Lizzy and Diesel is a spinoff series focusing on Diesel (who appears in the "between the numbers" Stephanie Plum books). The story follows Diesel, a sort of regulator for a community of people with mystical powers, through the eyes of his new partner Lizzy. Lizzy is a baker in Salem, Massachusetts unaware that there’s anything special until Diesel walks in one day telling her that she’s one of only two people with the power to locate mystical objects in the world and that he needs her to keep seven mystical stones embodying the seven deadly sins out of the hands of various sinister forces (most notably Disel’s cousin Wulf and his renaissance-devotee minion Hatchett). Lizzy and Diesel’s supporting cast includes a mischievous monkey named Carl and Lizzy’s coworkers Gloria “Glo” (who is obsessed with learning magic), and Clara. The first book, Wicked Appetite, was published in September 2010. The second book, Wicked Business, was published in June 2012. The third, Wicked Charms, was published in March 2015. The series appears to have been cancelled, or put on hiatus.
This series includes examples of:
- Ambiguously Bi: Hatchett shows plenty of signs of being attracted to women but when Wulf is having troubles using his powers after having “relations” with Deirdre Early, Hatchett suggests that he and Wulf have relations in order to pass some of the power on for him to use. Wulf is not amused.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted. Deirdre gets lost in some tunnels and looks pretty disheveled when she gets out at one point in the second book.
- Big Beautiful Woman: Shirley from the first book is described as having a pretty face and a figure that looks like she eats more than thirty cupcakes in a sitting.
- Can't Have Sex, Ever: When people with powers have sex one of them will lose the ability (or at least have more trouble using it).
- Clashing Cousins: Wulf and Diesel are first cousins on opposite sides of things, although they tend to exchange Sugary Malice rather than actually fighting.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Lizzy just calls her Cat “Cat”.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Even Wulf finds Deirdre creepy in the second book, while in the third, Rutherford balks when ordered to personally shoot Lizzy.
- Eviler than Thou: In the second and third books Wulf takes a backseat as the villain to Deirdre and Ammon respectively.
- Face–Heel Turn: Professor Devereaux seems like a reasonable guy afraid for his life and trying to help the heroes for most of the third book until he actually touches the stone of greed and becomes a frightening megalomaniac due to the effects of its power.
- Fangirl: Glo is a Harry Potter buff who is convinced magic works that way and does seem capable of the odd spell.
- Food Porn: Lizzy is a baker of sweets, which get described quite a bit.
- Gasshole: Hatchett is constantly farting for part of the second book due to one of Glo’s spells.
- Hidden Depths:
- Wulf likes classic romance movies, although he doesn’t think much of Titanic (1997).
- Hatchet was once a paramedic in the Middle East.
- I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: Ammon suffers this fate while fighting with Rutherford for a gun.
- Kind Hearted Cat Lover: Glo found Cat in a pond about to be euthanized and adopted her for Lizzy, who isn’t always crazy about the cat but does keep her around.
- Laughably Evil: All of the villains so far. Even Ammon and Deidre get some hilarious rants from time to time.
- Loss of Identity: Played for Laughs. For a large part of the third book due to one of Glo’s spells Ammon acts very dog-like, running around and burying things between moments of lucidity.
- Meaningful Name: Martin Ammon is convinced that he’s the embodiment of the spirit of greed, Mammon, with those delusions being partially as a result of his name.
- Not Staying for Breakfast: After Wulf and Deirdre had sex (giving her most of his powers for a while) Deirdre is furious that he didn't even call the next morning.
- Punch-Clock Hero: Diesel works to catch people with powers who misbehave, or stop them from achieving nebulous goals, but he does it for a paycheck and talks about getting in his twenty and then retiring to buy an island. Another woman who works for the same people also says that she hopes to get a bonus for being so patient with Diesel.
- Raging Stiffie: Once when hit with a love spell directed at Glo, Hatchett makes up bawdy poems outside the window (to Glo’s annoyance) one of which begins with “How does my Johnsn love thee? Let me count the ways…”
- Rich Bitch: Deirdre Early is a candy heiress who spends a lot on clothes, protested against PETA in the past and is obsessed with power and domination.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After accidentally shooting Ammon, Rutherford makes an excuse about taking a job in Tasmania and then runs off without checking on his boss’s vital signs.
- Seven Deadly Sins: The stones represent the powers of them and it is strongly advised that they not be brought into contact. That being said, it is possible to transform the stones powers into ones of virtue (like lust to true love).
- Sleeps in the Nude: Diesel sleeps naked, which fuels the Unresolved Sexual Tension between him and Lizzy when he stays at her house.
- Sword Fight: The third book has one between Hatchett (with his renaissance sword) and Glo’s pirate-tour guide boyfriend Josh.
- Talking to the Dead: A variant. Local medical examiner Theodore Nergal has the power to hear what a dead body’s last thoughts were. They range from megalomaniacal delusions to mundane regrets.
- This Is Unforgivable!: When Ammon buys the rights to her cupcakes but then tampers with the recipe for mass production Lizzy is pretty pissed.
- The Unintelligible: Shirley can’t talk clearly for most of the first book, either as a result of a spell Glo made going wrong or a medication mix up.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Between both Lizzy and Diesel and Lizzy and Wolf.
- You Are Not Alone: In the third book Theodore is ecstatic to find out there are other people with powers and asks if they have meetings like book clubs.
- You Have Failed Me: One of Ammon’s henchmen suffers this fate offscreen for trying to kill the characters when they were needed alive.
