Heads You Lose in Ask Lisa Lutz!

Dec 31, 2012 Cathy rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery, chick-lit

This appears to be my last book completed in 2012. Although I have some partials maybe I can finish up quick. Hmmm… Anyway, I’d give this 2-1/2 stars. A mystery with a very cute premise - “Spellmans” author Lisa Lutz alternates chapters with ex-boyfriend writer David Hayward – each having to take the other’s previously written chapter as is and add to the story. In between, each writes collaboration notes to each other – sometimes adding little digs about their past relationship, parts of each o ...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Elizabeth (Miss Eliza) rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs, authors_i_have_met, mystery, signed_editions, ze_2011_challenge_mystery-suspense

Lacey Hansen is trapped in a dead end life with her brother Paul. Making a living supplying the local colleges and nursing homes with pot is not a way to live. Even Mythmatch, where legendary gods and monsters battle each other on the small screen, is no cure for boredom. But even a dull and inert life can be pushed into action by the arrival of a headless corpse on your doorstep. Due to the proximity of so much pot near a recently deceased body, the siblings decide to dump the body off a hiking Lacey Hansen is trapped in a dead end life with her brother Paul. Making a living supplying the local colleges and nursing homes with pot is not a way to live. Even Mythmatch, where legendary gods and monsters battle each other on the small screen, is no cure for boredom. But even a dull and inert life can be pushed into action by the arrival of a headless corpse on your doorstep. Due to the proximity of so much pot near a recently deceased body, the siblings decide to dump the body off a hiking trail where it will be found and investigated, far from their home. Because they know this corpse. It's Darryl, Paul's friend and pot irrigation expert. The next day, Lacey views it as her right to investigate a little, it is kind of "their corpse"... but when that investigation turns up Darryl alive and well... well then, who's the corpse? And where did it go? It's not where they left it. But a missing corpse is nowhere near as interesting as a plane exploding at the local airport and the new Doc Egan moving into town with his cute Wilson brothers looks to replace the old Doc Holland, who did leave town awful fast. It's not long before Lacey and Paul wonder when the body will finally be discovered, only to find it back on their front porch... except this time Lacey takes a closer look and realizes it's her ex-fiance Hart. Knowing that if they hide the crime again someone will most likely return the body, Lacey makes the call to inform the police, giving her brother a few minutes to clear out the marijuana plants and stash them with his pot mentor, Terry Jakes.

Now with a police investigation finally underway, Lacey decides that it's time to ramp up her own investigation. Solve the crime, leave the town, it's as easy as that. Only, solving this crime is not going to be easy when everyone has a motive for killing Hart, who, if Lacey is being honest, was quite the lowlife. Throw in a shady bar owner, an even shadier nursing home run by the Babalatos, an endearing or perhaps lethal old man, Sook, land deals, long cons, blackmail, and a stripper with an IQ higher than most members of MENSA, and Lacey doesn't know which suspect is the guilty party. At times it seems even the authors are unsure. With the authors one upping each other and making the stakes higher and the death rate escalate, we are not only waiting to see if Lacey and Paul get out of this crappy little town, but if Lisa and David will be able to get the book finished without killing each other or the entire populace of Mercer California.

Many authors when collaborating have decided to divide the work with alternating chapters. Rachel Cohn and David Levithan come to mind, as well as Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. But, one assumes, that they at least get along. Lisa and David, while disagreeing on almost every aspect of the book, except the title, have been able to create the funniest collaboration I have yet to read. Openly displaying hostility and willing to eek out a little retribution through calamity and downfall to the other author's favorite characters. With Lisa favoring Lacey and the doddering old Sook and David being Paul and Terry's biggest fan, it's fun reading and anticipating the ways the other author tries to change and manipulate the plot to their characters advantage. From Lisa having to kill a character twice and then his doppelganger as well, to David writing as if for a primary school reader, the banter back and forth is what drives this novel, almost more so than the plot.

I was impressed that they were able to come up with a cohesive and plausible ending, because they made no effort to tailor their own styles to fit together. David has a tendency to overwrite, to use stupidly named made up tv show titles and big words, I had to keep a dictionary handy in his chapters, and even then, sometimes, I was at a lose. As Lisa stated in one of her letters between the chapters, "Why in God's name would you use the words 'subfusc,' 'asperous,' and 'caliginious' in a freaking crime novel? Here's a rule worth following: If the spell-check doesn't recognize the word, don't use it!" To which I have to heartily agree. Because if I have to drag out the dictionary, it pulls me out of the story, no matter how fractured and funny it is. Whereas Lisa is a spare writer with sharp, refined wit, even if David got the biggest laugh out of me with his slur against David Caruso, letting me forgive the superfluous oleaginous. Also, Lisa is wrong, cats do need back stories. In the end, at the close of the day you will be left with a smile, a strong hope that they will be on book tour together, bickering across America, and the desperate need to hear more about their abandoned previous collaboration The Fop.
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Apr 18, 2013 Maria rated it it was amazing

This was a really fun book! I think this should be a new genre of writing. The arguments in between chapters were funny but the passive aggressiveness used throughout each chapter say by killing off the other authors original character was really fun to read. As for the story itself, it was alittle disjointed at times and vered off topic at times, which is understandable with the writing set up they had, but was very entertaining and always kept you guessing.
I do have to say that I would never ...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: signed

This book definitely has to be rated as an entire experience. From the beginning we know there is going to be fighting and some inconsistencies in the story, which makes it hilarious to me. You can easily tell which characters each author prefers. Comments between the chapters explain where the author wants the book to go. Sometimes they ignored the advice and sometimes the advice was used dramatically. Like when I hit chapter 14, I had to set the book down I was laughing so hard. Lisa gets the ...more

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May 21, 2011 Diane Wilkes rated it really liked it

While I prefer the Spellman mysteries, Heads You Lose was very clever. Allegedly, it is written in alternating chapters by Lutz and her definitely former boyfriend David Hayward. Not only do you get the text of a mystery, you get the subtext of their relationship, because each makes notes AND footnotes on the others' chapters.

It seems to be more in jest than serious...but the jest works, whether it is real in terms of real life, or just real in terms of a couple who are still connected by past ...more

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Nov 04, 2010 Meredith rated it it was ok

I was disappointed in this latest book from Lisa Lutz and her writing partner. I absolutely LOVE all her other books (can't get enough of the Spellman's! Looking forward to book #5).

In Heads You Lose the two authors alternate writing each chapter of the story. In between they have their notes to each other, which are funny and a bit snarky (not necessarily a bad thing). But the characters just were not developed enough for me to like ANY of them or care about them. Not to mention, I couldn't ke ...more

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May 09, 2011 Christine rated it liked it

i knew the best parts would be the back and forth between the two authors.

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Apr 11, 2011 Rhonda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, fiction, mystery, humor

I love Lisa. Her sense of humor is just my stlye. I will read anything by her and wouldn't mind seeing another collaberation between these two ex-lovers. ...more

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