Books
by Lise McClendon & Rory Tate
Looking for a list of all Lise’s books in order? CLICK HERE
The Bennett Sisters novels
Read about all the novels here
- Blackbird Fly
- The Girl in the Empty Dress
- Give Him the Ooh-la-la
- The Things We Said Today
- The Frenchman
- Odette and the Great Fear – by Merle Bennett
- Blame it on Paris
- Bennett Sisters French Cookbook
- A Bolt from the Blue
- Dead Flat 1: Bottle of Lies
- Dead Flat 2: Outside the Bubble
- DEAD FLAT 3: Uncorked
- Lost in Lavender
- Birds of a Feather 1: Swan & Peacock
- Birds of a Feather 2: Crazy as a Loon
- Birds of a Feather 3: Fly the Nest
- Château des Corbeaux
- Here There and Everywhere
Here There and Everywhere: Coming December 2022
Birds of a Feather 1-2-3
LOST IN LAVENDER
Bennett Sisters Mysteries #13
DEAD FLAT
1: Bottle of Lies
2: Outside the Bubble
3: Uncorked
A Bolt from the Blue
#9
The next to youngest Bennett Sister, Francie Bennett (Blame it on Paris) is a hard-charging attorney whose boyfriend Dylan Hardy invites her to join him in Paris to help with a client. When Axelle Fourcier left Paris behind after the student riots of 1968, she vowed never to go back. She made a life for herself in America as a professor. But now a beloved aunt, age 104, has died and left her an inheritance to be shared with a cousin she never met.
A fabulous Belle Epoque apartment in Paris filled with pop art from the ’50s and ’60s is just the start of Axelle’s discoveries in Paris. Wrangling with her slick cousin for the proceeds is distasteful but oh so French. Then the apartment is broken into, a friend is murdered, and Axelle’s fears that the French state is once again conspiring against her seem very plausible.
Francie tries to deal with her cranky client, her own new relationship, and her boyfriend’s nine-year-old daughter, as the estate problems spin out of control. Intrigue, romance, Paris and the Dordogne, and a soupçon of murder, wrapped in the legal and art world of France bring more than a few ‘Bolts from the Blue’ to the Bennett Sisters.
The Bennett Sisters French Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by the Mystery Series
#8
What’s more delicious than reading about French food and wine? Making it yourself! These recipes inspired by the mystery series featuring the five Bennett Sisters will delight and encourage you to give your home-cooking a very French spin! From Cassoulet to Kir Royale, twenty-five delectable dishes from the land of Haute Cuisine!
Whether you’ve read the mystery series set (mostly) in France or not, you’ll find something to pique your taste buds in this delicious collection for foodie readers everywhere!
Blame it on Paris
#7
When Francie Bennett, 4th in the line of lawyer/sisters, comes under serious allegations of 
wrongdoing at her law firm, she is mortified to learn she must take a leave of absence. Just a formality, they say, but she is sure this is the end of her reputation and her law career. Will she sit around her apartment and eat cheese, drink wine, and binge Netflix for weeks while hoping it gets worked out?
ZUT ALORS! NON! She is off to Paris on assignment by the mother of a student jailed for serious drug crimes in France. She stays with her sister Merle and her boyfriend, the debonair policier Pascal, in the Marais district while trying to navigate the murky waters of the French criminal system. Is the student an actual European drug kingpin? Or has he been framed by someone? He looks guilty as hell, but first impressions can be confusing, especially inside one of France’s worst medieval prisons.
But wait– a distraction from crime. A law school boyfriend that the flighty Francie kicked to the curb years before has surfaced. Instead of the boring lad she flicked away, Dylan Hardy is now sophisticated and suave– and speaks perfect French from working in an international law firm. And he’s single again, Merle discovers, eager to find her sister a real boyfriend after many rejects over the years.
