The Sacramento Bee Book Club will kick off its 2012 season at 6 p.m. Thursday with Bay Area-based novelist Lisa Lutz.
Her five-title "Spellman" series is critic-applauded, laugh-out-loud comedy that genre-crosses into the mystery arena. Her new book is "Trail of the Spellmans" (Simon & Schuster, $25, 384 pages).
The Spellmans are a wacky dysfunctional family of private investigators in San Francisco who wiretap, tail and blackmail each other while working their cases. The stories are told in first-person by Isabel "Izzy" Spellman, the "most normal" family member.
"I was determined not to make it a traditional mystery series," Lutz said. "I want it to be genuinely funny, and I don't care if it has to be a little goofy to get there. Even serious things can be quite funny."
Lutz will be at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria, 828 I St., Sacramento, to give a presentation, answer questions from the audience and autograph books. She will even pose with her fans for photos.
Barnes & Noble will be on site, giving a 30 percent discount on "Trail of the Spellmans" and selling Lutz's previous four "Spellman" books.
The public is invited to the free event; doors will open at 5:15 p.m. For more information: (916) 321-1128., www.lisalutz.com








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