Review: Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich

Wicked Charms  
by Janet Evanovich and Pheof Sutton
Series:  Unmentionables #3
Pub. Date:  June 23, 2015
Publisher:  Bantam
Pages:  320
Format:  eARC
Source:  NetGalley
   

My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

Lizzy and Diesel return once again in an all-new adventure in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Janet Evanovich and her co-author, Phoef Sutton!

Murdered and mummified more than ninety years ago, bootlegger Collier “Peg Leg” Dazzle once found and re-hid a famous pirate’s treasure somewhere along the coast of New England. A vast collection of gold and silver coins and precious gems, the bounty also contains the Stone of Avarice — the very item reluctant treasure seeker, Lizzy Tucker, and her partner, Diesel, have been enlisted to find. While Lizzy would just like to live a quiet, semi-normal life, Diesel is all about the hunt. And this hunt is going to require a genuine treasure map and a ship worthy of sailing the seven seas . . . or at least getting them from Salem Harbor to Maine.

Greed is eternal and insatiable, and Lizzy and Diesel aren’t the only ones searching for the lost pirate’s chest. There are people who have dedicated their entire lives to finding it, and are willing to commit murder or make a deal with the devil, just to hold the fortune in their hands. One of those people may even be Wulf, Diesel’s deceptively charming and enigmatic cousin. Wulf desires the Stone of Avarice. He also desires Lizzy. It’s hard to say how far he’s willing to go to gain either one.

It’s a swashbuckling adventure full of raiders, monkeys, minions, and mayhem. Lizzy and Diesel are going to have to do everything they can to keep their heads above water and hope they are living a charmed life.

I am a huge fan of the Stephanie Plum series, it is one of the few series that I read as soon as a book is released. So I am always up for a new Janet Evanovich novel when it comes out - they are the perfect campy comedic read when you want something totally silly and not-at-all serious. Lizzy and Diesel are a little more farfetched than Stephanie Plum, but they are fun all the same.

In this installment, Lizzy and Diesel are continuing their search for the SALIGIA stones, focusing on the Stone of Avarice. The pair continues to have help and interference from their band of misfits including Cat, Carl the monkey, Glo the incompetent witch, Wulf, Hatchett, and a host of others. We also meet a new Unmentionable character with a special ability involving dead people. Ick.

Of course Lizzy stupidly gets into troubling situations and you want to yell at her most of the time, but its all in good fun. Part of the charm of these books is the slapstick comedy, campy humor and ridiculous over-the-top situations.

As in the Plum series, Evanovich proves herself adept at creating sexual tension without including any romance. If there was a complaint I had about this book, it would be that I would like to see an actual relationship develop between our main characters instead of just the suggestion of one. Wulf is still hanging around in the picture so I hope this doesn't turn into another love triangle situation a la Ranger and Morelli.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

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Unmentionables (a/k/a Lizzy & Diesel) Series