IT’S SPRINGTIME IN PARIS– or would be if the rain would ever stop. In between visiting the student in prison, gumshoeing about his University, and witnessing drug stings gone wrong, Francie longs to find blooming cherry trees that make Paris the magical place she imagines it is. Will Dylan’s sudden re-appearance in her life be a good thing, or a repeat of her many romantic failures? Will she figure out what is going on with the drug dealer/student? Will she ever find her pink trees of legend?
Odette and the Great Fear: a Bennett Sisters Mystery Bonus
#6
Merle’s gothic romance, written in bits in ‘The Frenchman,’ is now available all fleshed out and finished! This novella is set during the French Revolution, when fear, famine, and bloodshed ruled the country, from Paris to the far provinces. A goat-herder named Odette flees Paris, walking south until she reaches the Dordogne and is taken in by a kind farming family. When she stumbles across an injured soldier on her rounds her life takes a turn. For the better? Maybe. Or will the crusty Count with the terrible scar make her life miserable? Find out in this historical tale, based on the type of novels Merle and her sisters loved as young girls.
The Frenchman
#5
Merle and Pascal — back in France.
A dreamy time of wine, sunshine, and writing.
But is France really just a ‘gastronomic Disneyland full of sunflowers?’
When Merle takes a leave-of-absence from her Legal Aid job in New York, she imagines a long stretch in La Belle France will cure all her ills. But when Pascal disappears she is forced to put aside her writing project and rally the troops to find out what happened when he met an old enemy in the vineyards.
FIND ALL THE BENNETT SISTERS MYSTERIES
_______
Blackbird Fly
#1
ADIEU, HARRY HUSBAND! BONJOUR, NOUVEAU MONDE!
A dead husband with a secret life is always a winner (fictionally speaking, of course), but what about a secret past for a special treat? In fact, a past so secret even Harry the husband didn’t know about it. That’s the delicious underpinning of this sprawling, exuberant, generous-spirited cozy mystery with a yummy side of international adventure.
Merle sets out to claim her inheritance, adolescent son in tow, and thus begins a sojourn reminiscent of A Year in Provence, or perhaps Under The Tuscan Sun all mixed up with something by Carolyn Hart,
maybe, or M.C. Beaton. Because Malcouziac, Merle’s tiny Dordogne town, is the quintessential village—just perfect for a murder. And a rollicking good time.
The Girl in the Empty Dress
#2
FRANCE, ROMANCE, TRUFFLE DOGS…AND A SOUPÇON OF DANGER!
A bit like Eat Pray Love meets murder mystery, Lise McClendon’s second Bennett Sisters mystery chronicles the traditional hunt for priceless European truffles, the unexpected thrill of romance overseas, the ups and downs of sisterly bonding rituals, and murderous intrigue in the heart of France.
When the Bennett Sisters go on a walking tour across France, a sixth walker causes problems when she rescues a hurt dog who is more valuable than they realize.
Give Him the Ooh-la-la
#3
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE–FESTIVITIES, FUN, FOOD, AND FRAUD!
It’s Bridget Jones does Christmas in Manhattan–plus a dash of international espionage–in this romantic cozy mystery that mixes sisterly love with a world famous drag queen, a shameful family past, and an irresistible French investigator.
a novella
The Things We Said Today
#4
Scotland, kilts, whisky, and lots and lots of rain.
The Bennett Sisters get drenched in love, intrigue, and bluebells in the newest entry in the Bennett Sisters series.
A SKETCHY FRENCHMAN AT THE WEDDING…AND A FEW DARK SECRETS!
Wedding bells sound in the Scottish countryside as the Bennett sisters travel across the pond to celebrate a very special occasion… A week littered with an unexpected torrential rainstorm, a recalcitrant housekeeper, a sister who tipples, and another who chases after sketchy Frenchmen.
