COLLATERAL DAMAGE is the fourth book in the Sisterhood: Rules of the Game series, about a group of women who exact justice in whatever manner they see fit when the wheels of justice turn too slowly or ineffectively, with a little help from some strategic and powerful allies. This time, the women agree to track down a hacker who has reportedly access the donor lists of both the Democratic and Republican parties. In exchange for their services, a presidential pardon is the carrot waved before them. But is either the mission or the possible pardon for real?

It's been a long time since I've read a Fern Michaels book. Too long.

Although her best-selling Texas series was the last time I read her work, Fern Michaels still writes stories that make you read as though nothing matters but finishing her books. This story had the right mix of suspense with tender romance. I loved the idea of people from the White House to the FBI to the Washington Post and beyond being involved with a group of female vigilantes. And I knew there was something not quite right with their current mission. So I had to keep reading.

Still, because COLLATERAL DAMAGE was clearly part of a series, which I didn't know when I began but figured out pretty early on, I sure wished I had read the prior books.

It's not that COLLATERAL DAMAGE can't stand alone. It can. But there is a very large cast of characters, many of who are introduced in the first or second chapter, not to mention frequent references to acts that occurred in the past. As much as I enjoyed reading this story, I know I would have enjoyed it more had I read its predecessors.

Nonetheless, for riveting suspense with woman power in full force, COLLATERAL DAMAGE is a great read.