Lure of the Wicked by Karina Cooper is set in a post-apocalyptic world where most of the humans have been killed off by natural disasters. An entity call “The Church” has risen in power and seeks to end the existence of all witches, blaming them for the end of our civilization. The Church sends highly trained assassins called “missionaries” to seek out and kill all magic users. This engrossing book is the story of Naomi West, a missionary sent undercover to apprehend a rogue missionary hiding in an upscale spa/resort.

Forced out of her leather clothing and with her facial and body piercings removed, Naomi is posing as a wealthy heiress. Being more of an ass-kicker and a stay-out-all-night partier, Naomi finds the idea of tripping around in flip-flops and shortie pink robes repugnant. But since her quarry is holed up in the spa, Timeless, which caters to the ultra-rich, she grits her teeth and prepares to endure the luxury and smell of lavender. Shortly after checking in, Naomi is attacked in her room by a witch, who escapes before Naomi can recover from his attack and catch him. In pursuit of the witch, Naomi runs full tilt into the spa’s owner, Phin Clarke.

Phin and his two mothers use their wealth, their exclusive spa, and fortunately revolving staff as a front for their real work, which is running an underground railroad of sorts that spirits people accused of witchcraft away from the city to safety in the countryside. Any interest from the Church in the goings-on at Timeless would put an end to their life-saving efforts, so secrecy is a must. Intrigued by the tall, powerful woman that runs into him, and unaware of course that she’s a missionary, Phin offers to take Naomi on a tour of the facility. Their tour is interrupted by the screams of a patron trying to get help for an elderly woman trapped in the sauna which is locked in the disinfect mode. Phin is left wondering what in the world had gone wrong with his maintenance schedule, while Naomi wonders why in the world the rogue missionary would want to kill the mother of the current bishop.

Here the reader gains a little insight into the rogue’s motivation. As he hides from Naomi after she rescues the elderly woman, he curses that Naomi and Phin reached the woman in time, so that “it” wouldn’t have to be used to heal her. The mysterious “it” isn’t revealed until much later in the book, as is the identity of the dead man Naomi stuffs in her armoire, and the agenda of the refugee witches and Phin’s mother. The pages between the questions at the beginning of the book, and the answers at the end are very well worth reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lure of the Wicked, largely because of the heroine. Unlike too many of the heroines in books I’ve reviewed recently, Naomi is a grownup. She’s been thoroughly damaged by life, but doesn’t spend her time posturing and whining about it, and she hasn’t lost her ability to be kind. At one point when the deception becomes too much and she has to admit to being a missionary she tries her hardest to push Phin away, and guess what? Later she apologizes! I swear I heard an angelic chorus. Phin is a hero to die for. Yum. He’s rich, handsome, strong and trained as a masseur, but still earthy, generous and loving to his parents. Naomi utterly confounds him until he realizes how damaged she is, then he’s able to use his strength to help her heal. The love scenes are delicious.

I have one very small complaint, and that is regarding the lack of backstory. There is one novella and one full length book prior to this one, so I’m assuming that the reader was supposed to know already what exactly happened to civilization. I didn’t, and the quake mentioned a couple of times didn’t do enough to fill in the gap. Ultimately, the questions about the backstory didn’t matter all that much when weighed against this book’s many attributes. Lure of the Wicked is skillfully written with loads of action, an engaging cast, and a charming (and hot!) love story. I’ll definitely be seeking the two previous works in the series.