BOOK REVIEW- DOUBLE DOWN by Fern Michaels

For the first time the menfolk are stepping out of the pages of #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels’ beloved Sisterhood series and into the spotlight…

After years of standing by their women, the Sisterhood’s significant others have also become loyal friends. And now Jack Emery, Nikki’s husband, has enlisted Ted, Joe, Jay, Bert, Dennis, and Abner to form a top-secret organization known as BOLO Consultants.

Jack has two missions in mind. The first: offering some behind-the-scenes help to Nikki’s law firm as they take on the all-powerful Andover Pharmaceuticals. Andover’s anti-leukemia drug causes terrible side effects in young patients, but a class-action suit seems doomed to fail. BOLO Consultants have a prescription to cure that. Meanwhile, Virginia’s lieutenant governor has a sideline as a slum landlord, and his impoverished tenants are suffering. Tyler Sandford believes his status puts him above the law. But when the Sisterhood and their allies decide to get involved, no one is beyond the reach of true justice… AMAZON 4 STARS

Since I have read all of the Sisterhood books, it took me a minute or two to figure out exactly when  this group was started.  What had been going on some books back.  It wasn't really all that hard though. I don't think it would be too hard for a reader who has this as their first book.  I think maybe it could be read as a stand-alone.  Maybe. 
This is 3 stories in one. Book #1- Upside Down, Book #2 Count Down, Book #3 Take Down.  
In the first one, Maggie crosses the line when it comes to trying to ferret out the secret that the "boys" are hiding.  She follows her gut that tells her there's more and her famous (or infamous) curiosity is stirred.  Plus she is hurt by the feeling of being shut out of their lives and the feeling of others in the sisterhood being to busy to be a part of her life.  In other words, she's hurting.  This story does focus on that and the establishment of the BOLO team .  They attack the slumlords as their first case together and it has some interesting assistance from some of the people living in the neighborhood too.
Jack also is worried about Nikki and the 3 class-action suits that she has taken on at her law firm.  She's getting close to a breakdown from all the tension and not being able to make any headway with at least 2 of the cases.     Its not only affecting their marriage but also her health.  She's lost so much sleep, food and weight over it; there's just no time for Jack.  Her "sister" and assistant, Alexis is in the same boat; both in her health and her relationship with Joe.  
We get to see how the "boys" bring about a few way of thinking for the Andover Pharmaceuticals group.  But it was also a good thing that Maggie was on board with them.  Because where they were squeamish in trying to get the information they needed, she was not.  She was scary but got the job done.  All she had to do was concentrate on children being tortured and killed. 
The BOLO guys want to keep what they are doing a secret for a while and in this book, so far that is working. Nikki and Alexis have no idea what the group did to help them.  At least not yet.