Home Free

Sisterhood #20

by Fern Michaels

The Sisterhood faces a brand-new day—and even greater battles. Twentieth in the fan-favorite series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.  United by a desire to overcome their personal misfortunes, seven very different women formed an indelible bond and vowed to right wrongs wherever they found them. They’ve succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. After years known as the Vigilantes, Myra, Annie, Kathryn, Alexis, Yoko, Nikki, and Isabelle are enjoying their hard-won freedom and the chance at a normal life. As it turns out, once you’re a part of the Sisterhood, normal is a relative term. President Martine Connor, their long-time ally, has announced the formation of a top-secret organization. Officially, the CIC won’t exist. Unofficially, they’ll report directly to the president and tackle the jobs no one else can handle. For the Sisterhood, it’s the end of an era—and the beginning of a whole new adventure . . .  Series praise   “Spunky women who fight for truth, justice, and the American way.”—Fresh Fiction on Final Justice “Readers will enjoy seeing what happens when well-funded, very angry women take the law into their own hands.”—Booklist on Weekend Warriors “Delectable . . . deliver[s] revenge that’s creatively swift and sweet, Michaels-style.”—Publishers Weekly on Hokus Pokus

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

273 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

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

[Kathy Davie · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 and 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 uber-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!

[Mahoghani 23 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can only speculate on this story because I jumped out of sequence of this series. There are do many new characters, I totally lost who the main characters were. The story was a typical happy ending minus the dramatic and dangerous activities as the previous books I've read in the series. Could it be because the ladies have excelled at obtaining their vengeance or it's time for their lives to take on a different arena? I like the writing styles of the author and will continue reading the series.

[Mayda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would that I had known that this was the twentieth book in a series before I listened to it! This is definitely not a series in which the books are stand-alones. It took a while to even begin to understand the characters and their backstories. I was intrigued enough to put this series on my to-read list, but really did not get much out this installment. Maybe after reading the first nineteen books in the series, my enjoyment (and rating) of this one will change.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Carol Mersburgh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Home Free

Well, Ms. Michaels, sorry to say again, this book fizzled for me. BORING! The beginning of the series was great, but I don’t know what happened.
If I remember correctly, in one of the earlier books, Maggie said that she had an amazing sex encounter with Amber Tookus, & in the later book, she denied sleeping with him. In addition, she claimed that Abner Tookus wasn’t his real name. Also, in this book, Espinosa’s name was written as Esposito a couple of times. Your proof readers need to be more careful with detais. You’re making beau coup bucks. Need to give the readers more bang for our bucks.

[Teresa Stokley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The FINAL one! She's supposedly not writing any more Sisterhood books after this one... #20 was suppose to be it. So, with that said, I have to say, WoW! I was shocked at how it ended!! It sat on my shelf for a month b4 I read it! All cuz I didn't want it to end! But it was Great! And I believe all Sisterhood lovers will b proud also!!

[Tulay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy reading.

This story of sisterhood vigilante group, there love life and work did gave my brain some rest. Love reading political, medical and legal thrillers, had some political thrill but ending was very obvious.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ladies are starting to get less meaningful and more nasty as the volumes continue.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sisterhood is enjoying peace. They have normal lives now and are enjoying their boyfriends or husbands like normal people. However, they are also restless and a little unhappy. Their lives are rather mundane now. They seem to have lost their purpose and definitely the excitement of their former lives. They find themselves missing the other sisters and the relationship they had together. Life is rather dull; but at the same time, they like that.
However, when President Martine Connor calls them to a meeting at the White House, they eagerly accept if only to hear what she has to say. They are stunned and a little uneasy at her suggestion. Martine had called a meeting with the heads of the secret organizations around the world to discuss how they were set up and paid, etc. She wanted to create her own secret organization the CIC. This would officially exist but would take on jobs that no one else could handle. They would have financing and access to what ever resources they needed. They would be on their own to complete the job.
This created a dilemma for the sisters. Should the accept or not? Would they have the authority to pass on jobs they didn't feel right about? What would their limitations be? What were their assurances as to legality and protection ? Should they accept?

[Beth Peninger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Undoubtedly, the sisterhood knows how to get things done that nobody else can. Because of that, the President has resurrected the very secret task force that put the hurt on Jack and Ted back in the day. Gifted with gold shields, the sisterhood - and their gents- will take on the jobs that need to be done secretly and without much fanfare or recognition. The first job involves government slush funds - more to the point, the funds missing. Between Maggie's sources and Charles' sources, the truth will surface, and the vigilantes will get business taken care of.

As I hit this title's last couple of chapters, I thought, "This is the perfect title to end this series." Everything comes to a conclusion that works. Clearly, Michaels didn't feel that way, as this series has many more books. Also, the conversation with Myra's "spirit daughter" returns in this title, and I groaned. During the conclusion of this particular case, Annie complains that the sisterhood doesn't go out in a blaze of glory or even a puff of smoke. That's correct. If nothing else, that statement highlights how far away from the original creativity Michaels has strayed. The series is barely a puff of smoke at this point.

[Ruth Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home Free is one of the sisterhood series. All ladies coming together to solve problems for the president. She have people in the CIA stealing money for their own purposes instead of for the country. The president ask Maggie to have Thanksgiving dinner with her where she told here money has been missing from the treasury and she want it back. The vigilantes do a research and found who stole the money then strip them of businesses , assets cash cars and houses. Well the sisterhood now have their lives back after the pardon. They find new careers, jobs and some get married. Yoko have a baby girl after all these years.. Good read.

