Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton

Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich, Phoef Sutton
Narrator: Lorelei King
Series: Lizzy and Diesel #3
Published by Random House Audio on June 23, 2015
Genres: Mystery, Paranormal Romance
Length: 6 hrs 12 mins
Format: Audiobook
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Murdered and mummified nearly a century ago, notorious bootlegger Collier “Peg Leg” Dazzle discovered 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. People who have dedicated their entire lives to finding it 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.

Wicked Charms is 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’re living a charmed life.

Wicked Charms is silly and funny and cute. It’s an adventure story/ treasure hunt, but it’s all over the top. Lizzie is pretty sane, but she is surrounded by oddballs, like a young man who tends to talk like a pirate and her friend who tries out spells with varying degrees of success. We’ve got a very rich man who wants to become a demon incarnate – if he can quit barking. Diesel is sexy and a bit dangerous, a typical character for this kind of story, but his monkey pal is rude and a riot.

There are a couple of moments of true danger for Lizzie, but she keeps her head, and – surprise- Diesel rescues her. I know the whole thing is goofy, but it made me smile, just like candy.

It’s a short read too, so I don’t want to give too much away. There’s not a lot of meat to the story, but that’s the style. I actually listened to the audio and the narrator did a wonderful job. She’s the perfect Lizzy but gives each of the other characters their own voice, but the story doesn’t take itself too seriously, which she portrays well.

I’m counting this as an RIP read, even though it’s on the lighter side, but we do have a potential demon and a really creepy henchman/butler who would smile and give a jolly laugh while he shot you.

This is the third in the series and I’ve read all three, but I think if you started with this one, you’d catch on pretty quickly.