WICKED CHARMS is the third book in Janet Evanovich’s Lizzy and Diesel series and is sure to give her millions of fans exactly what they have been waiting for. Co-authored by writer, producer and novelist Phoef Sutton, it’s another edgy adventure that pits heroes against villains, and sometimes heroes against heroes, villains against villains.

In case you missed the first two books, Lizzy explains, “I thought I was normal until Diesel popped into my life shortly after I moved to Marblehead. Now weird is the new normal.” It seems that some people have enhanced abilities, and Lizzy has discovered that she is one of them. Of course, with power comes responsibility, and in this case, she is one of two people on the planet who has the ability to save the world from destruction.

"If you’re willing to suspend reality and enjoy slapstick more than subtle humor, you will welcome this new series of Wicked tales that began with WICKED APPETITE."

As you may have guessed, Diesel is the other person --- a very attractive, desirable, deliciously tempting morsel of a man. However, there can be no hanky panky between them because to hanky or to panky would cause one of them to lose their enhanced ability. That hardly seems fair, but there you are.

The quest for our hero and heroine is to track down the seven ancient stones said to hold the powers of the seven deadly sins. These Stones of SALIGIA, if found by the villains, would mean terrible, inexhaustible power for the bad guys --- not a good thing for the world. As with most quests on planet Evanovich, this one does not go smoothly.  

In addition to the sheer difficulty of finding the missing pieces to a coin that will lead them to the treasure, Lizzy and Diesel constantly have to be aware of others who are on the same quest. Most dangerous of all is Ammon, who is not your run-of-the-mill demon with glowing eyes and horn nubs on his head. Instead, “he’s a strange, unpleasant man with perfect teeth. And billions of dollars.” He believes that the Stone of Avarice will complete him, actually turning him into Mammon, the demon of greed.

As you might guess, Lizzy has a lot in common with our lovable Stephanie Plum. Her descriptions bring back memories of the early series. “My house looks like it was sprinkled out with a lot of other houses from the big house saltshaker sometime in the 1700s.” And, like Stephanie, she is surrounded by a coterie of crazy characters, including Diesel’s evil cousin, Wulf; Josh, who thinks he’s a pirate; and Glo, who is fascinated by anything “magic.” She consults her Magic 8 Ball regularly and practices casting spells that she learned from Ripple’s Book of Spells.

And it wouldn’t be a complete Evanovich without some mayhem involving fire or an explosion. In this case, the mayhem results from a dessert of Bananas Foster gone terribly wrong, as flaming rum spreads to nearby drapes.

The formula fables that fans have come to love through the Stephanie Plum series and the Between the Numbers stories will be happy to learn that they also work in the supernatural realm. If you’re willing to suspend reality and enjoy slapstick more than subtle humor, you will welcome this new series of Wicked tales that began with WICKED APPETITE.