spellman grew up in a San Francisco private-investigation family. Albert and Olivia Spellman run the firm, and their children have spent years around surveillance, case files, and background checks. Izzy uses those skills professionally, but her family also uses them on one another.

The series is told through Izzy’s dry, impatient perspective as cases collide with family arguments and unwanted scrutiny. Each book keeps the private-investigation premise close to the Spellmans’ domestic lives. Begin with The Spellman Files for the English-language sequence, then follow the Izzy Spellman reading order through the later novels and related material.

Reading Order

See the complete Izzy Spellman reading order for all books in the series.

Appears in Series

  • Izzy Spellman - Lisa Lutz's Izzy Spellman books are comic mysteries about a San Francisco family of private investigators who use surveillance on one another as freely as on their clients.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Izzy Spellman?

Izzy Spellman is the middle child of a family-run private investigation firm in San Francisco. She grew up conducting surveillance and running background checks, and she brings those skills to both her professional cases and her chaotic family relationships.

How many books feature Izzy Spellman?

Izzy is the protagonist of six main novels in the Spellman series, starting with The Spellman Files (2007) and ending with The Last Word (2013), plus several related works.

What makes the Izzy Spellman series different from other mystery series?

The books use private-investigation cases to examine the Spellmans’ own family conflicts. Izzy’s relatives routinely investigate one another, so the comedy comes as much from their surveillance habits as from the cases.

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