One of the Bennett Sisters got engaged at the end of ‘The Girl in the Empty Dress.’ Now it’s Christmas and time for an engagement party. Merle’s French lover arrives just in time and sweeps her off her feet again. But is he really here for the engagement party and the holidays, or does he have a secret agenda — like he did in ‘Blackbird Fly’?
When Pascal takes Merle to see a drag revue she is … revue she is even more confused. What is he up to? Is he working with French consulate on wine fraud? How is the French drag queen involved in all this?
Festivities, fun, food, and fraud in the novella that answers some of the questions posed in ‘Blackbird Fly.’ Will Merle finally shed herself of the shame of her late husband’s family? Does she have a future with Pascal? Read on!
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Merle Bennett is home on the western side of the Atlantic. She and her son Tristan are living in the cold, dark house in Connecticut. It’s coming up on Christmas and New York is cold, damp and slightly snowy. Merle gets a call from Aunt Amanda, the sister of her deceased husband’s also deceased father. Now we are all confused, right? Amanda stepped in when Harry’s parents died when Harry was only 4 years old and raised him to adulthood, when Merle married him and he died unexpectedly. Gaston has also arrived in New York, invited by Merle to attend Annie’s engagement party. Annie’s fiance has directions to a club called the Black Dog, and late at night after the party, the four of them try to find it. The block is completely dark, but the club seems to be in the basement. When they get it, they find it is a club where the entertainment is a transvestite! A delightfully convoluted plot. I really liked it.
Blackbird Fly #1 – This is my first read by this author and it was not what I expected. A good story filled with plenty of storylines that did keep my interest. Merle has so much happen to her with the death of her husband; her discoveries are many and varied. I like that the characters are real and do not follow the stupidity formula so commonplace today. There are several mysteries ongoing and while you know some of the endings, there is more depth than expected. I did find too much wordiness with quite a few unnecessary details, which proper editing would have reduced the page length and corrected the possessive vs. plural usage and other errors. There is infrequent vulgar language, which I did not find necessary. 4*
The Girl in the Empty Dress #2 – This book begins a year after Blackbird ends. I like the way the blog told parts of the story without the wordy descriptions that are too much in these stories. There’s an increase in the vulgar language. Editing is needed for the misuse of words, for example: guano, the improper use of God and expressions with God, and the wordiness with unnecessary details. I was confused by the chauvinist label when a policeman told Merle to be careful with the kidnappers; that was not being a chauvinist, that was common sense. There is not much of a mystery, but the other storylines are still interesting, especially the relationship between Merle and Pascal. The regular characters are growing with each addition to the series and are still interesting. 3.5*
Give Him the Ooh-La-La #3 – This starts five months after Girl ends. I do not understand why someone is in love and yet distrusts or resorts to secrecy without good reason, instead of communicating their concerns to their beloved. Merle disappoints me with her avoidance and bad thoughts of Pascal, and the way she thought about the Christmas gift. She is definitely following the stupidity formula so common today; I am losing respect for her. There is not much of a mystery in this story. Needs the same type of editing as the previous books. 3*
The Things We Said Today #4 – This book starts six months after Give ends. The same as the last two, but this one is heavily against marriage – not modern, but the old traditional one of man is obeyed. Gee, the intolerance and prejudice by supposedly intelligent, older women who act so stupid about men and marriage. Merle does act better in this addition. There’s not much mystery but a lot of worries and doubts by many of the characters. This is mainly about the lives of the sisters. Pascal still shines in his role. Needs editing; has the modern trend usage of God, which reeks of intolerance and prejudice. 3*
Blame it on Paris #7 – I read the first four books because I had them a while in my library and volunteering to review Blame made me clean out my library of these books; I do not find them worth keeping, not even the first and I liked it. But I promised to review this book; the others were purchases I never made time to read. This book starts since one year after Things ends. The emphasis is on Francie and her woes; sexual harassment charges at work from a younger man, which allows her three weeks in Paris to help an American in prison facing drug charges.
With her involvement with the American there is finally an involved mystery, which the other books just attempted as a sideline. Unfortunately, the culprits were easy to figure out in both the harassment and the drug charges. Merle and Pascal are still a good part of the storylines, which I was happy to see them involved so much with Francie. Francie was not an interesting character for me, but M and P were my favorite characters throughout this series. I still have a problem with the lack of basic editing: God; proper names lowercased; etc. I found this book on Booksprout; the others are purchased. 3.5
Bennett Sisters French Cookbook #8 – This cookbook consists of basically 25 well known French recipes and depending on where you live some ingredients will be difficult to find. There are histories behind the recipes; the books in which they appear; and some excerpts from those stories.
Those already knowledgeable about the recipes and Bennett Sisters books will not find this book a good addition to the series or cookbook collection. Many of the recipes are better written from other sources; Julia Child is the go to for these recipes, but they are available everywhere. For those who are absolutely in love with this series and do not care that the author has her personal opinions infused in the recipes and/or may never try a recipe, this book is for you. Gee, you can boil potatoes in cold, salted water? Silly me, I always used fresh water brought to a boil; all that Swiss chef school training wasted on me. Be careful, there were mistakes. 4*
Of course c’est magnifique! This author is keeping me on the hunt for the next book! Refresh your high school french and follow along..you won’t regret it!
Once again I have enjoyed another offering from Lise about the Bennett sisters. Lise never fails to deliver an intriguing, suspenseful romantic mystery. I have found myself identifying with the characters and either liking them or disliking them intensely…there is no middle ground. The story is well developed and moves at an agreeable pace. I cannot wait to read the next one!