SISTERCHICKS IN SOMBREROS: A Sisterchicks Novel

Gunn's third Sisterchicks novel offers the expected chick-lit emphasis on female friendship, enhanced by this series' usual formula of a girlfriends' getaway. In this case, the "sisterchicks" are actual sisters—two 40-something Canadian women who inherit what they are told is prime real estate on the coast of Mexico, and run for the border to check it out. Melanie, the book's narrator, is a born organizer and worrywart who, rather predictably, discovers joy in Christ and in her free-spirit sister Joanne, a saintly idealist with a character-saving dash of fun. Although the novel is preachy at times, many Christian women will identify with these sisters and their entertaining exploits, from their highs (a chocolate-laden luxury cruise, a hint of romance) to their lows (being ripped off at a rental car firm, battling las cucarachas during an unexpected detour). Gunn writes with humor and a deep understanding of the power of women's intimacy. (Oct.)