Book review of The Girl in the Empty Dress by Lise McClendon

Today I am taking part in a virtual book tour via France Book Tours for The Girl in the Empty Dress (Bennett Sisters Novels) by Lise McClendon, the sequel to Blackbird Fly that I reviewed here. Although this can be read as a stand-alone novel I really enjoyed book one and recommend you to start there too.

Synopsis (provided by author):

Merle Bennett and her sisters go on a walking tour on the backroads of the Dordogne. When they come across an injured dog their idyllic summer tour takes a dark turn. Who is this dog that everyone wants so badly? And who is this friend one sister brought along, the one without a history? Truffles, romance, wine, and intrigue in the French countryside.

My review:

We join Merle back in the old stone cottage in the Dordogne that she rescued and restored in Blackbird Fly and that kind of rescued her too from a difficult emotional time. This visit her four sisters, her son and a friend are with her to enjoy a summer holiday eating al fresco, walking in the French countryside and filling the old house with life and laughter. However their plans are thrown awry when they find an injured dog by the roadside and things soon get complicated, tempers rise and sibling bickering rears it’s head. There is a mystery to the dog’s past and a situation arises that leads them to question the friend’s past too and puts them in a dangerous position.

To distract Merle from the craziness, the lovely Pascal with his sexy French accent who brought love back to her life in book one makes a reappearance. There is the passion that she needs but it is a complicated romance, with many interruptions, so can she rely on him to be there for her when it matters or should she take charge and go it alone?

I liked Lise’s writing style, loved that little old ladies came out with the word ‘shit’ and her brilliant descriptions like this one “He had the face of an ice block hardened by many winters”, brought her characters alive. The situations they found themselves in often made me laugh and there was just the right amount of ooh-ing and aah-ing over the tasty French cheeses, truffles and wine to remember they were in France and loving it.

I can recommend both Blackbird Fly and The Girl in the Empty Dress (Bennett Sisters Novels) as perfect summer holiday reads. I will be looking out for more Bennett Sisters Novels.

Lise McClendon

About the author:

Lise McClendon is the author of ten novels written as Lise McClendon and thrillers as Rory Tate. Her suspense novel Blackbird Fly was released in 2009 and was an Amazon bestseller.

She lives in Montana when not walking the back-roads of France. You can visit her website here and find her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads too.