Picture Perfect (33 page)

Letting Go of the Past

 

With a popular comic strip, card line, and children's cartoon to her name, Lucy Brighton should be in a happy place. But the ache of a cold, lonely childhood lingers on. Even though she still lives in the New Jersey house where she grew up, Lucy has had little contact with her parents since they moved to Florida five years ago.

 

 

Finding Joy in the Present

 

Then Lucy receives a call that her parents have been killed in a car crash. While settling their affairs in Florida, Lucy begins to realize how little she really knew about their lives. She has no way to explain the mysterious safe in their bedroom, with its cache of fake passports, cash, and weapons. What secrets were the Brightons keeping? Were they even who they claimed to be? The answers will shatter everything she once believed about her parents—and about herself.

In this page-turning new novel in her beloved Sisterhood series,
New York Times
bestselling author Fern Michaels pits the indomitable Vigilantes against a corrupt and ruthless billionaire. . . .

 

 

All good things must come to an end. Even the women of the Sisterhood—the stalwart sorority that has helped to right so many wrongs—have been content to let their gold shields gather a little dust while they enjoy friends, family, and the comforts of civilian life. But the group's leaders—Myra Rutledge and her best friend, Annie de Silva—remain as vital and feisty as ever. So when a string of anonymous e-mails arrive at Pinewood, suggesting shady dealings at a local assisted-living facility, the two immediately set out to investigate.

Emanuel Macklin, the financial wizard behind the sprawling, high-end senior complex, has amassed a private fortune that would make Fort Knox look like spare change. But the hefty returns Macklin promises his investors may be garnered at others' expense. In fact, Macklin's entire enterprise is one enormous Ponzi scheme that's about to collapse—taking the life savings of thousands of innocents with it. Myra and Annie know this is a mission tailor-made for their brand of justice, but they'll need to enlist some new and untested allies. And even as they set out to foil one of their most cunning adversaries to date, Myra faces a personal challenge that will rock the Sisterhood to the core....

Fading into the background isn't the Sisterhood way. Even after all the adventures they've shared, the courageous, close-knit heroines of Fern Michaels's
New York Times
bestselling series are always ready to embrace another challenge....

 

 

All good things must come to an end. But Myra Rutledge isn't ready to put the Sisterhood—the stalwart band of friends who've become legendary for meting out their own brand of justice—behind her just yet. Though she loves her beautiful home and her husband, Charles, Myra can't deny that she's restless. And as it turns out, she's not the only one longing to dust off her gold shield and get back in action.

When Maggie Spitzer, former editor in chief of the
Post
and an honorary member of the Sisterhood, arrives with a new mission in mind, Myra welcomes her in. Maggie's news-hound instincts haven't dulled since she left the
Post,
and she suspects that two Maryland judges—identical twins Eunice and Celeste Ciprani—are running a moneymaking racket that sends young offenders to brutal boot camps, often on trumped-up charges.

Soon the Vigilantes are gathering in their war room once more, catching up on the momentous events in each other's lives even as they plan their campaign. The Ciprani twins are powerful and ruthless, and taking them down won't be easy. But with the aid of formidable allies—including former President Martine Connor—Myra, Annie, Maggie, and the gang concoct a scheme that will bring justice to the innocent, and leave the guilty blindsided. . . .