The long awaited sequel to Blackbird Fly is here.
Merle Bennett is turning fifty, and her four sisters are helping her celebrate by going to France on a walking tour of the Dordogne. But one sister invites along a law colleague whose annoying ways upset what Merle had hoped would be just ‘wine, women, and walking.’ When Gillian Sargent, the sixth wheel, finds an injured dog beside the road the … road the idyllic summer vacation takes a dark and dangerous turn. Why is the dog special? Who is after her? And what will they do to get the dog back?
Truffles, wine, romance, and intrigue in the heart of France.
All five Bennett sisters are lawyers. One is writing a blog about their trip, baring family details. As the intrigue heats up, one of Merle’s boyfriends shows up from New York while her French boyfriend arrives unexpectedly. The delicate karma of sisterhood is rife with bickering, tears, and French law as the questions about Gillian Sargent pile up. Who exactly is she? What is she hiding? And where the hell has she gone with the dog?
Do you love women’s suspense? Are you a not-so-secret lover of all things French? Come along on a trip to France with the Bennett sisters.
Praise for Blackbird Fly, the first Bennett Sisters novel:
“This was a fabulous book. There was drama, love, obsession, murder, betrayal and plenty of surprises. A lovely, layered tale of a woman’s struggle after had husband dies and she is left to make sense of the financial irregularity he has left behind. This is one of the best novels that I have read this year.”
“I really enjoyed the way the writer wove this story. I enjoyed the characters, the settings, the emotions, the mysteries and the romance. Made me reflect on my own life, my values and what’s important.”
“A little something for everyone. Adventure, interesting characters, (non-syrupy) romance and a satisfying end. Although I think this book is mostly apealling to women, it had enough adventure and suspense to appeal to the male reading public as well.”
“Such a great story, the story kept a good pace and the characters were engaging. I read it in day. The author knows how to tell a story.”
“If the life you knew changed in an instant, would you cling to what you had, or risk letting go of what you to know in search of who you might become? That is the central theme in this enjoyable read with an interesting cast of characters. Would love a sequel just to see what choices the various characters make.”
And the sequel is finally here. Read The Girl in the Empty Dress to go back to France with Merle and her sisters. Will she choose her nice, stable lawyer boyfriend or last year’s fling, Pascal? Will her sisters be there for her or let her make her own mistakes? Find out about all five sisters and that mysterious friend in this new, exciting sequel to Blackbird Fly.
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Merle Bennett has a vacation house in France. She also has four sisters. The house in France is not quite big enough for everyone, but the house next door is rentable and can handle the overflow. Merle and her sisters and her 16-year-old son come to France. The sisters plan a walking tour of the area. One of the sisters has invited a friend from work to come along, and she did it without asking. Gillian is a thorn in everyone’s side, quiet, secretive and all that. Their first day of walking, Gillian finds a dog in the ditch, hurt and bleeding. She refuses to continue walking without the dog. She wants to get the dog to a vet to be treated and refuses to listen to anyone else’s ideas on what to do. They take the dog to the next village where there is a doctor who treats humans, but it is his nurse who takes the dog. The entire story branches out from there, growing many branches and putting on leaves until the reader begins to wonder how everything will end. I loved this story!
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*
This was just as action packed as Blackbird Fly. The second installment in the ongoing story of the Bennett sisters. A lost dog starts in motion a series of seemingly unrelated events that culminate in a couple of kidnappings. A seriously entertaining and nail-biting story!