Blackbird Fly

Bennett Sisters #1

by Lise McClendon

The sudden death of her husband turns Merle Bennett's life upside down. Her work for poor legal clients isn't going to pay the bills and her son is kicked out of school. The blows just keep on coming. Merle finds herself doing what she least expected, decamping to France for the summer to fix up her late husband's ancestral home. The village in southwest France should be idyllic: warm sunshine, vineyards, and walls of golden stone. Merle gets an off-the-books job as a tour guide at a local winery and evicts a squatter. But the townspeople are more than merely unfriendly. As the past unravels, colliding with modern tensions and the filthy trials of renovation, the summer takes on a dark cast, full of secrets best left buried.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Romance, France, Cozy Mystery, Contemporary, Chick Lit

299 pages, Nook

First published May 1, 2009

About the author

Lise McClendon is a fiction writer living in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. She has been a film reviewer, a film maker, a journalism professor, and a PR flack. Since her first novel, The Bluejay Shaman, in 1994, she has served on the national board of Mystery Writers of America and the International Association of Crime Writers/North America, as well as on faculty of the Jackson Hole Writers Conference where each year she critiques, speaks, and learns from writers new and old.

Check out the Lise McClendon Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LiseMcClendon

Lise McClendon also writes as Rory Tate in the 2011 thriller, JUMP CUT. Her new novel by Rory Tate is PLAN X, available now. Read her latest novel, Château des Corbeaux, 17th in the Bennett Sisters mystery series that began with Blackbird Fly.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot of confusion especially towards the end on who did what when. It was difficult to keep all the threads of the story together. Other than that, the premise was good though there could have been some clarity on why the murder/murders were committed, what is so special about the wine bottle and who knew about them and so on. There was more focus on the relationship between Merle and Pascal rather than on the mystery thread of the story which took some of the fun away for me.
Read this for:-
1. France
2. Pastries and wine
3. Family skeletons

[Anne (Booklady) Molinarolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blackbird Fly has a little bit of everything in it - a mystery, long held family secrets, humor, loss, grief. It reads easy with a literary feel to it. There is some suspense too with a dash of romance and a feel of an historical novel. It could be described as Women's Fiction, but the novel could be read by men and they could enjoy the book as well. I honestly don't know how to describe this small book except to say that I really, really enjoyed it.

Merle Bennett has just lost her husband, Harry. It seems like her husband hid a few important things from her - another family and the draining of their joint banking accounts, and an old family home in France in which a few more skeletons lay buried. Merle goes to France with her son in the hopes of selling the house, but an old eccentric woman refuses to leave the home, stating that Harry's mother gave her the home. The elderly woman dies suddenly and Merle becomes the prime suspect. Her passport is confiscated and is told not to leave the small French village. She starts renovating the stone home and sleuthing into the old woman's life and death unaware that the old woman is tied to her dead in-laws and their secrets.

Summer in France, wine, riots, unfriendly neighbors except Pere Albert, renovation, murder suspect, and a handsome roofer. What more can Merle ask for?

[Lori Galaske · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of a woman whose husband dies suddenly and leaves her a house in France (that she'd had no idea he'd owned). She goes to France to sell the house and in that process, uncovers a multitude of her husband's genealogical mysteries. As she discovers his family's past, there's a touch of murder and a little romance, but nothing compelling. The first half of the book is painfully slow. The second half moves along in fits and starts. Parts of it are well-written, and parts of it seemed forced, a little too convenient, or just flat out don't make sense in the context. I like the basis of the plot, but played out, it definitely needs some spit and polish.

[Joyce Ziebell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dragged through the first few chapters of “Blackbird Fly” that finally improved once the protagonist (miraculously...via a new chapter) relocated to France. That non-announced transition and how quickly the author jumped back in time with little regard that the reader hardly knew the characters didn't always work for me.

The mystery of family and happening in the little French village was all this book had that urged me to continuing reading. Lies, deceit and intrigue are plentiful... and a somewhat usual chick-lit...the change-direction-in-life romance.

The end seemed choppy and wrapped up a little too quickly with many unanswered questions... that the reader says “what happened to... and who was that character...” I've read better suspenseful mysteries.

