Monday, September 8, 2014

The Girl in the Empty Dress by Lise McClendon

What They Say.....The five Bennett Sisters are tramping along the backroads of France, enjoying the sunshine and wine, when they discover an injured dog and their idyllic summer vacation takes a dark turn. Truffles, romance, secrets, and intrigue in the heart of France.


 What I Say..... Well, well, well.  I really wanted to like this book.  
But I have a problem with books that have too many characters.  Five sisters?  Is that really necessary? 
I felt the same way reading this that I do when I watch 19 Kids and Counting.  There are so many Duggars that I can only be bothered to be interested in 2 or 3 of them.  Same thing here, there were so many characters in this book that I just couldn't get invested in any of them.
The author seemed to have the same problem, because most of the sisters weren't really fleshed out as people.  They seemed to appear and then just take off back to various places without much ado even though their weird walking trip wasn't over.  Who just walks through the countryside for days?  Forrest Gump?
Anyway, the story was just kind of there.  It had a bit of a mystery -  I did wonder what Gillian's big secret was, but it seemed unbelievable that any person would have invited a girl like her on a walking trip through the French countryside, where people skills would be an important asset.  Especially on a trip with your sisters.  Since sisters aren't usually too shy about sharing their opinions on EVERYTHING.  But I wasn't really that interested in what the secret was.  Hell, I'm a total animal lover and I didn't even get too invested in the dog. 
I'm also a big fan of my sisters and if I thought one of them was kidnapped and being held hostage, I'd like to think I wouldn't get a stupid smile on my face thinking about my middle aged boyfriend's ass.  Lines like that definitely didn't draw me into the suspense of the kidnapping, just disengaged me.
However, I see that this author gets good scores on Goodreads so these books must appeal to people.  I guess I just wasn't the right target audience, even though I love female mysteries.
I hate to do it, but I can only give this book 2 stars.  I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review - the only kind I give.

 


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