This is past/present historical fiction, with a storyline set in 2018 and another in 1959. I usually enjoy those, but a lot depends on how compelling each storyline is. Sometimes, you just find yourself counting the pages until you can get back to the characters you are more interested in. This was one of those books. For the most part, the 1959 storyline was presented as a book within a book, and the author made the writing style very distinct from the present day storyline and--honestly? It was really, really dull.

In 1959, in Southern Australia, a family decided to spend a hot Christmas Eve enjoying a swim and a relaxing afternoon, and they were all later found dead among the remnants of their picnic. In 2018, Jess is notified that her grandmother in Sydney has become gravely ill, and she flies home from London for her first visit in decades. It doesn't take her long to learn that her family is connected to the terrible 1959 tragedy, and she starts digging.

Meanwhile, it doesn't take the reader long to figure out one of the major mysteries, which takes a lot of the air out of the room as you read. Another problem for me was my connection to the main character. I started out the book really invested in Jess and her point of view. About halfway through the book, the POV of Jess's mother, Polly, was introduced. As I learned more about the events of the book from Polly's perspective, everything changed for me. She became the much more sympathetic character for me, while Jess became annoying. It was weird--it almost felt like the author herself switched allegiance. At that point, I was irritated with Jess, aching for Polly, immensely bored by the 1959 passages, and basically looking for any excuse I could find to put the book down. I found many.

This needed a lot more editing. The plot should have been tightened up, and the book just needed to be shorter in general. There were a lot of threads left hanging from the initial discussion of Jess's life in London, things that just never came up again. There were threads left hanging at the end, too. You'd think in a book this long, the author could wrap things up, right? Anyway, the author did surprise me with a major reveal at the end, and I have to give her props for that. I don't surprise easily. The book also raises some interesting ideas about motherhood and what it means to different women, which could make for good discussions at books clubs. 2.5 stars, rounded up.

The author has been one of my favorites for a long time due to her excellent execution of the time slip genre. This book doesn't dissapoint. Jess is going through a professional and personal rough patch when she is called a way that the grandmother who raised her since the age of 10 has fallen and isn't doing well. When Jess returns to her Austrailian childhood home, she finds herself struggling to understand the things her grandmother has muttered in her pain and old age to those who have cared for her. As she starts to investigate and remember the strange occurences of the past, her family mystery starts to be uncovered and the grandmother she thought she knew held secrets that have had lasting consequences. In the midst of it all a book written by a journalist of Jess's family tragedy helps to inform Jess and becomes the catalyst for discovery. The author again sends us on a journey of family secrets and the shame that unwittingly affects generations. My only issue with this book is the length. The opening while essential to introducing characters and the mystery was lengthy and hard to get through. Once the present day character was introduced the book took off and became one I didn't want to put down. If you're up for a good but lengthy novel then this one if for you! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy for an honest review.

Kate Morton's writing is unique in that it not only brilliantly weaves an intriguing story together, but her characters, settings, and plots come to life in the most beautiful manner. This story kept my attention from the beginning as it laid a foundation that kept me guessing and searching for the many facets she unveiled throughout. I recommend this book as it is a wonderful tale of captivating entertainment sure to appeal to a very wide audience.

If you can manage it, read this book slowly, and without any spoilers. It deserves nothing less.

I’m a longtime fan of Kate Morton, so when I heard that she had a new book coming out I was ecstatic. I’ve seldom read books that are so intricately plotted and well developed. Her books emotionally wreck me every time (in the best possible way), and Homecoming was no exception.

As I wrote this review, I tried several times to summarize the novel. It’s not an impossible task, but it’s one I felt exceedingly incapable of completing. Like the rest of Morton’s books, this one takes place in the past and the present (or close to it–no COVID here, thankfully!). I could tell you what happens in each of the storylines, but you can read the blurb for yourself. Beyond that, seriously, just read this book. Try to go in without any additional knowledge of the plot. It’s so worth it to watch Kate Morton’s incredible work unfold.

Oh my--what a book, what a story! I don't know how Ms. Morton did it, but this story could only take place in Australia. The descriptions take the reader to the sights, the sounds, (and yes) even the smells of the country and only a country so vast could contain this story. I may be dating myself and the two stories are very different, but Homecoming really reminded me of The Thornbirds. There are so many moving parts to this book and so many characters and it is so hard to know which ones are important, as it turns out everything is important. I loved the book within a book method for advancing the story, it made the narrative so much more interesting than just laying out the facts and helped the reader understand the characters better. My library system has 127 copies and most of them are checked out--they certainly deserve to be! I know 5 stars is the highest that can be given, but I think an exception should be made for Homecoming.

