"Wicked Business," by Janet Evanovich

Stuff and Nonsense by Amy Cockram is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Last year I read the first in this series by Janet Evanovich, "Wicked Appetite," which I wrote about here.  As I love Janet Evanovich's books - although I prefer her Stephanie Plum series - I decided to treat myself to bed, book and coffee on one day of my week off.

In "Wicked Business," Lizzie's routine as a baker in Salem is once again disrupted by the arrival of Diesel and his delinquent monkey, Carl.  A man who has been thrown out of a window with a handprint burned into his neck - Wulf's trademark - indicates that Wulf might have a lead on one of the other SALIGIA Stones.  This time they are on the trail of the Luxuria Stone...

It occurred to me with this novel how similar the formula for the SALIGIA stories is to the Stephanie Plum series.  Lizzie is Stephanie, as out or her depth in the world of supernatural powers as Stephanie Plum is in her makeshift career as bounty hunter. Wulf is the equivalent of Ranger - dangerous and seductive - while Diesel, like Morelli, is the comparatively safer option but no less sexy; Lizzie's friend Glo, an erratic witch, fulfils the same quirky friend role as Lula, while the owner of the bakery in which Lizzie works is a little bit like Connie.  This is stretching the comparisons a bit, but you could even compare the social embarrassment of hanging around with a monkey who likes to give people the finger with having a crazy grandmother who breaks into closed caskets at funerals. 

I don't mind too much that Janet Evanovich's novels tends towards the formulaic, though, as I still find the formula entertaining.  In the SALIGIA stories, she adds a twist in finding a way to prolong the sexual tension between Lizzie and Diesel (if two people with supernatural powers get it on, then one of them will lose those powers).  I can't escape the thought that it might be worth it, Lizzie, even if you do lose your powers of finding enchanted objects and making great cupcakes....

"Wicked Appetite," by Janet Evanovich

Stuff and Nonsense by Amy Cockram is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.

Our local library had been hiding a Janet Evanovich that I had not yet read: "Wicked Appetite."  They fooled me by having it in the main fiction run, rather than the crime section.

This will only be a mini review, as I have recently written on Janet Evanovich with "Smokin' Seventeen."  "Wicked Appetite" is not a Stephanie Plum book - still my favourites of her prodigious output - but does feature a couple of characters who have popped up in Stephanie Plum books: Diesel, and Carl the monkey.  In this book Diesel enlists the help of Elizabeth Tucker, a baker living in Salem who has Unmentionable powers, to find the SALIGIA Stones (which represent the Seven Deadly Sins).  Think of the Sankara Stones with an attitude problem, and you will have a rough idea.  They have to find these stones before the bad guy, Wulf - who also guested in a Stephanie Plum novel - as the person who collects all the stones will have the power to "create hell on earth."

Since this novel only has them acquire one stone - representing gluttony - it's a fair bet that this will be the first in a series.  Salem is a nice change from the New Jersey of Stephanie Plum, and Lizzy Tucker has an entertaining friend in erratic, wannabe witch Glo.  The stones affect human behaviour, so there are some entertaining moments as the gluttony stone starts to affect Lizzy's actions and thoughts.  It isn't my favourite Janet Evanovich novel, but it is a fun and entertaining way to pass some time.