Book Review: Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich

Hello, Fellow Book Worms!

It's that time again, another book review! But this time you may see something familiar about this review: the first word of the book, Wicked. After reading Wicked Appetite, I was filled with the overwhelming urge to continue the search for the Salgia Stones with Lizzy and Diesel.

  Written by Janet Evanovich and published by Bantam Publishing, Wicked Business picks up directly after the first novel. With the Gluttony Stone safely tucked away at the Bureau of Unmentionable Marshalls, the next stone to be found is the Luxuria Stone, the stone of Lust. With an already heated attraction between her and and her often arrogant partner, Diesel, Lizzy Tucker is not sure she wants to find the stone. Lizzy has the ability to find magical objects, while Diesel has a long list of magical abilities. They are known as Unmentionables, and they are what stands between the world and disaster. If any of the Salgia Stones should fall into evil hands, it could spell Hell on Earth. 

  When a professor is thrown from the balcony of his high-rise apartment, all leads to the Luxuria Stone seem to stem from a book of sonnets written decades prior. The book was owned by the professor and it has gone missing. Lizzy and Diesel have the key that opens the book and their sinister adversary, Wulf, has the book. Using clues gathered all over Boston, Cambridge , and Salem, Massachusetts, the magical pair are on the trail of the Luxuria Stone.

 Along the way they encounter an entertaining assortment of new and old supporting characters, including Anarchy (a woman with a nasty power over fire... just ask Lizzy about her car), Hatchet (a Renaissance man with a love of torture),  Morty Sandman (he has the ability to bend spoons, and can put you to sleep with his old man chatter), Glo (wannabe Witch with a penchant for casting disastrous spells), and of course, Carl (the renegade monkey that always has a middle finger to show you). Danger, magic, and a lot of cake flour abound!

  This book zipped along at a very fast pace, and managed to cram a lot of story in its three hundred pages. It was just as fun and witty as the first novel, with a bit more danger than in book one. The addition of Morty Sandman added an often male Sophia Petrillo quality to the story. His scenes were hysterical, and he was often a bigger burden to Lizzy and Diesel than their powers were. Glo was in true form casting a flatulence spell that had me gagging with laughter (pun intended). And the sexual tension between our two main characters often had me loosening my collar. Just when I thought this book could not improve upon the original, Evanovich proved me wrong.

  I read this in part with Lorelei King's audiobook performance. She did another amazing job narrating these characters. She seemed to have particular fun reading Morty Sandman, which she delivered flawlessly between character voices. She definitely adds a great dimension to any book she reads, this was no different. I have contacted Lorelei on Twitter a few times, and she is very pleasant and fun to talk to. I hope she never stops reading Janet's books. Her talent would be missed.

  Janet Evanovich has managed to make five hours of my life disappear once more. She has taken me to real locations that I frequent on a regular basis, and has made me fondly look upon them with new eyes. I cannot stress enough how much I love her books. She is like a happy pill in book form that never fails to lift my spirits and make me smile.

  This second book in this series was everything I had hoped for and more! I gave this book five out of five stars. I hope book four is on the way, because I am running out of Saligia Stones to find. 

Because there is always time to read,
Xepherus3

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