Thrillers by Lise McClendon – writing as Rory Tate
PLAN X
PLAN XAn international thriller for the lover of intrigue, secrets, and spies. When a cop finds a trove of ancient documents that may — or may not — be an undiscovered Shakespeare play, she follows the lead wherever it goes, to Washington, DC., and across the ocean. A character-driven, high-octane adventure for readers of John LeCarre and Daniel Silva.
“A thoughtful thriller [with] a series of murderous twists that include shocking personal discovery, Shakespearean drama and royal connections that she never could have seen coming.” — Indie Reader Approved
Read more
• • •
Jump Cut
Jump CutDesperate for a new job Seattle TV reporter Mimi Raynard takes a friend’s advice and dresses up as a Russian Mafiya Madam for a resume tape she has no intention of sending out. At the Seattle Police Department narcotics detective Shad Mulgrew has his own career crisis when he is framed for stealing drugs from evidence. Working together to save their reputations, Mimi and Shad look for the killers of three prostitutes, from the fishing docks of Puget Sound to the tiny Republic of Moldova. At turns funny, sexy, and thrilling with an edgy modern voice, Jump Cut depicts Seattle from the inside, from the joys of Seattle single life to dark alleys, from the islands to the top of the Space Needle, as the cop and the reporter try to salvage their reputations. They end up saving much more than their careers in a wild race to rescue the city they love.
Also available on NOOK, KOBO, and iTunes
Beat Slay Love: One Chef’s Hunger for Delicious Revenge
Beat Slay Love: One Chef’s Hunger for Delicious Revengeby Thalia Filbert
Thalia Filbert is a pen name for five mystery writers with over 75 books published: Kate Flora, Taffy Cannon, Katy Munger, Lise McClendon, and Gary Phillips. They collaborated on this hilarious spoof of reality television cooking shows, serial killers, and foodie culture.
“This incredibly sly mystery has everything you’d want when you bite into a dish: suspense, spice, and a new take on an old classic. For anyone who’s ever watched Chopped or even stopped in at Williams-Sonoma — Beat Slay Love is the perfect read.” — Bestselling author Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries
All Your Pretty Dreams
When Jonny Knobel goes back to his hometown for the summer to play accordion in his family’s polka band he has no hope of fun. He’s just trying to figure out what happens next in his life. When Isabel agrees to head up the college field study on bees in rural Minnesota she too is hiding out, wondering how her life will turn out. In an unlikely meeting of opposites, as all their pretty dreams go down in flames, they find each other.
A New Adult Romance
Also on Nook, KOBO, and iTunes
The Alix Thorssen Mysteries
“Set in Jackson Hole where the Old West merges with upscale art galleries and adrenaline adventures” art dealer Alix Thorssen balances her love of beauty with her drive to find justice in these four complete mystery novels, originally published in hardcover from 1994 to 2001.
From an Indian Reservation to whitewater kayaking, from the icy secrets during a winter carnival to the howl of the lone wolf, Alix – stoic, loving, and strong – strives to do her best when confronted with evil. A Montanan of Norwegian descent she is also looking for love. Like many young women she isn’t ready to settle down. There are too many adventures out there in the wild, wild West.
Available in a box set or individually. Read more
The Dorie Lennox Mysteries
“One O’Clock Jump is like a time capsule, transporting a tale of murder, greed, and intrigue from vintage Kansas City into the present day. Doris Lennox is a humdinger of a private eye.”– Sue Grafton, author of ‘V is for Vengeance’
“A convincing re-creation of time, place, and a hard-nosed, emotionally scarred heroine; for all collections.” — Library Journal
“McClendon lightly handles all the threads, using a taut, staccato style that perfectly complements her edgy, skittish heroine. (“She lighted a Lucky and leaned against the wall by the ladies’ lounge. She’d seen the inside of too many nightclubs. In the dark, where anything can happen, and usually did.”) The author masterfully evokes the period, from details of dress to a rally for Wendell Willkie. This is a book to be savored read it too fast and you might miss something.” — PW
Available in a box set or individually. Read more