Free Fall

Sisterhood #7

by Fern Michaels

The bestselling Revenge of the Sisterhood series concludes -Yoko Akia has been hungering for revenge all her life, and now, finally, it is time. Yoko's mother was just fifteen when a rich American deceived her into a life of degradation in a twisted prostitution ring. She died aged seventeen after bearing her baby girl. Now a great movie star, he is long overdue some justice. Yoko, with the aid of her beloved friends, must punish her father.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Romance, Suspense, Chick Lit, Thriller, Crime

319 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Fern Michaels isn’t a person. I’m not sure she’s an entity either since an entity is something with separate existence. Fern Michaels® is what I DO. Me, Mary Ruth Kuczkir. Growing up in Hastings, Pennsylvania, I was called Ruth. I became Mary when I entered the business world where first names were the order of the day. To this day, family and friends call me Dink, a name my father gave me when I was born because according to him I was ‘a dinky little thing’ weighing in at four and a half pounds. However, I answer to Fern since people are more comfortable with a name they can pronounce.

As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.

Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.

Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.

READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is Yoko Akia’s turn for revenge and payback. Her mom was only 15 years old when she met a wealthy man who promised her a good life, but who ended up taking advantage of her and then turning her over to a terrifying life where she ends up dying after Yoko is born. This will not be an easy mission though. They wealthy man is a much loved movie star.

The activities that Mr. Perfect Movie Star is involved with are horrible. The author doesn’t go into a whole lot of detail, but she girls reactions to what Charles gives them is enough to figure it out. I would say that he deserved what he got, but I feel like the Sisterhood went a little overboard with it (superglue? really?). The annoying reporters are back and the Sisterhood knows they are watching them. They really should have listened to Charles. I actually feel like they may have been able to bring the reporters in to help out the movie star. The two of them want to write an article worthy of winning the Pulitzer Prize and this would have been a good one for them.
Charles has prepared for a possible downfall and it’s a good thing he did. I like how it ended and I look forward to seeing how they function out of their new accommodations.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really bad writing. I'd heard good things about the series, and about the author but I found the dialouge redundant and trite.

[Rhonda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the 7th in the sisterhood series and I found it to be the weakest by far. I like the premise of the series but this one didn't hit the mark at all for me. Spent most of the book meeting the family that sold her mother into slavery and preparing for their out of country compound they'll need to hide in later. The actual revenge was very unimaginative and poorly done. I'm going to give the next one or two a try but hoping for great improvement.

[JoAnna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this was better than the last two, thank goodness!!!! Still, I was not pleased with how rushed the ending was, but I think that's just the authors style.... I guess. I will continue on to the next book eventually!

[Jodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was just way too obvoius they were going to get caught in this book!

[January · Rating 2 out of 5]

Free Fall by Fern Michaels
Sisterhood #7
related series Men of the Sisterhood
+273-page Kindle Ebook ends on 271

Genre: Thriller, Romantic Suspense

Featuring: Author's Bibliography, Virginia, Washington, D. C.; Japan, California, Barcelona, Spain; Holes, Wealthy Socialites, Injustices, Revenge Plot, Assault, Vigilantes Women's Club, Corruption, Golden Retriever, Paranormal Activity, Stereotypes, Sex Trafficking, Obsolescent Language, Profanity, Over The Top Drama, Sneak Peak for Liar! - Lost and Found #3 Blurb Only;Sneak Peak for Tick Tock - Sisterhood #34 Chapter One

Rating as a movie: R for adult content including violence

Books mentioned: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

My rating: ⭐️⭐️½⚖️

My thoughts: 🔖Page 42 of 273 Chapter 4 - So now Yoko is Japanese, I'm glad she at least settled on a background, but this was sloppy and insensitive character development. There is still no reason for her poor grammar.
🔖63 Chapter 6 - The lack of cultural research, the inconsistencies of the series, and the major plotholes are weighing on my nerves. I'm not sure I can make it to book 20 if this continues.

