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But before they can kick up their heels something too big to pass up is dropped into their laps. The time has come to deal with Enemy #1, a/k/a Hank Jellicoe. Wanted by the FBI, the CIA, and Homeland Security for starters, President Connor herself has run out of patience with their lack of results. Only the Sisterhood, with their special blend of guts, imagination, and friends in all places are capable of pulling off the impossible — of hunting down this monster and taking him out once and for all….
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!
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."
There was no formality in Connor's private quarters. They were doctor and patient, who were also old friends. "The good news, Marti, is you're going to live. The bad news is you are going to be a lot more miserable than you are right now for the next three or four days. I don't like that you're running a fever of 103, but it's to be expected when you get the flu. Yes, I know, you never get sick, but you're sick now, so suck it up. Lots of chicken soup, gallons of liquids, and bed rest. Let the vice president and your chief of staff take over for a few days. Both seem fairly competent. They are, aren't they?" Montrose asked, a tinge of anxiety in his voice.
The president nodded. "Do the media have me dead and buried?"
Montrose laughed. "What I heard on the drive over here was that you had taken to your bed with some mysterious ailment. I suppose they'll grill me when I leave here. Half your staff has it, Marti. I know it's springtime, but these things don't really go by the month of the year. They hit when they hit, and when they do, they spread like wildfire. Just because you're the president doesn't mean you are immune to catching a bug or two along the way."
"No magic cures?" the president croaked.
"Nary a one, Madam President, other than a hot toddy. A cup of tea, honey, lemon, and cognac. Easy on the tea and heavy on the cognac. Makes you sweat out all the toxins. I don't usually recommend this, because my patients want to go to the drugstore and pay outrageous sums of money for a bottle of pills."
The president nodded. "I'll give it a shot. When I was a little girl, my mother used to grease our chests with something called Musterole and wrap a warm towel around us. Then she'd string a bag of garlic around our necks. We used to get better right away. At least I think we did."
"That's because you weren't able to stand the smell, so in spite of everything, you healed yourself. Been there and survived. So, do we understand each other, Marti? Bed rest, liquids, and more bed rest."
"Yes, I understand. Thanks, Al."
Alfred Montrose looked around as he packed up his medical bag. "Isn't there some way you could ... make this room more ... personal?"
The president sighed. "I'm just temporary, Al. Family pictures, green plants, knickknacks, is that what you mean? What's the point?"
"Sometimes the familiar is the best medicine of all. But if this works for you, then that's all that matters."
"When are you going to ask me, Al?"
Montrose struggled to look nonplussed. "Ask you what?"
"About my engagement? To Hank Jellicoe? Don't you want to chastise me for my lousy choices in men? You were never bashful before I moved in here."
Montrose removed his glasses and slipped them into his pocket. "I assumed your engagement was off. Even I know there are some things that are too personal and private to talk about. You are the president now, Marti, and I didn't want to overstep my boundaries. As for Mr. Jellicoe, how could you know what the man was all about? People tend to let us see only the best side of them, tell us what we want to hear. It's always been that way. We all make poor choices from time to time. They say the trick is to learn from those mistakes."
"I guess I didn't read that part of the rule. My track record with men is beyond lousy. It would appear I don't learn from my mistakes. I knew there was something wrong, Al. I let it slide. Henry was so ... in control ... so with the program, I'm still having trouble accepting it all. What do you think I should do with the ring? I'm asking friend to friend."
Montrose chuckled. "That's all above my pay grade. You want an answer, I see. Well, then, I think I'd put it in a box and write on the lid, 'This belongs to someone I used to know,' and let it go. One day you'll know what to do with it. Is it valuable?" he asked curiously.
The president tried to laugh and ended up coughing. "I suppose it could feed a third-world country for a little while. You know what, Al? I'm not even sure if it's real. I'm beginning to have my doubts. It looks real, but I'm no authority on diamonds. Just for the hell of it, would you mind getting it appraised for me?"
"Sure. I can do it when I leave here. I'll bring it with me tonight when I come back to check on you."
"Is that necessary? You coming back to check on me?" the president asked as she rummaged in her night table drawer for the ring she'd wrapped in a wad of tissues. She tossed it to him.
"No, it's not necessary, but it's the way things work around here. If they could, they'd have me babysitting you and reading you bedtime stories. Try and behave yourself, Madam President," Montrose joked.
