Lisa Lutz, known for her Spellman Files comedic mysteries, embarked on a co-writing adventure with ex-romantic partner, David Hayward. The resulting novel, HEADS YOU LOSE, is quite good, but the snarky and continuous exchange between the two authors sets this book above the pack. Issues, obviously not forgotten, from their dating days rear their heads, so it's best the two authors weren't in the same room as that might have caused a real murder. The authors alternate chapters with no outline except for what's on the page, and notes to each other at the end of each chapter. Explanatory footnotes are at the back which are almost as amusing as the snarky discourse. Lutz accuses Hayward's writing (he's a poet) of being too erudite. He retaliates with a chapter in large print with a conversation that closely mimics a first grade Dick and Jane text. And, on top of all that, there's a mystery novel to enjoy.

Paul and Lacey, a brother and sister, live near a very small northern California town. Paul supports the two by growing and selling marijuana, so when a headless body turns up on their property, they can hardly call the police. The two move the body, but it reappears a couple days later, and that's when Lacey decides she has to get to the bottom of the murder and turns investigator. Paul investigates too, but in a more methodical way rather than Lacey's careening through town, leaving even more mayhem in her wake. The battle between the two authors results in a lot of deaths and unusual resurrections and intriguing characteristics such as a stripper with a genius IQ.

The mystery itself has a satisfying conclusion with few threads left unraveled, but there's room for more should Lutz and Hayward opt to write a sequel. Overall, I enjoyed HEADS YOU LOSE and plan to search out the Spellman books, but honestly, I looked forward to the chapter-ending discourse just a bit more than the chapters themselves.

Book Summary

Meet Paul and Lacey Hansen: orphaned, pot-growing, twentysomething siblings eking out a living in rural northern California. When a headless corpse appears on their property, they can’t exactly dial 911, so they move the body and wait for the police to find it. Instead, the corpse reappears, a few days riper—and this time Lacey recognizes it as her ex-fiancé . . . and an amateur sleuth is born. Make that two.

When collaborators Lutz and Hayward (former romantic partners) start to disagree about how the story should unfold, the body count rises, victims and suspects alike develop wildly inconsistent characteristics (meet Brandy Chester, the stripper with the Mensa IQ), and our defective detectives wind up putting both their lives at risk. Think Adaptation meets Weeds. Will the authors solve the mystery without killing each other first?