The Jury (Sisterhood Series #4)

The women of the Sisterhood know life isn’t fair, but that doesn’t mean they have to like it-or let it pass. Instead, these best friends share their joys, troubles, triumphs, heartaches and one collective mission: to right wrongs and bring justice where it is desperately needed. Even reeling from the loss of one of their own, the Sisterhood is always prepared to rally behind a new friend.

For years, Paula Woodley has suffered the broken bones and shattered self-esteem caused by an abusive marriage. But what can she do? Her high-profile, Washington power-broker husband is not a man to be crossed. Or so he thinks. The Sisterhood may not be an organization found in any of his memos, but he’s about to take a meeting with them-and they’ll be setting the agenda..

About The Author:

With over than sixty million copies of her books sold around the world, New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels pens romance after epic romance, each filled with all the drama and heartbreak her loyal fans can handle.

Table Of Contents:

Special Features:

The Jury (Sisterhood Series #4)

Kirkus Reviews

The vigilantes of the Sisterhood take the law into their own hands once more, after devoting due consideration to exactly which law to break. Stung by her breakup with prosecutor-turned-private-eye Jack Emery (Vendetta, not reviewed), Virginia attorney Nikki Quinn allows her adoptive mother, Myra Rutledge, and Myra's solicitous lover, former MI6 agent Charles Martin, who's "on first-name terms with the Queen," to whisk her off to a recuperative tropical isle. While she's lying in the sun without a cell phone or Web access, Allison Banks, the demure associate she hired, is running her firm into the ground. Against the advice of Nikki's loyal office manager, Madeline Barrows, Allison's represented the dreadful Barringtons, con-artist neighbors whose starving horses Myra had rescued from certain death, and won them $10 million in damages from Myra. Fired and bloodied by Nikki, Allison vows revenge, but she vanishes as completely as Nikki's plan to take arms against the Barringtons. Instead, like last-minute shoppers trying to cash in a coupon before the store closes, the Sisterhood eventually goes after the president's best friend, wife-beating national security advisor Karl Woodley. The weasel is ringed round by secrecy and security, but will that stop the Sisterhood? Humph. Perennially bestselling Michaels (Family Blessings, 2004, etc.) spins a shapeless web of cliches without a trace of suspense or conviction. Even Nikki's sworn enemy Jack returns to her arms in time to taste some sweet revenge of his own.

Meet the Writer -

The Jury (Sisterhood Series #4)

Fact File

Name:
Fern Michaels

Also Known As:
Mary Kuczkir

Current Home:
Summerville, South Carolina

Place of Birth:
Hastings, Pennsylvania

Education:
High School

Biography

Born Mary Ruth Kuczkir in Hastings, Pennsylvania, Fern Michaels was married and the mother of five before she embarked on her long, successful writing career a career that began with something midway between a challenge and a command. When her youngest child went off to kindergarten, Michaels's husband imperiously ordered her (in just so many words) to get off her ass and get a job. Long years in the domestic trenches had left her short on marketable skills, so she decided trade off her lifelong love of reading and write a book. Just like that. The domineering, unsupportive husband is history. And Michaels has gone on to pen bestselling romance after bestselling romance. Just like that..

With typical modesty, Michaels does not claim to be a great writer; however, she admits proudly to being a born storyteller. Her bulging bookshelf proves she is all over the map, producing with equal facility hot historicals, lighthearted contemporary capers, adrenaline-laced thrillers, and heartwarming tales of family and friendship. She is especially adept at writing stories about women who prevail in hard times a reflection, perhaps, of her own struggles in her marriage and early career.

Raised to believe that the fortunate in life have an obligation to give back, Michaels devotes a lot of time to philanthropic concerns. She has established a foundation that grants four-year scholarships to needy students and has set up pre-schools and daycare centers for single mothers. She is also an avid animal lover and has been known to own as many as five dogs at a time.

