The Sweeney Sisters

A Novel

By: Lian Dolan

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

An accomplished storyteller returns with her biggest, boldest, most entertaining novel yet - a hilarious, heartfelt story about books, love, sisterhood, and the surprises we discover in our DNA that combines the wit of Jonathan Tropper with the heart of Susan Wiggs.

Maggie, Eliza, and Tricia Sweeney grew up as a happy threesome in the idyllic seaside town of Southport, Connecticut. But their mother’s death from cancer 15 years ago tarnished their golden-hued memories, and the sisters drifted apart. Their one touchstone is their father, Bill Sweeney, an internationally famous literary lion and college professor universally adored by critics, publishers, and book lovers. When Bill dies unexpectedly one cool June night, his shell-shocked daughters return to their childhood home. They aren’t quite sure what the future holds without their larger-than-life father, but they do know how to throw an Irish wake to honor a man of his stature.

But as guests pay their respects and reminisce, one stranger, emboldened by whiskey, has crashed the party. It turns out that she, too, is a Sweeney sister. When Washington, DC-based journalist Serena Tucker had her DNA tested on a whim a few weeks earlier, she learned she had a 50 percent genetic match with a childhood neighbor - Maggie Sweeney of Southport, Connecticut. It seems Serena’s chilly WASP mother, Birdie, had a history with Bill Sweeney - one that has remained totally secret until now.

Once the shock wears off, questions abound. What does this mean for William’s literary legacy? Where is the unfinished memoir he’s stashed away, and what will it reveal? And how will a fourth Sweeney sister - a blonde among redheads - fit into their story?

By turns revealing, insightful, and uproarious, The Sweeney Sisters is equal parts cautionary tale and celebration - a festive and heartfelt look at what truly makes a family.

This audiobook includes an episode of the Book Club Girl Podcast, featuring an interview with Lian Dolan about The Sweeney Sisters.

©2020 Lian Dolan (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

Well done and easily consumed

This one was on my radar (though I'm unsure what put it there. Likely a magazine), so when it went on sale on Audible I grabbed it. I'm happy I did - it was all that it was meant to be.

This is just a story about a family, going through something difficult, after having gone through something even worse 15 years before. There is the airing of grievances, making up, secrets, big reveals, a little romance, and heartbreak. Everything you could want PLUS characters that felt real (and sounded real when they talked to each other).

Well done and easily consumed. This is the book equivalent of a Toll House chocolate chip cookie, warm from the oven. (One of the premade ones you break off the block in squares - nothing gourmet here, but exactly what you need to make you smile on a summer day.)

Coulda/Shoulda/Woulda

The Sweeney Sisters had the potential, and this is just my opinion; of being a ***** book. However, the narrator told this story, full of so much promise and interesting women, in such a clipped cold fashion, I was never able to actually identify with or get inside anyone. Being one of four sisters for 70 years, I know sisters and conversations. This lack of warmth is not how the Sweeney women would talk.

Loved the book! Enjoyed every minute

Such a great read. Loved the characters as well as the story. Thanks Ms. Dolan!

A good book

This book has a good solid structure - beginning, middle, end - and recognizable characters. It's flaw is that it's so four square as to dim interest. If you want a book to listen to on a long ride, it's a good choice because it doesn't ask much of you, but it is depressingly narrated in a flat tone.

Is Netflix next?

I really enjoyed this book with its twists and turns about the highs and lows of family relationships, including dealing with secrets and lies.
I can easily see this as a Netflix series and hope something is in the works. I have been mentally casting it as I listen on my morning walks.

Fantastic Family Story

This is the perfect summer book! A good east coast location, a family of well developed and interesting characters and just enough drama for a good story without stressing you out.
I am a big fan of Lian Dolan’s writing. Her nonfiction often feels like we are living parallel lives as we and our children are the same age. Her fiction has been equally as interesting as she has a huge talent for character development. Her third fiction book, The Sweeney Sisters is her best book yet!

Listened to the Hype...Mistake

Short and sweet...save your credit. I had to force myself to listen and was often so bored I had to rewind because my mind wandered. This book is the definition of “meh.”

I would take any of these sisters!

I always wanted a sister. And if I could have picked, I would have picked any of the Sweeneys or all of them.

Lian Dolan weaves a wonderful story of life after the death of the sisters' mega-author father, William Sweeney. The women learn of a mystery memoir that William's publishing contract requires to be produced (or the estate will need to pay back the lavish advance), a secret life, and a lot of turmoil. William Sweeney, it turns out, was not and is precisely what the sisters' knew. The sisters must put aside their issues and agendas to navigate their father's past, contain the fallout of the harsh memoir, and find their new normal.

The Sweeney Sisters is a feel-good story with enough modernism, realism, and conflict to keep the reader engaged and entertained. There is nothing earth-shattering about the book, but I would have missed out on a good one had I not read it. And, for you writers out there, Ms. Dolan is a heck of a good writer. She can pick the right words every time; that alone makes the book a true winner.

The Sweeney Sisters has filled a hole in my non-sister heart.

Great story. Excellent narration.

I don’t read a lot of family dynamics stories but this one is really enjoyable The narration is excellent. Found this book have previously read another with the same narrator.

Great from beginning to end!!!

I loved it! The characters were very real. I sure hope that there will be a sequel!! One small thing: Brittany Pressley should know that the author’s first name is pronounced ‘Lee-un’ not Lee Ann. Well done performance!!