I was going to let things go, but the last third of this book is so redonkulous that I'm not only annoyed and confused I'm done with the series. The underlying racism and cultural insensitivity are one issue, the cringy dialog, and plotholes are another. I was ignoring the terrible write to get to Yoko's revenge only for it to go so moronic and left that I no longer care. It has turned into a bad dated sitcom.

Recommend to others: No, unfortunately.

Sisterhood
1. Weekend Warriors (2003)
2. Payback (2004)
3. Vendetta (2005)
4. The Jury (2005)
5. Sweet Revenge (2006)
6. Lethal Justice (2006)
7. Free Fall (2007)
8. Hide and Seek (2007)
9. Hokus Pokus (2007)
10. Fast Track (2008)
11. Collateral Damage (2008)
12. Final Justice (2008)
13. Under the Radar (2009)
14. Razor Sharp (2009)
15. Vanishing Act (2009)
16. Deadly Deals (2009)
17. Game Over (2010)
18. Cross Roads (2010)
19. Deja Vu (2010)
20. Home Free (2011)
21. Gotcha! (2012)
22. Blindsided (2013)
23. Kiss and Tell (2014)
24. Eyes Only (2014)
25. In Plain Sight (2015)
26. Point Blank (2015)
26.5. And the Angels Sing (2015)
aka Wishes for Christmas
27. Crash and Burn (2016)
28. Need to Know (2017)
29. Safe and Sound (2018)
30. Cut and Run (2019)
31. Truth and Justice (2020)
32. Bitter Pill (2020)
33. 19 Yellow Moon Road (2021)
A Golden Tree (2021)
34. Tick Tock (2022)
35. Rock Bottom (2023)
36. Backwater Justice (2024)

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read Fern Michaels many times in the past but it has been awhile and I know my reading tastes have changed however, this book sort of makes me not want to read Fern Michaels ever again. A friend of mine loaned me the book and since she did, I wanted to give it a try. I figured out quickly it was part of a series and fortunately, a positive I can say about this book is that I did not feel like I missed anything from not having read the other books. I was pretty easily brought into the story, so kudos to Ms. Michaels for that. However, I really, really wanted to put the book down by page 20 but I kept going because I wanted to like it. The story never got better for me and it almost bordered on stupidity at times. The characterization of the women compared to how they behaved just did not match up. In the end, I plan to steer clear of any other books from this series and hope my next experience with Fern Michaels writing is a better one.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the idea of the book. However, the author looses track of storyline and changes it in the middle of the book. Lyons doesn’t know if Suki is dead then later in the same paragraph knows she is dead. There are many slips like this and it only gets worse the more you read the series. It ruins the storyline.

[Jean · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book. Someone gave it to me, so I decided to check it out. I didn't like any of the characters, when I finished reading it, I actually threw the book in the trash. I have never done that with a book before. I have to finish a book once I start it, this one was tough!

[Linda Farrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely fiction. Typical of the series - quick read written by a little old lady. "...nothing but a sack of poop"??? "...the dark stuff hit the fan"? Okay. I'm still not sure I agree with the premise of vigilantes so my mind set isn't with the book.

[Lisa Penland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this one up at a used book store. Glad I didn't pay full price. The characters were just not that engaging to me.

[foo4luv · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've really started to wonder why I read this series. This will certainly be my last volume.

[Marlyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I didn't like the book. It was silly and a waste of time.

[Ottilee B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS is just one reason I keep rereading this series! I LOVE THESE WOMEN & THEIR BRAND OF JUSTICE!!! Glueing the naked men to the hardwood floor: Kodak moment #1!!!!
(They head to the Mtn. in Spain.)

[Nina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fern Michaels's Sisterhood series had been in my TBR pile for quite a while. I've turned to this needing a respite from a string of noir mysteries.

I found the original concept of this series -- women who could not find restitution under law for injustices they suffered -- quite intriguing. The adventures are total fantasies but are enjoyable reads mixed with some comic elements and led me to binge-read the series. Book 7 Free Fall in effect concludes the original vigilante adventures of these women. Subsequent books turn the women into "guns for hire," in a manner of speaking. Regrettably, later books fall into droning routine.