When the door closed behind the doctor, Martine Connor yanked at one of her pillows and started punching it with the little strength she had. Then she started to cry. Eventually, she cried herself to sleep, her dreams filled with her one-of-a-kind memories of Hank Jellicoe. When she woke two hours later, her pillow wet with her tears, she punched at it again and again, then got up and pulled on a ratty robe from her college days. It felt like an old friend as she wrapped herself in it. If there was one thing she needed at that moment, it was an old friend. She slipped her feet into fuzzy-bear slippers and made her way to the kitchen, where she poured herself a glass of apple juice and drank it down in two long gulps. Then she made herself a cup of hot tea and followed the doctor's order, light on the tea and heavy on the cognac.
The president reached for a box of tissues as she made her way to the living room, where she stretched out on a chocolate-colored sofa. She gulped at the hot drink and somehow managed to finish it. After she pulled up a bright purple afghan her secretary had given her for Christmas the first year of her presidency, she clicked on the television and proceeded to channel surf as tears rolled down her cheeks. If the world could only see how unpresidential she looked right now.
The president reached behind her for the pillows and fluffed them up. Within seconds, she was exhausted from the effort. She leaned back into the nest she'd made for herself and closed her watery eyes. Eventually, she dozed off as the twenty-four-hour newscasters felt compelled to drone on and on about nothing because it was a slow news day. As she drifted into a deep sleep, she started to dream, one wild dream after another, until she woke drenched in sweat. She didn't have to touch her forehead with the underside of her arm, the way her mother used to do when she came down with a bad cold, to know her fever was gone.
The president wiped at her forehead, face, and neck with a handful of tissues. Maybe she wasn't going to die after all. She picked up the remote control and clicked until she hit the USA Network to watch a rerun of NCIS. She wished, and not for the first time, that she had someone on her staff like Mark Harmon. She did love Leroy Jethro Gibbs's wicked smile. She wondered what would happen if she invited the entire cast and crew to the White House for dinner. Maybe she would do just that before the new season started in September. The more she thought about it, the better she liked the idea. And that idea brought another one swimming to the surface.
The president leaned back into her nest and let her mind race. Her idea was so over the top, so outside the box, she knew she could make it work. And if she couldn't make it work, she seriously did not belong in her job. She smiled as her mind continued to race one way, then another. Within minutes, she had herself so psyched that she wobbled out to the kitchen to make another toddy. If one had worked so quickly, a second one should be the magic bullet. Maybe she could sweat out more toxins, and by tomorrow, she'd be almost totally recovered. She would definitely have to be at the top of her game to put this particular plan into action.
Martine dozed and woke, dozed and woke until she woke from a light sleep to see her doctor standing over her. She smiled when he reached down to touch her forehead. Alfred was definitely old school. "I'm feeling much better, and the underside of my arm told me earlier, after the first toddy, actually, that my fever had broken. Would that be your assessment, Alfred?"
"It would, and you are right on the money, but you aren't out of the woods, Marti. I'm still confining you to quarters. You can do what you have to do from here." Ten minutes later, Montrose was done peering down her throat, done with checking her blood pressure and reading her pulse. He listened to her heart and lungs and made some notes. When he was finished, he reached into his pocket and withdrew the bunched-up tissues that held Marti's engagement ring. He held it out to Marti, who reached for it with a trembling hand.
"I'm sorry, Marti. The jeweler said it was a high-grade diamonique. He said they're big sellers on the home shopping networks and that they look more real than a real diamond. The value he put on it is fourteen hundred dollars. I wrapped the jeweler's report around the ring."
Marti made a very unladylike sound and muttered something that made her doctor grin outright.
It was dark out when Martine woke again. She lay quietly, a little disoriented from her deep sleep. Once again, she was drenched in sweat. She looked around, aware that it was totally dark outside. Inside, the only light in the room came from the television set, which she had put on mute before she fell asleep. She wished, and not for the first time, that she had gotten a dog when she moved into the White House. Someone, she couldn't remember who, had talked her out of it. Right now, right this minute, she wished she had a warm body comforting her, even if it was a dog. It was sad to remember how many things she'd been talked out of. Well, that wasn't going to happen again.
Martine wiggled, stretched, and realized she felt a lot better than when Alfred had first arrived. Must have been the hot "tea." She reached up and turned the lamp on. Still another rerun of NCIS was playing. Must be some kind of marathon today, she decided.
