Wicked Charms Leaves You Greedy for More (a review)

Who will end up with the charm for greed? Can a ceremony turn someone into the demon Mammon? Wicked Charms is the third book in the Lizzy and Diesel series. Each book is centered around one of the 7 deadly sins. Book 3 is about greed.

Somewhere off the coast of New England is a hidden treasure including a cursed diamond and the avarice stone. This comes to light along with a body in the pirate museum of Salem. Lizzy must use her talent to help find the stone before Diesel's cousin Wulf finds it. As if Wulf wasn't enough competition, a businessman named M. Ammon believes that if he can get his hands on the stone, he will be able to transform himself into the demon of greed, Mammon. Lizzy's friends all get involved as does a coroner named Nergal and a museum pirate named Josh. We learn about the tunnels beneath Salem as well.

The "evil" characters are interesting. Hatchet, Wulf's servant, has several humorous things to say as he is searching for the stone and has misfortunes happen to him. Rutherford, M. Ammon's faithful servant seems to be on the verge of hysteria many times in the book.

I love the setting of Salem and the tunnels beneath. The rest of the settings are interesting as well, a mansion in southern New Hampshire and an island off the coast of New England. The island and the search for the treasure made me think of the movie The Goonies for some reason.

The pace is pretty good. It fluctuates with the plot and gradually speeds up.

The book leaves you greedy to read more about Lizzy and Diesel's search for the rest of the stones that represent the 7 deadly sins. What will happen if Wulf gets them? What will happen if Lizzy and Diesel get them all? Who does Diesel work for? And what will happen if Lizzy and Diesel finally consummate their relationship by going all the way? It's not exactly a cliffhanger, but the questions are open for sequels.

I kind of felt like the title of the book didn't suit the story that much and would have been more appropriate for a series conclusion. My reasoning is that the book is about one stone and it's consequences rather than many stones.

Still overall, I give this book 4 stars for interesting plot ideas and the writing.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.