The qualm I have with the series is the description of the Asian character Yoko Akia, especially because of my Japanese/American background and speaking both languages. I am fully aware that this is just chick lit fantasy but am surprised by the blatant lack of knowledge of Asian countries considering it was written in the 21st century and not in the 1950s or 1960s. There is a strange mix of Chinese and Japanese cultural preconceptions -- Japanese grandparents living in poverty and addicted to opium? Japan has been a world-class economic power since the 1970s and its farmers have lived in middle-class comfort for many decades since economic growth began in the 1960s. Opium and other substance addiction is rare (addicts, if any, are yakuza-linked). The image here is that of pre-communist, decadent China that suffered from impotent monarchical rule and spread of opium brought in by the British. Also, the character is supposed to have born to a Japanese mother and American man and has no experience of living in Japan (or China, which the author clearly confuses). Asian Americans who were born and grew up in the US speak English like native speakers, regardless of economic background. The speech and mannerisms of this character is that of associated with those who are recent immigrants.

Okay, there are many other inaccuracies I can point out, but end of rant. It's just chick lit.

[Theda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sloppy writing has finally gotten to me. Perhaps because I've read the series in order this month. It's evident in every book (20,000 Christmas trees in a single trailer? driving from Virginia to Oregon and back in a few days?).

In this book, the ages are way off. The villain would have had to start his career at age 15 or 16. Given the nature of it, that's just not credible. He is 50, she is 33. Do the math.

In different books, sometimes the door opens directly to the Room; sometimes to a corridor which branches off to the Room; sometimes to stairs. And so on, and so on.

As a reader, I want an author to try to write well both out of respect for her craft and for her readers. This just isn't happening. It's sloppy, it's inconsistent, and it makes me wonder if the books are actually written by different people or just one person who simply doesn't care.

And finally, I'm tired of the "we are women" shtick, especially given that some of the earlier villains were women!

Since I already have the rest of the books in the series, I'm still debating whether I will read them or not. The plots are inventive, but there is zero character development, and the aforementioned sloppy writing. We'll see.

[Courtney Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm confused about the timeline in some of these books. For example, in the first book, Myra turned 60 years old at the beginning of the story. By the beginning of the sixth book, she was only 63. That was weird because I know that at least a year (possibly two, I can't remember for sure) passed before the girls all met up to do the very first mission. And then a lot of time passed between each mission. It had to be more than three years between the six books.
And now...Yoko's father is 50 years old. He even thinks about how, if he does one James Bond movie a year for five years, he can retire at 55.
Earlier in the book, it says Yoko is 33. So..did he father her when he was 17? I don't think so! It evens mentions somewhere that "he had it all by his mid-twenties, which is when he started to look for other forms of gratification". The man didn't start the bad stuff until he was at least in his twenties.
The time frames that are mentioned in these books do not add up. It drives me crazy :)

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I think I can stop reading these books for a while, I find I am skimming more than reading for pleasure. It is almost a shame because I think the writing is getting better. I actually enjoyed the last 50 pages. I think the story idea is imaginative but the dialogue and character reaction to situations are just odd at times. Sometime when you read conversations in this series it comes off as a bad stage play. Head scratcher. I can't really give good reasons why I keep reading these books except that I really wanted to see if they sisterhood would prevail. *spoiler*
Yoko got the man who murdered her mother, super glued his and his cohorts white slaver butts to the floor and left all the evidence at their feet. The reporters got the sisterhood arrested. Jack, Harry and the sisterhood escape to their mountain retreat to form a commando unit to right wrongs. --side order of implausible anyone? I think I'm done.