[Nola Arganbright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

A very strong book in every way, characters, writing and plot. A very engrossing story that was suspenseful, thought provoking and memorable.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had trouble making up my mind about this book. I was attracted by the setting. The mystery, as it unfolded, was promising. The writing was, at times, engaging and competent. It was not, however, sufficiently focused. There were too many strands, too much village history, especially in the first half. The problem was not red herrings, rather the scope of the historical and cultural background the story line required.

My experience was not helped by an electronic version in which bits were missing between pages.

It is difficult to tell a coherent mystery story that spans generations and continents while also telling the story of the research and discovery. This is a decent attempt, sensibly giving precedence to the present search. It doesn’t quite make a satisfactory read. A bit more honing would delivery a really compelling narrative.

[Andrea]

This might improve, but the opening (where the new widow is tossing in guilt about the fact that she didn't love her husband) lost me.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book comes within a hair's breadth of being great literature; the kind of thing that becomes required reading somewhere along the line.
The author, I believe, has the talent to write a book that good, but she doesn't quite hit it here.
There is one huge problem; there's a seeming inconsistency in the very beginning of the book that is not resolved for some time and I found it extremely confusing and distracting, almost causing me give up on the book entirely. I am glad I kept going.
The only other criticism I would give the author is a suggestion that she could have stopped the book at the words "Was it that simple?", and I think it would have had a deeper, more lasting effect. That is a largely subjective criticism, however, that I'm sure many would disagree with. It's not like I didn't appreciate what came after, I just think it brought the tone of the book down just a tad...keeping it a good book, but not a great one. That said, the one change alone wouldn't make that difference either. There's a certain depth that lies just out of reach through the whole novel.
However, it's a very good book, well worth a read. It will particularly appeal to people going through life transitions. I recommend it generally.

[Lorene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a delightful read and reminds me somewhat of A Good Year probably only because most of the story takes place in France and it is an enjoyable read! This book is a 'how do I make sense of reality' process for the main character who wends her way through the aftermath of her husband's trail of behaviors. The story idea is very good. I only gave it 3 stars because the writing at times doesn't connect the story lines in a manner that could have made this a 5+ star book and probably a movie!
Have fun with it! It was free on Kindle!

[Jody · Rating 5 out of 5]

First in the series. I read the four existing ones in one weekend. Fun, with engaging characters and a great sense of place.

[Dustyloup · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very hearty three stars, 3.5. "Emily in Provence" - for the middle aged set. Newly widowed legal-aid lawyer processes her husband's death, grieves and digs into the bones of this mysterious house she's inherited.

As someone who lives in France, some of her descriptions of French culture are way off and I'm pretty sure the lawyering bit isn't that well researched either, which is what makes it's the start for me. However, the story was fun yet quite reflective, especially just after her husband's death. If you're in your late forties and you worry about your husband dying, well, you might need tissues. I even highlighted a few quotes - not bad for a beach read!

You won't regret spending 3 bucks on it if it sounds appealing you !

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I usually like either mysteries or historical fiction, but this had a little of a lot of different things going on. Some of the elements: stories of the past are told; a "been done wrong" element; finding oneself after tragedy; relationship building; learning to live and function in another country; financial problems; awakenings; a truly vile character; and more than one mystery.

[Lise · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new novel: France, secrets, wine, intrigue. Check out the rest of the series (so far): The Girl in the Empty Dress (2014) and the novella, Give Him the Ooh-la-la (2014). The new novel is the third full-length novel, The Things We Said Today, out in August 2016.

[Bob Wasserman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give up - not a bad story, just not holding my interest.
It's not a school assignment so.......into the bin she goes :-(

[Paulette · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got through about 60% of this book and couldn't finish it. Tedious, very tedious.

[Bae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Merle Bennett gets the last laugh! Also a basic, French diet that I want to try. I mean grapes, croissants, expresso, and cheese? Woohoo!

The story was nicely paced; although I did feel the flashback chapters were a tad tedious considering the plot could've been served simply by Merle's discoveries. I enjoyed the setting being in the tiny French village of Malcouziac. Really got the ancient, slow-way-of-life vibes from McClendon's descriptions - also really made me want to book a relaxing vacation in the sun? Also, revitalized my need to practice my French.