[Janet Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally started with #4 or 5 that I picked up at a sale somewhere. It was good and I realized it was a series so I checked our library. Wow! So far there are 32 in the series and our library has them all! Home Free is #20, so I'm getting there. At first I wrote down a list of the characters to keep them straight. It does help to read the books in order because they will randomly refer back to how they did something. If I have the time, I can read one in a couple of days, so they can go pretty quickly. Some of them are better than others, but overall they are good. I wouldn't be on #20 if they weren't. 😀

[Janet Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goals Met and Goals Discarded
This book is part of a series that I feel should be read in order. While each book is complete in itself, There are ongoing changes in each person's life that enrich the story. The series revolves around a group of women and their supporters who try to right wrongs and mete out their own brand of justice. In this episode, there are big changes afoot in all of their lives. There are many twists in the story even though it looks straightforward. I have enjoyed every book in this series.

[Carolyn Handy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another hit in this series. I love how they all work together to reach a satisfactory conclusion. Sometimes the violence of the 'punishment' is disturbing but that is my only complaint. New characters are added seamlessly to each story that add another dimension to the book. Sometimes Maggie gets on my last nerve but I guess there has to be at least one in the series. I highly recommend this series.

[Barb · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was pretty boring and poorly written. It seemed like the author was trying to give too many story lines at one time. The instant falling in love of several of the characters was too convenient and it took a while to even figure out the plot. The only real action happened at the very end of the book. I guess you need to probably read the other 19 to appreciate this one. I have read other books by this author and not been disappointed. Too bad this one was such a dud!

[Patricia A.Frammigen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vigilantes Once Again?

This was a shorter story than usual. The beg inning chapters
seem to elude to the end of the vigilantes. They seemed to be longing to revert to normal lives, until the end. I was surprised that they seemed to not be violent at the end. It was surprising that the former President joined the vigilantes and that the vigilantes appear to be reviving their old role as vigilantes.

[Kem · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seemed to be all about "the girls" getting on with their lives without getting any more bad guys. I still like all the characters, but there is so much secrecy going on in so many different areas that it's very difficult to even know if there's going to be a bad guy to catch. A lot of talk on a lot of plains, a lot of circling around. I didn't enjoy this one as much as others.

[Stef · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun series to read as the Sisterhood helps each one of the Sisters and a few others along the way.
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**Must read the series in order.**
Love, Love this series. Highly recommend to those that enjoy: Fast reads, Some romance, crime-suspense, mystery suspense, chic lit n romance n drama, humor, action packed suspense romance, mf. Started reading Fern Michaels in 2018.
(As I write this review I'm up to book 26. March 1st 2019. & will start book 27 next week)

Must begin with book and read them in order to understand all of the people that come into the Sisterhood and when the men start coming into it. Love the changes of the Post and how everyone works together around the table. Nothing gets discussed at the dinner table but only in the war room.

Romances develop, marriages happen, punishment/revenge happens to someone who wronged someone else whether it is someone within the Sisterhood or a random person. The sisters all work together to get through the tough times and the happy times. So many twists and turns. Love, Love reading this series. I take time off after I read a couple books and read my other genres and come back to read this series.

[Wen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this Series. Not sure what the ending will bring forward. The only things I didn't like was Maggie's fast "falling in love"....cheesey. The other was Isabelle hopping into bed with Abner. Otherwise I liked the book. I do have all the other books except for the two that are being released in 2020, so I know it didn't really end, or did it? On to #21.

[Norma Gorrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home Free

Another great book in this series by Fern Michaels. The sisterhood series is great series and one that I enjoy reading. This book was based on people in charge of large amounts of money but who used them for their own benefit so they there were stealing other peoples money. This is my review and mine alone. Norma Gorrill

[Thomas S Hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can not say enough about how much I enjoy your wonderful stories.

I have always rated your story high,you have a terrific idea to Bring your readers to see the characters in everyday relationships and situations. I tell others to get your books and sit down to enjoy some great time with each person in the stories.🎀

[Mary Duiker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad but Rewarding

In life one has to say goodbye to many things, but it is necessary to open up so that life can go on with good things. This is what happens in this book. Life goes on but often with new beginnings. It will be exciting to see and hear what these new beginnings hold for all of them!

[Diana M. Caruthers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feels like the ending

This book feels like the ending of the first part of the series with a teaser of the second part at the end. The girls are settling into their new lives while Charles, Myra and Anna feel the loss. They come up with a solution that hopefully we will hear more about in the next book.

[Tara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Clearly you need to have read some of the previous books in the series to know what's going on. I picked this up as an audiobook without knowing it was #20 in a series. I didn't have a clue what was going on. Definitely not written to entice new people into the franchise.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

20th and last volume on the Sisterhood series. Not sure how I managed to read the last one before any of the others. Seven women who pledged to right the wrongs that they could. Their adventures have taken them far and wide, and this adventure is for the President.

[Marilynn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great 👍

Great reading . Hope continues with more books to read in the series. Couldn't put this book down hoping for a happy ending. I'm happy that more books are following in this series.

[Nicole Bannister]

It's about 7 women United by a desire to overcome their misfortunes and form an indelible bond between them. Also to right the wrongs wherever they find them. I truly enjoyed the book. There was nothing I don't like about the book. I would recommend this to anyone

[Karen Scoppa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home Free

I was so happy to get the happy ending for all the "Vigilantes" .I loved the ending with them getting the money to return to the bilked people. It was not going out in a flame of glory, but satisfying.

[Jama Conner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

So much happened in this boom!! Maggie fell in love with a wounded soldier and got married. Yoko and Harry had a baby girl! Nikki and Jack are adopting! Everything fell into place for all!! Can't wait for the new adventure!!

[Paulette Laurent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home free

I love this book. I will miss the sisterhood
. I liked all the good they done in this series. I'm sure we haven't heard b the last of them.
Thank you for the hours of enjoyment.
I will never stop reading whatever you write.