Large old houses, families haunted by history, and suspenseful multi-stranded plots that reveal shocking truths: these are Kate Morton hallmarks, and nobody writes them better. What’s notable here is how she blends these familiar ingredients into an epic page-turner that offers surprises even for longtime fans.

In 2018, London-based journalist Jess Turner-Bridges flies back to Sydney after learning that her sharp-witted grandmother Nora, who raised her after her mother left, fell from her attic stairs. Nora’s half-conscious mutterings, combined with her own distant childhood memories, prompt Jess to revisit the past. She’s stunned to uncover accounts of a terrible crime from 1959 in a small town in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills, when Isabel Turner and her three oldest children went out for a picnic on Christmas Eve on their idyllic Georgian-style estate and were found dead hours later by a deliveryman. Baby Thea, Isabel’s youngest, had vanished from the scene. The unsolved mystery was explored in a bestselling true-crime account published in America, but Nora had never breathed a word about it or her own connection to it.

The breathtakingly intricate narrative, which intercuts two eras, unfolds from a multiplicity of viewpoints. Throughout this lengthy tale, Morton maintains a tension that has readers weighing potential clues in every line, but she’s always one step ahead with new twists and possibilities. The book-within-a-book device, which circles through Isabel’s eventful final day and the subsequent police inquiry, is masterfully structured and raises even more questions for Jess. Settings are firmly anchored and contrasted: the promise of postwar new beginnings, the pressures of family life, and the beautiful, wild landscape of rural South Australia, overlaid by ancient secrets and dark tragedy. Along the way, Morton probes mother-child relationships from various angles and examines the power of story itself. This novel is utterly transporting.

Kate Morton knocks it out of the book park with HOMECOMING. The characters are unforgettable and one of the main characters is actually a Victorian style mansion set in the Hills outside Adelaide, Australia. From the scorching hot Christmas Eve beginning to the amazing and unpredictable close, this novel will keep you reading way past bedtime. Exquisite writing and a lush sense of place.

Kate Morton is a magical wordsmith. Homecoming is a love letter to Australia, books, and family that sweeps you along every page. Her descriptions are filled with just the right amount of detail and nuance. I savored every word and it has left me fulfilled but anticipating her next book. An amazing read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of Homecoming.

I love Kate Morton's stories so I was excited to see she had a new book coming out. Her blend of past and present is always delightful and intriguing and the description of Homecoming sounded perfect. Unfortunately, I felt like this novel fell a bit flat. The beginning was excellent and the ending was perfect, but the middle was sluggish and underwhelming. At 500+ pages, there was a lot (too much!) to wade through. Some of the "twists" were obvious (although I felt like I was second guessing myself towards the end) while others were heartbreaking and surprising but the middle really slowed everything down and certain parts felt like they took away from the story rather than helping.

Good mix of characters (some I loved, some I hated immediately- there's a true villain here and it's not who was involved in the whole big bad reveal at the very end.) I enjoyed the book within a book but definitely felt like Jess was a lazy journalist in many ways and Polly deserves all the happiness in the world.

Not my favorite Morton by any means, but mostly enjoyable if you can get through the middle.

Kate Morton’s newest book marks her triumphant return after 5 years. This story is her first set in her native Australia, but I’m hoping it won’t be her last.

Like many of Morton’s books, this features a dual timeline narrative about Jess and her ailing grandmother, Nora. As Nora is on her deathbed, Jess is trying to uncover a mystery from her grandmother’s past – one that might involve her Great-Aunt Isabel and the tragic murder-homicide at her family home one evening in 1959.

As usual, there is a gothic-style home at the center of the story – though this story features 2 such houses! I found myself utterly immersed in the world of Halycon, particularly in the older parts of the story as I tried to solve the mystery of what happened to the Turner family all those years ago.

I highly recommend the audiobook version of this one because it’s read by Claire Foy! Her narration brings each of the characters to life.

Extremely well written book set in Australia. The book starts in 1959 in Adelaide where a person comes across an entire family who has died while enjoying a Christmas Eve picnic in the garden. The book then switches to 2018 and to London where Jess finds out that her grandmother in Sydney has fallen ill and is in hospital. She flies back to Australia and when her grandmother dies tries to find out what caused her grandmother to fall and how all this connects to the events in 1959. A long book with sometimes too much superfluous detail but still very enjoyable with very relatable characters.

HOMECOMING by Kate Morton is another high quality atmospheric mystery story from this prolific, talented writer (The Lake House, The Clockmaker's Daughter, The Forgotten Garden). In her latest, Morton shares events in 1959 Adelaide, Australia when a young mother, Isabel Turner, and her four children mysteriously die after a picnic. The depictions of the Australian landscape and life in an isolated, but tightly knit community are spot on, adding to the suspense. Morton also weaves in the 2018 story of a young London journalist, Jess Turner, whose elderly grandmother, Nora, has fallen and that necessitates Jess' returns to Australia. Excerpts from an old book, some half-conscious murmurings, and avid curiosity about long-hidden secrets lead Jess and the reader on a search for what really happened over a half century in the past. A LibraryReads April 2023 selection, HOMECOMING received starred reviews from Booklist ("storytelling at its finest") and Publishers Weekly ("Morton's best yet"). Highly recommended.