If you want a cozy subway read with the right mix of homely and "oh shit, this just happened?" then I recommend this book. Not sure yet if I'll continue the series soon, but I might.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Merle’s husband dies she discovers lots of new things about him. He hadn’t set up a trust for his son as he said he had, he had a house in France, he had a mistress and a child by her and he had a secret will. Feeling that sorting out the house in France may be the easiest thing to del with she goes to France. There she finds the house in disrepair and a squatter living in it. When the squatter dies in mysterious circumstances Merle is a suspect and her passport confiscated and told to not leave the village. As she looks into the squatter’s history and her husband’s family she finds many new mysteries and uncovers a big secret.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of a series of books about the Bennett sisters, all of whom are lawyers, this explains why there are so many loose ends at the end of the book. Village life in France is well depicted in the book.
I wanted to stay and stay in Merle's inherited home. I thought it would be good for her son, if she did. The sense of place was excellent. The mystery was well-developed with a few surprises. The romance was probably realistic, but I wanted it to develop differently. Guess I must read the next book to see if I can tie up the loose ends. Want to help?

[Karyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounded up.

This was… fine? I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it, but I’m not convinced that everything in this book made sense. I spent a good majority of the time being confused, and remain so at the end with so many loose ends left (who exactly was Sister Evangeline??)

[Megan Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, but I'm giving it 3 stars because the mystery was kind of all over the place and left some loose ends, in my opinion.

The characters were good. And I really liked that the protagonist had a healthy, bonded relationship with her teenage son. So unusual in fiction.

The audio was great, if you can get passed the butchered French accents and the even worse English ones.

I will definitely try book 2.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

If asked how I liked this book I'd say "it was ok" but that is only two stars. It interested me enough to want to keep reading so I give it three stars. This isn't my usual genre and I simply rate for how I enjoy the book. I wanted something light and quick and this was it. I enjoyed the setting, the characters were fine, some likable, some not so; the writing was fine but I did find it and the plot a little 'jerky' at times and it may have been my own frame of mind but I found it difficult to keep all the characters names straight as the story jumped around some. I did like though that it jumped back and forth in time but I think it could have been done in a smoother manner. My usual criteria for a book is that I want to learn something from reading it and that is one thing missing from this genre of stories. But sometimes I just want a fun, short read and this one worked.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really exciting and surprising thing’s so unexpected. I like this story.

[Lyn Sweetapple · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well done mystery that is much more a study of a woman who must re-examine her life after her husband's death. She discovers a run down house in France with a squatter who may be linked to the family, a former priest who helpfully translates, a hot roofer and back home her husband's mistress and her daughter.

[Jena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta es una novelita entretenida del género policiaco. Se trata de una mujer que recibe de su marido como herencia una casa en un pueblito francés. Por supuesto y como se acostumbra en cualquier país del mundo, hay en ella una "okupa". Los franceses com suele suceder la reciben con malos modos y luego la encarcelan porque creen que ella mató a la "okupa". Es una novela divertida, para pasar el rato.

[MJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF☹️

I like the idea, but it's dragging so bad. I'm less than 80 pages in and I've already tried to ditch it several times. I thought I might try and speed scan it to try and catch the main bits, but then I noticed it 600+pgs long! Normally I would love that, but this time it's just more dragging pages that I can't bring myself to read.

[MissSusie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Merle, her husband has died and she realizes she isn’t as sad as she should be, maybe she didn’t love him anymore? But when secrets start coming to the surface she realizes there was a lot more wrong with her marriage than she thought. And the only asset he left her was a house in France that Merle didn’t know he owned, so when she takes a trip to France to get the house ready to sell there is much more trouble ahead.

This is a great story of family secrets and discovering who you are (or who your late husband was). Parts I figured out before Merle did but sometimes that’s to be expected. I liked Merle I thought she was a strong woman who maybe should have listened to her instincts but then where would the fun be in that!?! I liked this story very much; I liked the characters and the French setting. The little town was full of narrow minded people and secrets and Merle drops herself right in the middle of the whole mess and comes close to paying a heavy price for it. I felt this was more a family secrets novel than a straight up mystery and was very well written. The only thing I don’t understand is the title but that didn’t keep me from enjoying this book.