Because she felt so good emotionally, Martine headed off to her bathroom, where she showered and washed her hair. Alfred hadn't said anything about not doing it, so she wasn't disobeying doctor's orders. Powdered, perfumed, and dressed in a clean nightgown and her ratty robe, she made her way back to the sofa and curled up again. She spent the rest of the evening dozing and watching the NCIS marathon.
This time, her dreams were pleasant; she was running through a field of flowers, with a magnificent golden retriever at her side. She knew she was dreaming because no faceless person with a gun would chase a woman and her dog through a field of flowers.
Satisfied that she was on the road to recovery, Martine made a cup of plain tea with honey and lemon and carried it over to the sofa. She folded up the purple afghan and draped it over the back of the couch. Warm afghans were for sick people. As far as she was concerned, she was no longer sick, just under the weather. She did her best to concentrate on the late news. She wasn't the least bit surprised to find out she was the lead news at the top of the hour. She grimaced when the anchor and crew wished her a speedy recovery.
Martine couldn't believe how excited she was at the plan swirling around inside her head. Satisfied that with a little tweaking she could make it work, she let her mind wander to other things, like her small family. Such as it was. The day she'd taken the oath of office, her sister, Agnes, had kissed her good-bye, wished her good luck, and said she didn't want to be part of Washington's fishbowl. Agnes had signed up for Doctors Without Borders, and that was the last Martine had heard of her. God alone knew where Aggie was. Then there was Alvin, her brother, who had virtually said the same thing, although he'd whispered in her ear that he was proud of her. He'd mumbled something vague about going to build bridges in India somewhere. So much for family. Now, if she had a dog, she would have a family, someone to celebrate the holidays with. Someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't argue with her, someone who, she hoped, would listen attentively and not pass judgment. She could frolic and play with him or her when she went to Camp David. He or she could sleep at the foot of her bed. Maybe she'd let him or her sleep in the Lincoln Bedroom. Yessiree, very soon she was going to have a family if she didn't chicken out. She could hardly wait.
Three cups of tea and two glasses of orange juice later, Martine looked at the clock. Her PDB would be arriving along with her chief of staff any minute. The president's daily brief always arrived just as the sun was coming up. She was still wearing her ratty old-friend robe and her fuzzy-bear slippers.
When the COS arrived, they got right down to presidential business, which lasted all of fifteen minutes. The COS then inquired about the president's health and asked if she had any specific instructions for him.
"Actually, I do have something you can do for me if you can somehow do it without a media blitz. Can you get me a dog? A big one. One that needs a home, a rescue if possible. A shepherd or maybe a golden retriever. Gender isn't important, but I think I lean more toward a female. Can you do it?"
The COS looked stunned at the request, but he rose to the occasion. "Do I have a time limit, Madam President?"
Martine squared her shoulders. "Today will be just fine," she responded in her best I-am-the-president voice. The COS blinked, mumbled something about wishing her a good day, and left with the PDB.
Martine found herself giggling when the door closed behind the COS. World affairs would be taking a backseat at least for as long as it took the COS to delegate her request to others. Satisfied that she had started her day on a roll, she picked up her phone and asked her secretary to come to her quarters. Plans were only as good as the follow-through. She needed help with what needed to be done. In order to get any, she had to start in her own backyard.
Martine settled deeper into the chocolate sofa and flipped through the channels till she found the Home Shopping Network. She narrowed her eyes to slits as she stared at the array of jewelry being hawked. Sooner or later they would show something diamonique.
Sunday these days was dinner at Pinewood. It was the Sisters' way of staying in touch after a week of getting on with their lives. Or as Annie put it, there will be no more separations in this family. Everyone agreed, so it was dinner at Pinewood every Sunday, and each of them looked forward to it because when dinner was over, the table cleared, they sat around and hashed and rehashed and speculated on what the future was going to hold for all of them. Today was no exception.
"And there still has been no word on Hank Jellicoe," Alexis said. "I don't know why, but I find that hard to believe. The man gets away from some of the most experienced, the most knowledgeable guys in the spook business and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Un-be-lievable!"
