By: Kate Morton
Narrator: Claire Foy
Bolinda audio
ISBN: 978-0063020894
Publisher: Mariner Books
Publication Date: 04/04/2023
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars
The highly anticipated new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Clockmaker’s Daughter, a sweeping novel that begins with a shocking crime, the effects of which echo across continents and generations
Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek on the grounds of a grand country house, a local man makes a terrible discovery. Police are called, and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled in one of the most baffling murder investigations in the history of South Australia.
Many years later and thousands of miles away, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for two decades, she now finds herself unemployed and struggling to make ends meet. A phone call out of nowhere summons her back to Sydney, where her beloved grandmother Nora, who raised Jess when her mother could not, has suffered a fall and is seriously ill in the hospital.
At Nora's house, Jess discovers a true crime book chronicling a long-buried police case: the Turner Family Tragedy of 1959. It is only when Jess skims through its pages that she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this notorious event – a mystery that has never been satisfactorily resolved.
An epic story that spans generations, Homecoming asks what we would do for those we love, how we protect the lies we tell, and what it means to come home. Above all, it is an intricate and spellbinding novel from one of the finest writers working today.
My Review
Master storyteller Kate Morton delivers a multi-generational intriguing mystery of love, lies, buried family secrets, and a cold case that comes to life when the two timelines merge in her latest captivating historical fiction, HOMECOMING.
Told from dual timelines: Australia 1959 and 2018, a multi-layered story of four women (Isabel, Nora, Jess, Polly) and their ties to a shocking crime of the past.
2018: Jess Turner-Bridges, a struggling journalist, receives a call regarding Nora, her grandmother. She took a bad fall, so she leaves London to return to Darling House in Sydney, Australia, to look after her. Jess is puzzled about why she was on a ladder trying to locate something in the attic. Nora raised Jess.
Something is distressing her grandmother, and she is deeply disturbed. Jess wants to know more and searches for clues about her grandmother’s past. She discovers a true-crime book linking the decades-old Christmas Eve tragedy to her family. Jess starts to investigate further what happened.
Her research leads her to discover events in her family’s history on her mother and grandmother’s side dating back over sixty years earlier in a small town in South Australia in 1959 which was shocking.
She discovers a true-crime book titled: "As If They Were Asleep" by Daniel Miller, which entails the unresolved Turner deaths, which Jess never knew about, and discovers the family’s connection to her own. What happened, and why have they kept this a secret? How far will they go to protect their secrets?
Jess feels betrayed that her grandmother kept this from her and is determined to do whatever it takes to learn more about her family.
1959: Christmas Eve. Adelaide Hills, South Australia. A wealthy family’s mysterious deaths. Thomas Turner is abroad on business, leaving behind his wife, Isabel, and four children. A neighbor, Percy Summers, discovers the family while riding his horse. At first, he thinks they are resting on a blanket after a swim, but then he realizes they are dead. The baby is missing from the basket. There was an investigation.
HOMECOMING is a compelling tale, intricately drawn, while the author seamlessly blends dual timelines and multiple perspectives with vivid imagery, beautiful descriptions, and stunning lyrical prose.
Topics and themes of loss, motherhood, home, family, tragedy, mental health, and hope. The author keeps the secrets coming, leading to a powerful, emotional, and satisfying conclusion.
Morton fans and those who enjoy dual timelines, mysteries, and historical fiction with well-drawn characters will be swept away!
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: April 4, 2023
Praise
"Morton's best yet." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Morton keeps the secrets coming, leading up to a powerful, emotional conclusion. This is storytelling at its finest."
— Booklist (starred review)
"Gorgeous."
— Elle
“Morton’s layered writing leaves surprises for even the keenest of detectives.”
— Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
KATE MORTON is an award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling author. Her novels - The House at Riverton, The Forgotten Garden, The Distant Hours, The Secret Keeper, The Lake House and The Clockmaker's Daughter - are published in over 40 countries, in 34 languages, and have all been number one bestsellers around the world.
Kate Morton grew up in the mountains of southeast Queensland and now lives with her family in London and Australia. She has degrees in dramatic art and English literature, and harboured dreams of joining the Royal Shakespeare Company until she realised that it was words she loved more than performing. Kate still feels a pang of longing each time she goes to the theatre and the house lights dim.
"I fell deeply in love with books as a child and believe that reading is freedom; that to read is to live a thousand lives in one; that fiction is a magical conversation between two people - you and me - in which our minds meet across time and space. I love books that conjure a world around me, bringing their characters and settings to life, so that the real world disappears and all that matters, from beginning to end, is turning one more page."
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