Wretched is dark contemporary romance novel written by Emily McIntire, published in 2022, based on L. Frank Baum's fairytale The Wizard of Oz.
Eveline Westerly had lost her older sister, Nessa. What's more, she is part of her father's drug trade empire that distributes a powerful illegal drug called "the Flying Monkey". When new recruits are brought in, she can't shake the feeling something isn't right about them.
Nicholas Woodsworth is an undercover agent with a hatred of criminals and an eye out for pretty ladies. When he enters the Westerly drug trade under a different name to undermine them, his path crosses with Eveline - who he had met once in a club before taking the job.
Though they can't stand one another, something keeps bringing them together. Both come into conflicts as ugly truths come to the surface and the pair come to discover more in common than they believed.
Wretched contains the following examples:
- Adaptational Jerkass: Dorothy is not a sweet girl anymore, compared to her original counterpart.
- Affectionate Nickname: Eveline has been called "Bug" by her father.
- Big Brother Worship: Gender-inverted. Eveline has loved and idolized her late older sister, Nessa, even after her death.
- Big Damn Heroes: Nicholas arrives in time to shoot Cody, preventing Eveline's arrest and allowing her to escape before the feds arrive.
- Big Damn Reunion: At his sister's encouragement, Nicholas leaves to look for Eveline. When he arrives in Ireland and crosses paths with her again, they reunite with nothing holding them back this time.
- Black Market: The Westerly family operates an illegal drug trade empire in the States.
- Cowardly Lion: Zeke, whose only reason for being involved in illegal activities was because of his late father's time as a criminal and with Eveline's father. However, when Eveline was in danger of being killed by her father, he takes action and shoots Farrell dead.
- Et Tu, Brute?: When Cody reveals himself to be a federal agent working undercover as a way to get dirt on Eveline, she expresses these thoughts to him as he was about to arrest her.
- Fantastic Drug: The Westerly's trademark drug they sell is "the Flying Monkey".
- The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Eveline has always been at odds with Dorothy since childhood.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Justified. Eveline has a short temper and little impulse control, which requires her to count down numbers in her mind just to calm down.
- In Love with the Mark: Despite working against the Westerlys in secret, Nicholas inadvertently falls in love with Eveline (who is the supplier of the Flying Monkey), which she slowly reciprocates.
- The Irish Mob: The Westerly family, with Farrell carrying pride in his Irish heritage as the leader, is basically this with their drug trade built on profit.
- The Mafia: The Cantanellis, who run their own crime organization stationed in Chicago.
- Missing Mom: Eveline's mother, Glinda, has long since passed prior to the story.
- The Mole: Nicholas goes undercover as a new recruit into the Westerly crime family on behalf of the DEA to gather intel on everyone involved. It gets complicated due to the time he spends with Eveline.
- Cody is an agent operating undercover as an ordinary hacker to acquire inside information on the Westerlys and on Eveline herself.
- Notorious Parent: Farrell Westerly is the leader of the drug trade with a criminal rap sheet, and the father of Dorothy and Eveline.
- Parental Favoritism: Eveline's mother, Glinda, showed more affection for Dorothy than her other daughters in the past.
- Sibling Murder: Eveline kills Dorothy by dunking her in hydrofluoric acid.
- Dorothy killed their sister Nessa by pushing her off a yacht into the water seven years ago.
- Undercover Cop Reveal: This turn of events happens more than once.
- Eveline discovers that Nicholas has been working as an undercover agent meant to expose the Westerly family and their black-market trade.
- Cody is also revealed to be an undercover agent sent to catch the supplier of the Flying Monkey drug.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Gender-inverted. Eveline really wanted more than anything to receive any affection she can get from her father. She grows tired of it when she comes to understand her father only saw her as a means to an end.