"There are a lot of red faces on the other side of the world," Nikki said. "I think we made the right decision when we turned down the Big Five's request to find him. I also think we were right when we told them that sooner or later Hank will find us and to save their money. It's nice to know, though, that they wired half our fee into our secret account in case we changed our minds. Speaking of minds, I think we blew theirs when we had Lizzie return our fee. I guess it's safe to say we built a little goodwill by doing that. And not one of the five rescinded our immunity contracts. Lizzie said that was a good thing, and it is."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from DÉJÀ VU by FERN MICHAELS Copyright © 2010 by MRK Productions. Excerpted by permission of ZEBRA BOOKS. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
theReader278
Posted Sun Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 2011
I Also Recommend:
I enjoyed this book so much! I have read most of Fern Michaels's books and this is now one of my favorites! Great characters. Cute story!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Another great read for the Sisterhood fans. I love these ladies. They rock. I love the relationships that these women have and how well they work together.
If you like the Sisterhood, you will not be disappointed with this book.
Fern keep them coming.
I wil recommend this book.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Tynaleefox
Posted Wed Nov 10 00:00:00 EST 2010
I think the "sisterhood sereis" is one of the best series ever!!! I also think it could go on forever! I practically hang by eyelashes waiting for the next book to come out!!! Please don't stop the series anytime soon, it's hard to find really good reads!!!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.slowalker0
Posted Sat Sep 04 00:00:00 EDT 2010
I think Ms. Miichaels should retire 'The Sisterhood Series'. I pre-Ordered this book published under the name "Cross Roads" and received it on August 22, 2010. I read the book, and can honestly say that this is the first Fern Michaels book that I Would Not recommend (I've read everything she has ever written). I couldn't wait to finish it...to say this series has become BORING would be an understatement! I wish she would now put more energy in the "Godmothers," and let this be the end of the 'Sisters'---it's had a good run, but the storyline now suffers.
slowalker0
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Thu May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014
Love the sisterhood series I am reading #20 home free . ..... I would like to know why Crown Jewel is not on nook
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.CLMCD
Posted Fri May 17 00:00:00 EDT 2013
These women and their men have so much fun getting even you just enjoy reading all about their fun and what will happen next.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.cecirubo6723
Posted Mon Oct 22 00:00:00 EDT 2012
I love the sisterhood series, you can`t stop reading these books.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Sun May 06 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Loved the book and the series of books. Getting books on the IPad is wonderful
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Patlsl1
Posted Mon Feb 20 00:00:00 EST 2012
This starts a little slow but captured me as the story went on. Usual good sisterhood story!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Nonieof8
Posted Fri Feb 17 00:00:00 EST 2012
Love the whole series!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Fri Jan 06 00:00:00 EST 2012
Good quick reading
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.3094312
Posted Fri May 27 00:00:00 EDT 2011
.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Dr_Deanna
Posted Mon Feb 14 00:00:00 EST 2011
I love this series and have read all of the books to this point. While I enjoyed the story of this one it was more of a tying up loose ends book and did not have the same level of thrill and excitement of the others. A little more action was needed but it is good to see the character stories coming to a resolution.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.drac2you
Posted Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2011
My husband gave me this book which is the only reason I read it. My interest was held for a bit, but about 1/2 way through I started thinking PLEASE GET TO THE POINT!! All that build up for about 10 pages at the end of the book - a waste of the paper required to print it. As my subject says, unless you're a "Murder She Wrote" fan, you probably will NOT enjoy this book.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.NonnieDT
Posted Tue Jan 25 00:00:00 EST 2011
Great reading...Ferne keeps us wanting more and more in the Sisterhood Series. I can't wait for the next one.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Mon Jan 24 00:00:00 EST 2011
I think this recent Sisterhood book might just be the best yet of this series. The previous two sort of "bogged down" and just didn't flow very smoothly, but his one is full of action and takes me back to the (what I think) original purpose of the Sisterhood....get the bad guy and wow they do take on a giant task.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This book grabs your interest as soon as you start the book and wont want to put it down , its as captivating as the other 18 books in this series of Fern Micheals Sistehood Series... I am waiting for #20 to come out in April Home Free ... Hope this series continues on .
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Wed Jan 05 00:00:00 EST 2011
I'm sure the book is wonderful, as the previous 18 in the series were, I was sorely disappointed when told by a Nook representative that this book can't be downloaded due to a legal conflict between the publisher and Barnes & Noble. I've already downloaded other books by this author, so I don't understand the problem with this one. Must be because I couldn't wait to read it, and that it was made available by Barnes & Noble for PREORDER!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Thu Jan 27 00:00:00 EST 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted Wed Feb 02 00:00:00 EST 2011
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Overview
But before they can kick up their heels something too big to pass up is dropped into their laps. The time has come to deal with Enemy #1, a/k/a...