I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Deadly Deals
by
Fern Michaels
It is part of the Sisterhood #16 series and is a romantic suspense in a hardcover edition that was published by Kensington Books on December 1, 2009 and has 234 pages.
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Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Hide and Seek, Weekend Warriors, Vendetta, The Jury, Sweet Revenge, Lethal Justice, Free Fall, Hokus Pokus, Fast Track, Collateral Damage, Final Justice, Under the Radar, Razor Sharp, Vanishing Act, Game Over, Cross Roads, Déjà Vu, Home Free
Sixteenth in the Sisterhood vengeance-suspense series about a group of women who bring justice to those the law leaves behind.
My Take
Again. I like Michaels’ premise. I hate her execution. It’s a train wreck ya just can’t resist watching and this installment is no exception. It’s almost embarrassing to read some of the exchanges the characters have with each other. It’s kind of like they’re on speed and they’ve condensed their thought processes into short choppy sentences that just don’t connect with any sense of smoothness.
I’m guessing Michaels thinks the discussion about earrings is cute…blech… What’s with deputizing Jack, Harry, Joe, and Ted during a blizzard and “promising” to send them horses as transportation? Just how is riding a horse in an icy situation anything like safe or practical?? Then there’s “wallah”. Oh, please. These are supposedly intelligent, I’m assuming sophisticated people so I can only assume that Michaels is the idiot who is unaware of the proper spelling, so there and “voila” and ta-dah. I know, I know, I’m getting nasty…
The Story
A desperate wanna-be mother contacts the Quinn law firm putting the vigilantes into action with her story of practically going bankrupt to fund the pregnancy of a surrogate mother who takes her babies back a few months after the Dawsons have spent loving the twins. The Dawsons are desperate as every lawyer they’ve spoken with has refused to take their case when they hear that the saintly Baron Bell is involved.
Bell practically has an open door invitation to visit the White House as he pleases and more judges in his pocket than lint. No lawyer wants to take him on which only allows Bell to continue his racket with his partner.
Naturally, all the ladies get involved while not really doing much as Avery Snowden and his crew does most of the heavy lifting. Annie and Myra break into Bell’s office and crack his safes, getting caught in the process. Jack, Harry, Joe, and Ted do their own break-in on Adele’s “secret” hideaway with better results. And Maggie, of course, has most of the fun in compiling her articles and creating her headlines exposing it all to the public.
The finish is the White House Christmas party staged to ensure the President understands that she’s vulnerable unless she gets those pardons arranged.
The Characters
It’s a small crew of vigilantes this time around: Myra and Charles get engaged; Annie teases Little Fish and a new possibility in Tobias Tyson, the safecracker; Nikki and Jack; Yoko and Harry who is renovating the dojo; Kathryn and Bert; Maggie Spritzer as Editor in Chief at the Washington Post and Ted Robinson; Alexis and Joe; and Isabelle who manages a short contact with Stu Franklin. Lizzie Fox uses her reputation as a cut-throat lawyer while Cosmo, Nellie Easter, and Avery Snowden have very small roles.
Baron Bell is a lawyer who is practically nominated for sainthood he has such a good reputation. Too bad his wife doesn’t yet know about his partner, Adele Newsom, or his adoption sideline. Joan Olsen and Donna Davis are two of the surrogate mothers. Rachel Dawson is the potential mother who brought the problem to the vigilantes attention.
President Martine Connor finally starts to take charge of the White House. God knows why she took so long. What a wimp!
The Cover and Title
The cover is lovely with its beautifully-lit gazebo and striped outdoor furniture. Baskets of flowers both hanging and potted amidst a planned landscape of stones, a path and assorted plantings under a purple sky. The fact that most of the action in this story takes place in a blizzard doesn’t seem to make a difference.
The title, Deadly Deals, probably refers to the bad guys having to deal with the vigilantes — I can’t imagine what else could be deadly about the adoption angle.