[Tara Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Free Fall: The Sisterhood, Book 7 by Fern Michaels, narrated by Laural Merlington is good, but it isn't my favorite of the series. When I first started listening to The Sisterhood series, I couldn't get enough! The first audiobook pulled me in right away, and I knew I was in for the long haul. Love these books! The storyline is awesome, and the women's wide range of personalities keep things interesting. The writing and narration are both excellent, but I do feel that the recording of this book sounded a bit muffled, in comparison to the clarity of the others. Perhaps it's just an older recording. Either way, I highly recommend this series; it's super engaging, entertaining, and fast-paced. Make sure you start at the beginning with book 1, so you can get a full understanding of what's going on. I'm confident you will enjoy these books as much as I do. Happy listening!

Thank you for reading my review. I hope it was helpful. :-)

[Shelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Synopsis: Florist Yoko Akia has been hungering for revenge all her life, and now, finally, it is time. Yoko's mother was just fifteen when a rich American deceived her into a life of degradation in a twisted prostitution ring. She died aged seventeen after bearing her baby girl. The ladies are shocked to discover Yoko's dad is none other than Michael Lyons, an award-winning film star with another nasty secret: he's been buying and selling Asian women as sex slaves to prominent businessmen.

Charles has threatened and got rid of (for now) Maggie and Ted for spying on the sisterhood. He warns them to stay away from DC, or face consequences. We ALL know that neither will listen and they will return. Afterall, it wouldnt be the sisterhood series without them.

I want to ask the writer if she has ever traveled to the counties she besmirches in this book?

Waiting for an answer.

[Jean Perry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the second in the series of The Sisterhood first and thought it was a great premise for a series of women getting justice for themselves. Unfortunately after that first moderately good read, the next two i tried to read were terrible. There are too many characters that if you haven't read the series in order, the reader sometimes has no idea who they are. In both of the next two books i read, including Free Fall, it took much too long to get into the mystery and the revenge story, especially in such short books. I didn't finish either of them and will not get any more of this series.

I do like some other books of Fern Michaels, this series just didn't work for me. Maybe i was especially disappointed because after reading the first one i thought it had such promise.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last of the Sisterhood got their revenge with their mission. Prior to working her mission, Yoko traveled to China to locate her grandparents. With that complete, the ladies gathered up all the men involved in the sexual slavery ring, lead by Yoko's father, Academy award winning actor, Michael Lyons. Once the job was done, Jack arrested the ladies and took them back to D.C., where Lizzie Fox was their defense attorney, in Judge Easter's courtroom. With Jack, Lizzie and Judge Easter's assistance, the ladies leave the U.S. for the mountain monastery in Barcelona that Annie deSilva owned, as their refuge home.

[Ashley A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed Fern Michaels writing. Her books are a quick and easy read but they keep you hooked at the same time. In this one the lead up to the revenge taken against Michael Lyons was great. It kept me interested the entire time. However that actual punishment, I felt was rushed. There could have been more descriptions, more thoughts from Michael’s point of view. I feel because the situation in the book was rushed then scenario felt rushed as well

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The steaks and the price of failure have gone way up in this outing for the sisterhood. The ladies with help from Charles, are going after some really sick, perverted men this time. These are men who don’t play fair and to whom human life means very little. They can’t afford to make any mistakes because the price of failure is their deaths.

[PAttie HOlmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable

I know one thing for sure , I can't wait to finish one book to get started on the next. My friend bought me the first and second book in the series and I've got 8 and9 waiting online to read next. They are so exciting you just can't wait to finish one and get to the next one.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The seventh in the Revenge of the Sisterhood series. It's too unbelievable to make for good suspense or just even good reading.
Nevertheless, it still is kind of fun. The really really bad guys get glued to the floor!

[Saylaveev · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I'm still actually reading this at time of review, I can already tell I would't read any more of this series. I didn't know it is #7, it might explain a bit more of this weird scenario and character development but it just doesn't grab me. Even boring for beach reading.

[Mrs. Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We all need a Sisterhood"

Anyone feeling the need to be apart of something special join the Sisterhood. Friendships that last a lifetime are filled with trust as that of a child to a parent.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know if I needed to read the other books in the series in order to appreciate this one, but I was praying for it to be over...

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just too fabricated for me.