Homecoming is one of the best adult fiction books I have read in a long time. My daughter, who now lives in New Zealand, but was born in the United States, said that Kate Morton has captured the feelings of "ExPat" life. The timeline of the story transitions between the present and the past encompassing three generations. There may be a waitlist at the library since this novel was released April 4th of 2023. It is worth purchasing a hardcover or digital copy as it is one you may want to reread multiple times.

I've been waiting for years for Kate Morton to release a new book, and man, did she deliver!

The book is the story of a middle-aged journalist called back to Australia when her grandmother becomes seriously ill. While there, she unexpectedly discovers a family secret regarding a horrific crime that happened some sixty years earlier. As she assembles the pieces of the family mystery, Jess realizes that the stories from her childhood and the truth aren't the same.

Morton tells the story through a "book within a book" format. While it's a little jarring when switching from present time to book narrative, the technique works. I quickly found myself lost in the story of Turner family and their tragic demise.

I adore books where you think you know where the story is heading, only to have the author throw an unexpected fork in the road. That's what Morton does in this book. About two-thirds through the book, she adds a new point of view character, and in doing so, very subtly shifts our perception about another. Goes to show that everything is more complicated than it appears, even family history.

Of course, the real reason to read a Kate Morton novel is for the language. She writes in such a beautiful, lyrical style that I'm willing to forgive her tendency to rely on out of the blue coincidences to push the plot along. (Deus ex machinas, anyone?) With Homecoming, she manages to imbue everything with a sense of melancholy. You feel the loss and sadness in every sentence.

The book will stay with you long after you've finished reading.

Kate Morton is an auto-read author, and this book does not disappoint. Told from multiple time periods, plus a book within the book, this book makes you long to visit Australia. Will be highly recommending it!

A beautiful story of family secrets and how many lives can be intertwined through years and memories and tragedy. It follows multiple timelines: first a tragedy in 1959, then in 2018 as Jess returns home to Australia when her grandma is raced to the hospital. A mystery unfolds and long-buried secrets come to the surface.

This one is a slow burn!! Normally I devour books but this forced me to take my time and take in every detail. Absolutely recommend! Thank you to Mariner Books for the ARC! This one is out NOW!

Jess is a journalist working in London when she returns home to Australia after her grandmother Nora falls and is taken to the hospital. Jess hasn't been home in years and is somewhat estranged from her mother and was raised by Nora. In the hospital, Nora says some concerning things that set Jess on the hunt to discover more about an old crime from 1959 involving the Turner family and their sudden deaths at a picnic. As Jess researches about the tragedy, she discovers familial connections and the feeling that there's more to what happened than the resulting police report. Jess is determined to find out what her grandmother was hiding and what it means for herself and her mother. Overall, a well told mystery about a hidden past and how far people will go to protect their family.

Kate Morton is one of my favorite authors. No one does modern gothic suspense better. Yes, her books have a formula. A dual timeline with a mystery set in the past and someone in the present that is connected to the crime and looking for answers. But the intricate web Morton weaves makes this bit of predictability irrelevant to me. Her newest novel, Homecoming is both a complex mystery and a family saga that I highly enjoyed.

As usual, Morton has created a captivating and eerie tale filled with suspense. I loved that Morton set this book in Australia. The setting comes to life under Morton’s deft hand and the mysterious land itself becomes a character. As usual, the plot is complex and I was never sure where it would go next. There was a little lag in the middle, but in the end it hardly mattered because the ending was so strong and the twists that were unveiled thrilled me. I often refer to Kate Morton as the modern Daphne duMaurier and this book is the perfect example why. If you enjoy modern gothic suspense I highly recommend you pick this one up.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. It’s not a quick read by any means, and you’ll definitely need to take some time to sit down and soak it in. But man, it was incredible. The characters were top notch, the story was well thought out and executed and the cover fits the book so well. If you are a historical fiction fan, I can’t recommend it enough.

Jess returns from London after an extended absence from her native Australia to visit her beloved grandma, Nora, in the hospital. Nora, who fell in her attic and hit her head, confuses Jess with another relative, and makes a cryptic statement that starts Jess on a chase to understand her family’s secrets. Set as a dual narrative between the Turner family in 1959 and Jess sixty years later, Homecoming reveals how keeping secrets can damage a family for generations. Fans of The Clockmaker’s Daughter will not be disappointed by the twists and turns of Morton’s latest effort.