Family Planning: A Lunghi Family Mystery [Hardcover]

Michael Z. Lewin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 1999

Three generations of the Lunghi family live and work together , and when they take on a new case right before Christmas, it proves quite a handful. Especially when everyone seems to be a bit preoccupied: Mama wants to open a cafe; nerdy David is head over heels for a Dirty girl; Marie is meeting strange men in bars; Gina and Angela are out to help a glamorous client--and that's just the beginning.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Of all the matters that concern members of the Lunghi Family of Bath, England, in their latest outing, crime is the least of them. That eclecticism adds charm to this novel, but it also creates a problem: the Lunghis (Family Business, etc.) are private detectives, and this is at least nominally a mystery. While it's pleasant to learn that daughter Rosetta is studying line-dancing, and that Mama is so worried about her son Salvatore's "self-steam" ("Everywhere you hear about self-steam these days, like on programs with audiences that should not be pooh-poohed just because they're Americans") that she's thinking of going against her husband's wishes and investing in a restaurant where Sal can exhibit his paintings, these revelations don't generate suspense. True, son Angelo and his wife, Gina, are looking into the case of a woman who's being threatened by numerical messages on her pager, and the Old ManAthe founder of the agency and the shrewd businessman who put together the small real-estate empire that keeps the family solventAhas been asked to help prove that a client didn't murder his uncle ten years ago. And teenager Marie, the daughter of Gina and Angelo, does seem to have gotten in over her head in a scheme to earn some extra money for Christmas. As in real life, work and personal interests interact and clash, with results both surprising and predictable. The wonderful Regency city of Bath is treated as an ordinary, nondescript backdrop: another example of Lewin's sometimes regrettable refusal to hype anything for effect. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The Lunghi Family Detective Agency (Family Business) in Bath, England, takes on an important murder case just before Christmas, but family members seem too preoccupied to pay it much attention. A sometimes humorous ramble with various Lunghis.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (October 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031224391X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312243913
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,076,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good time-passer, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Family Planning: A Lunghi Family Mystery (Hardcover)

This is a pleasant English detective novel. The characters are well-drawn and amusing, and the plots tick along. It's nothing deep but I found it likeable enough and I loved Mama.

3.0 out of 5 stars Family Planning, July 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Family Planning: A Lunghi Family Mystery (Hardcover)

The Familia Lunghi is loving and funny. The various members are a bit confusing at first, but the descriptions are so delightful that it doesn't take long to sort them out. I'm looking forward to more adventures with them! The plot doesn't seem so important.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Slow moving with too many sub-plots, September 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Family Planning: A Lunghi Family Mystery (Hardcover)

Three generations of Lunghis participate in the smoothly running family detective agency. However, the oldest son Salvatore prefers painting over sleuthing. He only handles cases when he needs cash for his art supplies. The family also owns a series of adjoining buildings where they all live except for Salvatore The Lunghis supplement their income by collecting rent from the street level shops that line their buildings.

Angelo and Gina work on a case in which a client is being threatened by beepers. Salvatore is involved in a murder investigation. Angelo stops a gang of teens from extorting money from a store owner. As the cases move forward, entrepreneurial relationships among the family members deteriorate. Angel and Gino's adolescent children are in trouble and Mama wants to open a restaurant while the Old Man objects. Another child dates an undertaker who enjoys line dancing.

FAMILY PLANNING is a difficult tale to read because there are too many characters and subplots competing with one another. The abrupt transition from one family member to another detracts the reader from the plot. Michael Z. Lewin has a clever concept, but tries to introduce too many of the players and their personalities in a single tale. Future novels hopefully will provide the reader with one family member's story at a time.

Harriet Klausner