Vendetta is part of Fern Michaels's Sisterhood series. What is The Sisterhood? Seven women, all of whom have been hurt, let down by "the system", and feel they deserve justice. Each book in the series follows one of the women's "mission" to achieve this justice.

In this case, it's Myra's turn. Her pregnant daughter was killed by a drunk driver. John Chai never paid for this crime as he enjoys diplomatic immunity. Living as a playboy in his homeland, he has probably never spent one moment of regret for the lives he destroyed.

That's where The Sisterhood will step in. With the help of Myra's lover, Charles, the women will travel to China, kidnap John, and bring him back to the US. There they will punish him in such a way that his life will be forever altered.

I was at first surprised, and then actually appalled at the method of revenge chosen for this man. I was expecting some clever method of revenge, one that would hurt him emotionally. Perhaps something that would destroy him financially. I wasn't expecting actual physical punishment. In fact, what the women did disgusted me, as they doled out physical abuse that nearly killed him in the process. At that moment, for me, the book stopped being about "giving someone what he deserves" and started being about "vigilante justice". I stopped feeling compassion and sympathy for these women the minute they went overboard, in my opinion, with the "punishment". Furthermore, they also allowed innocent people to get hurt in the process. All with the attitude that vengeance for their own pain was the ultimate justice. Regardless of who else gets hurt in the process.

Forget realism - this book has none. "Normal people" could never have pulled off what this group pulled off. Charles has "connections" from his past life as an MI6 agent. And Myra has gobs of money. Put those two scenarios together and you get one very unrealistic mission. In addition, the one person who sees what The Sisterhood is up to, who is determined to bring them down is none other than Nikki's ex-fiancé. Who's Nikki? Myra's other daughter. So even as Jack Emory is watching them and putting the pieces together, Nikki can get close to him and thwart his attempts to take them down.

I've never been in Myra's situation. How awful to lose your daughter and an unborn grandchild at the hands of another. And then to find out that man will never pay for his crimes due to our laws regarding diplomatic immunity. But I do know that if I were in that situation, I wouldn't do what these women did. Oh, I'd fantasize about torturing the man, but I wouldn't actually do it. Why? Well, for one, it wouldn't bring back my loved ones. It would not fix what was wrong. I'd rather spend my energy trying to change the world in such a way that no one else would have to endure the same pain I did, rather than take the law into my own hands. In the end, I'm not sure these women are much better than John Chai. Especially since they allowed innocent people to get hurt by their actions. And in the end, Myra's daughter is still dead.

There was a very charming subplot involving Myra and her trucker friend Kathryn. The two take off for an adventure while they're waiting for their mission to get underway. I wish the rest of the book were as light-hearted and pleasant as this subplot.

I haven't read any other books in the series, so I don't know whether this is one is typical, or if this book simply took another direction. But right now I'm not too anxious to read other books in the series to find out.

Recommended: No