Book review Chateau des Corbeaux by Lise McClendon

Château des Corbeaux by Lise McClendon

Château des Corbeaux

 

Locations: Dordogne and Bordeaux

 

Lise McClendon has done it again. I can’t remember what year I read Blackbird Fly, book one in the Bennett Sisters series, but I can still recall where I sat and how much I enjoyed it. Every new book, and this one is number seventeen, deepens my relationship with Merle Bennett and her French partner Pascal d’Onscon, as well as leaving me wanting more.

 

As Pascal nears his 50^th birthday, life is getting him down. He loves his job as wine fraud investigator but detests that he is now more office based than out in the field. The tiny rented flat close to his office in Bordeaux holds no appeal, but neither does the alternative of leaving Merle alone during the week, in her cottage in a bastide town in the Dordogne. His dream of growing his own grapes and making his own wine seems impossible, but driving between Bordeaux and Merle, he can’t help but be drawn to one vineyard in particular, Château des Corbeaux. 

 

Life is never dull for Merle and Pascal, there is always something cropping up in their personal lives that overlaps somewhat with Pascal’s work. When trouble hits the British owners of Château des Corbeaux, they might just need Merle and Pascal’s assistance to unravel a mystery, right a wrong and save the vines.

 

Pascal and Merle now feel like good friends, and I enjoy every page back in their company, sharing a chilled glass of rosé or a meal cooked by Merle, as well as seeing France through their eyes. I love the little nuances of ‘real’ France and French ways that Lise weaves into the storyline, giving her books a rounded sense of place. I feel I am there, with someone who has a deep understanding of how things tick in France. 

 

Travelling to France with Lise is more than just reading a romantically penned location in a novel.

 

I can’t wait to join Merle and Pascale for more adventures again soon. If you enjoy a good mystery with lots of delicious food and wine on the side, I’m sure you would love Château des Corbeaux, or any of the Bennett Sisters books. You can read more about the books in this series on Lise’s website here or follow her on Facebook here.