By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Not in a hundred years.
There was just no way. From the minute you saw her, you knew everything you needed to know about that woman. She was a schemer, she was ghetto, she was the worst kind of liar, and a friendship between the two of you was not going to happen in a hundred years.
Famous last words, huh? Because you got to know her a little and danged if she wasn’t okay after all. But can she be trusted? As you’ll see in the new novel Friends & Foes by ReShonda Tate Billingsley and Victoria Christopher Murray, that’s up for discussion.
Rachel Jackson Adams was absolutely giddy.
Her husband, Lester, had recently snatched the presidency of the American Baptist Coalition (ABC) from Hosea Bush in a big election, and it was Rachel’s finest moment. Being First Lady of the ABC was what she’d wanted for ages. That, and squashing Jasmine Bush into the ground.
Whenever she thought about Rachel Adams, Jasmine Bush just rolled her eyes. Rachel was backwoods and everybody knew it. She wasn’t very bright, either, which made it easy for Jasmine to get the better of the heffa.
Take, for instance, that election. Jasmine had rigged it so that Lester Adams would win because she knew about some illegal activity going on with Pastor Earl Griffith and the ABC. If Lester was president, then he and Rachel would look guilty by association. If they got arrested, then Hosea could swoop in and take over the ABC.
That was what Jasmine had on her mind when she was scheduled to be on Oprah to talk about her non-profit organization. But then Rachel got her nose in and made a mess, which became an even bigger mess when she found Pastor Griffiths dead in his hotel room. Not knowing quite what to do, Rachel dragged Jasmine back to the room but the body was gone!
That was just fine with Jasmine. Maybe even better, because it made Rachel look like a psycho. But when Rachel panicked and Jasmine fell deeper into the situation, she had to admit that maybe Rachel wasn’t all that bad. They’d never be friends, but frenemies might be able to figure out what was going on…
I wasn’t all that thrilled with Friends & Foes when I first got it. I’m tired of novels where Christian ladies act UN-Christianlike; I’ve had too many of them. I wasn’t sure I could finish this book – but I’m very, very glad I did.
Authors ReShonda Tate Billingsley and Victoria Christopher Murray made me laugh in what turns out to be a rompy mystery with plenty of comedy and no profanity. Though I had a bumpy start, I ended up really enjoying this book and its characters, and I can’t wait for the next installment.
If you’re looking for something that’s silly in a good way, give this book a try. It’s a sequel but you can read it first – and if you do, you’ll love Friends & Foes in a hundred ways.
Friends & Foes (Simon and Schuster, $15.00, 279 pgs)
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