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
Home Free
by
Fern Michaels
It is part of the Sisterhood #20 series and is a romantic suspense in a paperback edition that was published by Zebra on April 1, 2011 and has 384 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
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, Game Over, Cross Roads, Déjà Vu
Twentieth and last [I hope] in the Sisterhood vengeance-suspense series revolving around a core group of seven women determined to right judicial wrongs.
My Take
Well, the ladies are bored again, and President Connor sets up an ultra-secret, “doesn’t exist” agency with the vigilantes as its sole members who are available to tackle missions for the President. Fortunately, all the younger women choose to pack it in at the end with all sorts of life-changing decisions.
Unfortunately, the older members choose to start up a new group that includes Annie, Fergus, Nellie, Elias, Pearl, Myra, Charles, and Martine. It’s not that I object to their objectives, just Michaels’ writing. She is at least consistent in creating dialog that reads like bullet points put into sentences with no real need to make it believable, sounds like stream of conscious thoughts, babbling with no brake, and reads more like a Dick and Jane primer while the characters themselves have more of a middle school mentality.
Be sure to read the book flap summary as it’s the only way you’ll know why President Connor is setting up this super-secret group; the book certainly doesn’t lay it out for you.
I’m confused…again. In the same paragraph, Connor is wondering why she hasn’t told Gus that she has agreed to mate Cleo and by the end of the paragraph we learn that she isn’t going to mate Cleo. What’s the point of this paragraph??
Home Free was published in 2011 and I have no intention of exploring to find out if any further books are written — my OCD compulsions can take a time-out! I am so done with this train wreck!
The Story
President Martine Connor needs to discover who controls the über-secret slush fund partly because it seems that it’s total amount seems lower than it should be [why she thinks this if she can’t even figure out who’s operating it, I don’t know] and she believes that only the vigilantes can find the mysterious controller. With this end in mind, she coaxes Lizzie Fox into enticing the vigilantes into a new “doesn’t exist” agency with no restrictions on money and invites Maggie Spritzer to celebrate Thanksgiving at Camp David. With a lot of other money men thereby setting Maggie’s curiosity aflame, which, in turn, drags the vigilantes into the mystery.
The Characters
President Martine Connor is happy with her adoption of a retired German shepherd Cleo and satisfied with getting the 12 gold shields from the FBI.
Master Sergeant Gus Sullivan, Cleo’s old handler, was wounded while in Iraq and will have to retire. President Connor has invited him for Thanksgiving dinner at Camp David.
Jack Emery and Bert Navarro are taking care of the training at Harry’s dojo and planning an intervention with Harry Wong. Seems the master whom Harry hired to help get him in shape for the tournament hasn’t woken up yet to actually do any teaching. Meanwhile both Jack and Bert’s relationships with their ladies, Nikki and Kathryn, are going very well with Bert and Kathryn likely to marry soon. Yoko Wong is not happy however as Harry’s training is an absolute drain on their savings and Harry has nothing to show for it.
Lizzie Fox has a cameo appearance bringing the President’s request for the ladies to “join the president’s new agency”. Little Jack and Cosmo have a brief mention.
Annie de Silva is developing a relationship with Fergus Duffy, the now-retired head of New Scotland Yard; Fergus is about to accept an offer from Myra to be the new head of her candy company’s security. Charles and Myra Rutledge Martin are happy together, but bored. Charles, in particular, is feeling rather slow and out of it technologically. Elias and Nellie Easter Cummings really don’t do much except to join the new group forming at the end. Alexis and Joe Espinosa are happy — Alexis is considering going to law school and, when Isabelle meets Abner Tookus, it’s love at first sight. [Abner has a glorious bathroom!] Ted Robinson is going through the ladies with wild abandon although a Rachel Ryan has recently entered his life and Maggie Spritzer has fallen in love right after she buys her house.
Jason Parker is an investment banker and the man Maggie has been dating; the ladies quickly arouse her suspicions of him. JJ, a.k.a., Owen Orzell, is the deep cover monitor for the missing slush fund and has quite a story to spill.
The Cover and Title
The cover is too, too typical with its lovely bed of blooming tulips in front of a white picket fence…as the story opens on a cold November day. I swear there’s some sort of photo lottery of lovely gardens that Michaels uses. The actual storyline almost never has any bearing on the final choice. Fascinating, really.
The title is absolutely perfect! We are indeed Home Free with this [current] end to this series.
Oh, please, please, please, let this be the end!