Denice Stradling narration was really good, her male French voices took some getting used to, but I ended up pretty enthralled in the story and the great narration.

This was a new author and narrator for me and I look forward to reading more by this author and listening to more by this narrator.

4 Stars
I received this book from the Solid Gold reviewer program at http://audiobookjukebox.squarespace.com/ and iambik

[Kathleen Hagen]

Blackbird Fly, by Lise McClenton, a-minus, narrated by Denice Stradling, produced by Iambik Audio Inc. downloaded from audible.com.

This is McClenton’s first stand-alone, and it describes the French countryside untouched, or not much touched, by tourists. Merle Bennett’s life has been unexciting for several years. She’s a lawyer and works for Legal Aid in New York and loves her job. But she and her husband have become less and less close. She’s expected to be available for his corporate functions. So when her husband suddenly dies of a heart attack, her world is turned upside down. She finds that there were a lot of things she didn’t know about how her husband lived his life, including the fact that he had squandered away all their money. He left her only with his family’s ancestral home in France. She decided she had little choice but to go to France and see the house and get it ready to sell so that she would have money to live on. So she goes to France for the summer. There, she and her son go in for hard labor to get the house fixed up. She meets a man more to her liking, and she finds family secrets that people would kill to keep secret regarding her husband’s family. A very good book with wonderful lyrical descriptions of the land, and wonderful meals of wine and bread and cheese and olives. I liked this book immensely. I’ve not heard this narrator before, but she was excellent for the book-except that her male French accents were lacking in authenticity.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Merle Bennett, the middle sister of five daughters in a family where everyone is a lawyer, loses her husband Harry to a sudden heart attack, alone at his desk at work. As she comes to terms with this she realises things in her marriage were not quite what they seemed and her future looks very uncertain. This is quite a gloomy start that left me feeling very heavy hearted, which is not a feeling I really enjoyed, but I was intrigued to find out more and kept reading. On his death Merle inherited a house in a bastide town in Dordogne, France, which she visits during the summer with the intention of preparing it to sell, but things get rather complicated. I found that once Merle and her son arrived in France this book really came alive.

Merle was a very likable character dealing with death, deceit, decaying houses and many hidden skeletons, but she was strong, organised and very early on France seemed to grab her and not want to let her go. This book was a real mystery, an intriguing tale that kept jutting off in different directions, but always coming back and tying in nicely to the storyline. I could feel a sense of foreboding, that things would get dark, but I had no idea what would happen until it did. It was difficult to know who to trust as there were plenty of rogues who would dip in and out again, until Bam! They'd execute their deed and leave Merle to pick up the pieces.

This is the first book in a series of novels about the Bennett Sisters and I thought it set the scene perfectly and left me looking forward to reading more.

[Joan Huston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blackbird Fly by Lise McClendon
Harry Strachie dies of a heart attack in the first pages. This starts a whole series of mysteries, lies, deceits, and intrigue. His wife and son are left without much but a key, a photo, and a deed to a house in France. Merle, his wife, and Tristan, his son, travel to France to see about selling the house. There is a squatter in the house, the people in the village don’t like the Americans, some even seem to hate them, but why? This is a fast moving story, with trips back in time to when Harry’s parents lived in the house, and what happens then effects what is happening now. It is very well done, very well written, and the characters are very interesting, likeable, and you really care about them. There are dead bodies, lots of suspense and mystery, great characters, a bit of romance, but mostly it’s just a great story! This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. You won’t disappointed. I highly recommend it.

[Rachel Stuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in two days, putting it down only when I couldn't keep my eyes open. Merle is a great main character, flawed but likable, who goes through an interesting journey and comes out a different person in the end. There's a good metaphor intertwined with the story (not too in-your-face), the rebuilding of an old house, and mystery and romance to boot!

I waffled between three and four stars, but I'm an easy grader and went ahead with the four. There were some typos in the kindle version ("a" instead of "an" a few times, and some--gasp!--misplaced apostrophes) and there was less of a twist at the end than I was hoping for. Still, it was interesting enough that I didn't need to find out the butler did it to enjoy the novel. (He didn't. There is no butler.)

Sure makes me want to drink wine and eat cheese on the French countryside!