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
Game Over
by
Fern Michaels
It is part of the Sisterhood #17 series and is a romantic suspense in a paperback edition that was published by Zebra on July 1, 2010 and has 352 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, Deadly Deals, Cross Roads, Déjà Vu, Home Free
Seventeenth in the Sisterhood vengeance-suspense series revolving around a group of seven women eager to find justice for those the legal system abandons.
My Take
Michaels takes on the value of keeping one’s promises. President Martine Connor has been very slack in this respect and plans a betrayal against her best friend.
You’d think that a couple who has been sleeping together and, according to earlier installments, having a good time, would have already figured out how the other likes to sleep and if they enjoy sex together. But, then, writing it this way is more true to Michaels’ form. Inconsistency thy name is Fern Michaels. Jesus, she’s a crappy writer.
Michaels does pay a nice tribute to pole dancers as to their physical fitness.
Why would the president of the United States call the husband of a possible appointee — at 5:30 in the morning — to tell him she has a short list in case a vacancy crops up on the Supreme Court? And how convenient that she calls just after the supposedly retiring Justice calls Cosmo.
Another part of my problem with Michaels’ writing is it doesn’t sound real. It’s one of the things I really enjoyed about J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood is the camaraderie between the brothers and the reality of their verbal exchanges setting the slang aspect of it aside. Michaels will start real such as when Harry is laughing at Jack’s duckie jammies but then she continues the conversation with:
“‘You have a problem with yellow ducks, Harry? My aunt gave me these pajamas. They’re high-grade flannel and very comfortable, not to mention warm. What kind of nephew would I be if I didn’t wear them?'”
Please, what guy do you know who would actually talk like this?? Then there’s all the “goody’s” and “oh, my’s” from the ladies. Gimme a break. Where does Michaels pick this up?? They sound like really little kids trying to be grownups. Although, to be fair, this is consistent with the immaturity displayed by most of the characters.
Michaels raises a nice bit of tension with which side Jellicoe will come down on — nicely stretched. Nor does she resolve the tension between Jellicoe and Connor. I’m guessing she’s saving it for the next book. ‘Cause, god forbid, she should actually end this series.
Connor has a lot of nerve questioning why Lizzie didn’t tell her she knew Jellicoe. Considering how she’s intending to betray her.
So explain to me just why it is that half way through this series, Michaels decided to split it into Rules of the Game for five books? Wouldn’t a better point have been when the sisters got their pardons have been a more practical place to split it? Stupid me…I keep forgetting that Michaels is the master of inconsistency.
The Story
It’s about time that Myra Rutledge and Charles Martin got married. It’s too bad that they’re so bored in bed with each other that they come home from the honeymoon five days early.
The action really takes off when Cosmo Cricket calls on the boys for advice. His excuse is what to do with this mansion of a house he’s purchased in D.C. as a surprise for Lizzie but he really wants to know if the not-yet-released invitation for Lizzie Fox to become the next appointee to the Supreme Court is a trap or not.
There’s a great deal of back and forth over whether they should tell Lizzie or not. Tell the mountain or not. Is it a trap or not. Again, tell Lizzie or not. Charles and Maggie both sent their spiders out to investigate Justice Leonard and his wife’s health — his excuse for quitting the Court. One of Charles’ sources is Hank Jellicoe. The security guru with an open door invitation at the White House who is able to confirm the pardons are ready to go. Unbeknownst to Jellicoe, another White House source confirms it and the ladies are a go to infiltrate the White House.
Another major change is about to happen. Those team members who have been still in the public eye could well have problems once the ladies do get their pardons. They may need to disappear…
The Characters
The Sisterhood is…
…composed of women who mete out justice to those who believe themselves outside the law and the team they’ve picked up along the way: Myra and Charles Martin — they got married in Deadly Deals, 16, and Charles is a former MI6 operative; Annie de Silva is a widowed billionaire Spanish countess; Yoko Akio, the florist, is engaged to Harry Wong the martial arts expert; Alexis Thorne, a broker, hooked up with Joe Espinosa, a Post reporter; Isabelle Flanders is an architect and interested in Stu Franklin; Kathryn Lucas is a long-haul trucker who hooked up with Bert Navarro, the current Director of the FBI; and Nikki is engaged to Jack Emery the Assistant District Attorney in D.C. Lizzie Fox, the “Silver Fox”, is a formidable lawyer who wins cases simply by walking into the courtroom who married Cosmo Cricket, the Nevada Gaming Commission’s lawyer. Maggie Spritzer became the Editor in Chief of the Washington Post when Annie bought the paper and Ted Robinson is one of her reporters; both came over to the Sisterhood’s side. They also get engaged in this installment.
Abner Tookus is a computer whiz and a very good friend of Maggie’s who can always find the goods. Henry “Hank” Jellicoe is the former head of security for Myra’s candy company; now he runs an international security firm that is the best of the best and worth billions. Seems he’s also carrying on an affair with the president.
Justice Douglas Leonard plays a nasty trick on an old friend; his wife is Florence with her own itchy problem. Pearl Barnes and Cornelia “Nellie” Easter Cummings play a cameo role. Michaels is setting us up for Annie and Fish. President Martine Connor is in office only through the aid of the Sisterhood. The deal was pardons for the ladies and Connor has been putting it off.
Semi-regulars not making an appearance — cameo or otherwise—include Rena Gold and Paula Woodley; technically Elias Cummings shows up, but only when Nellie mentions his having the flu.
The Cover and Title
Oh yeah, the cover is consistent. It’s pretty with absolutely no relationship to the contents. It’s a lovely fall day as we peek over the scalloped white picket fence and past the privet hedge topped with fallen red and yellow maple leaves at a white clapboard two-story colonial. You can just feel the last bits of sun before winter. Meanwhile the story takes place in January and February with lots of snow.
The title is accurate enough, as the Game Over sign flashes when Paul Revere picks up those pesky pardons. Too bad it’s not true about the series.
