Heads You Lose

February 14, 2011
In this experimental California improv, Lutz (The Spellman Files) writes odd-numbered chapters and footnoted barbs directed at her coauthor and ex-boyfriend, poet Hayward, whose even-numbered chapters and stiletto-sharp ripostes add a freaky dimension to the collaboration. Grown siblings Lacey and Paul Hansen are scratching out a precarious living from a Northern California clandestine marijuana operation when a reeking headless human body turns up in their backyard, eventually identified as Hart Drexel, detecting barista Lacey's former lover. Because Lutz and Hayward agreed not to discuss or to undo a plot development the other had produced, they create a jittery black-comic narrative complicated by inter-author tensions unveiled in memos exchanged at the end of each chapter. Shifty secondary characters, some charming, some odious, pop in and out of the resulting dizzying plot that comes off like a trendy Left Coast restaurant mélange—daringly composed, exotic to contemplate. Author tour.

February 1, 2011

Inspired perhaps by those round-robin collaborations published 75 years ago by England's Detection Club, Lutz (The Spellmans Strike Again, 2010, etc.) and Hayward add a new twist: The two collaborators, each responsible for alternating chapters, are in sharp disagreement about how the tale should be told.

When she finds a headless corpse on her California farm, Lacey Hansen can't call the cops because they'd see that she and her brother Paul were growing marijuana. Instead, they dump the remains in a suitably remote location before they realize that the dead man was their old schoolmate Darryl Cleveland. Or maybe he wasn't, as Lacey realizes when Darryl turns up alive. Now it looks like the murder victim must be Paul's old friend and mentor, veteran cannabis grower Terry Jakes. At least according to Lutz, whose chapter identifies him as such. But Hayward, unwilling to bid farewell to such a promising character, brings him back to life—hey, didn't Lutz do it?—before Lutz emphatically kills him off again when it's her turn. And so it goes and goes, with Lutz demanding in the exchange of notes that end each installment that Hayward develop clues that will solve the mystery, and Hayward observing that Lutz, whose preferred resolution to any untoward complications is to cut the Gordian knot by another murder, must be "the Pol Pot of mystery writing."

The surprise here is how little all this whimsical metatextual byplay changes the formula of alarums, excursions, red herrings and other tangents beloved of the genre; it just invites the authors to join the eternally bickering sleuths.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

November 15, 2010

Lutz, who gave us the insanely funny and popular Spellman series, launches a new one starring an offbeat brother-and-sister team who seem to work harder at battling each other than they do at solving a murder. No, Lutz still can't stay away from the whole family thing. Coauthor Hayward isn't family, though he and Lutz used to date, which evidently colors those fight scenes. With an eight-city tour; there should be lots of interest in this one.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2011
Ill start a story, and well each add something to forward the action. Remember that game? In this case, its just two tale spinners: Lutz, who writes the Spellman Files mysteries, and her ex-boyfriend, editor-poet Hayward. Ground rules are laid out in an editors note: Lutz (lead author) begins and writes all odd-numbered chapters; no previewing or changing each others work; a coin flip determines who wraps it all up. Can this actually work? Yes and no. Brother and sister, Paul and Lacey Hansen coexist in a state of benign, mutual irritation, running a pot business from their home. Among their clients are folks at the local retirement home and the town doctor. When a headless corpse appears in the Hansens backyard (twice), Lacey turns into Nancy Drew, while Paul tends plants and hangs out with his girlfriend. Its great to see how the story unfolds, but even better are the snide remarks traded by the authors at the end of each chapter; they almost make up for the unruly plotting and screwy characters. Fun for some, but the unusual structure will limit readership.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)