Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich

I just finished “Wicked Business”, the second in the Diesel and Lizzy romantic/mystery series that is an offshoot of Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels and I’m sad to say that it was for the most part like flat diet pop, no sugar, no taste, no fizz.   Diesel is the tall blond beach bum investigator for the agency that controls those individuals with “supernatural” powers. Lizzy was an ordinary pastry chef who suddenly discovered that she possessed the power to locate magical items  when she was enlisted to find one  of the SALIGIA stones in the first book in the series, “Wicked Appetite”.  The SALIGIA stones are mystical objects that each correspond to one of the deadly sins and if the forces of evil get their hands on the stones, then the world might be plunged into hell on earth.

The bad guys are represented by Gerwulf Grimoire, (Wulf for short), and his henchman Hachett, a finder like Lizzy who thinks he’s a Medieval knight and speaks accordingly.  Diesel has inherited Carl the monkey from the Plum novels.  And Lizzy  has Cat 7143  (a cat with a mysterious secret), her friend from work, Glo, who’s a budding witch and Carla her long-suffering boss at the bakery.  The characters fill the story with romantic clinches, moments of danger followed by miraculous escapes, nutty villains, and preposterous situations that lead to flashes of humour.  So if it feels like a Plum novel, that’s because it is a Plum novel, with the names changed to protect the innocent.

This particular outing has the gang in search of the stone responsible for LUST, and getting into crazy situations finding it.  While I enjoyed it, it was like a sugary snack, tasty but ultimately unfulfilling.