In 1993, Michaels picked up stakes and moved from her home in New Jersey to a 300-year-old plantation house in Charleston, South Carolina. She and the dogs share the house amicably with a friendly ghost whom Fern has dubbed Mary Margaret. In addition to stopping clocks and moving pillows from room to room, Mary Margaret has been known to occasionally leave flowers on Michaels's nightstand!

Good To Know

Michaels confesses in our interview: "I'm a junk food junkie and a chocoholic. My desk drawers have more junk food in them than paper and pens. I chomp and chew all day long. At night I get up and eat Marshmallow Fluff right out of the jar. In between eating, I write."

Her first "sort of, kind of job" was in market research. Michaels recounts the gig's low-point in our interview: "I had a partner and we were testing a new pressurized drain cleaner. All you had to do was put this can in the drain, squeeze and supposedly the drain would open right up. It did, all right.

"The whole wall collapsed, and stuff that was in there for a hundred years flew everywhere. The lady didn't tell us the drain backed up to her kitchen drain and disposal. The company didn't care that we smelled like a sewer or that our clothes were ruined. The lady got a new bathroom, and we both got fired."

Michaels reveals some of her sources of inspiration: "Inspiration comes from everywhere. The title for Finders Keepers came from a cartoon with two chipmunks that my grandson was watching. I had a title but no story. I finally came up with one to fit that wonderful title.

"Names for characters sometime come from television. I had a character named Metaxis which is odd to begin with. There is a news anchor on T.V. who has that same last name. Sometimes it will just be a word someone says in passing, something I read or saw. There's no rhyme or reason to it. It's almost like, okay, I need something here, stay alert and it will happen."

Feature Interviews

In the fall of 2002, Fern Michaels answered some of our questions.

What was the book that most influenced your life -- and why?
It was a Nancy Drew book titled, The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk by Carolyn Keene. As a child, it had everything: a secret, a challenge, a young woman detective who drove a car, her family, her best friends, and who had an insatiable curiosity. I wanted to do what Carolyn Keene did -- write about a secrets, challenges, and women who persevered. And that's exactly what I try to do.

What are your favorite books?

The Watchers by Dean Koontz

The Firm by John Grisham

The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum

The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum

The Acquataine Progression by Robert Ludlum

Clear and Present Danger by Tom Clancy

Noble House by John le Carre

Evergreen by Belva Plain

Double Image by Helen MacInnes

These are my favorites because they make me stop and think: How, what, when? What kind of minds do these authors have to come up with these unbelievable plots? Also, because I know, even on my best day, I could never write stories like the ones I've listed. I try, and therein lies the challenge.

Favorite films?

Casablanca -- I have three videos of his film and wore out two.

Top Gun

The Firm

Jaws -- I've seen this film 84 times and know the dialogue by heart.

Favorite music?
Anything by Frank Sinatra and Barry Manilow.

Who are your favorite writers, and what makes their writing special?
Robert Ludlum for his command of the English language, his real-time plots and his superb research. I know he has passed away and I will miss his writings greatly.

Dean Koontz for his way-out plots that make me crazy and wonder if this could really happen. He makes a believer out of me.

What else do you want your readers to know?
First of all, I am a very boring person. That's not to say I was always a boring person. Been there, done that, as the saying goes. These days I spend a lot of time with my kids. I am a big animal rights activist and do all I can for them. I read, do a little gardening. Mostly I write. I like to buy furniture and kitchen gadgets. I have seven T.V.s in my house and turn them all on to news channels. I don't want to miss anything that is going on in the world.

What I love most in the world are my kids and my grandkids and my five dogs. I have a very whimsical area on my second floor where all my dogs are painted on the walls. The ones who have gone over The Rainbow Bridge all have gold halos. Sometimes I go up there and cry.

How do I unwind? With all the dogs on or around me. With a cigarette and a beer. Yes, I know, I shouldn't be doing that but I do. Sometimes if it's really stressful, I take the dogs for a run around my four acres. We run till we're breathless. When I can't sleep, I get up and go out on the verandah and listen to all the night sounds and drink a cup of tea. Along with that, Marshmallow Fluff I buy by the case.