I was so excited to see a new book by Kate Morton! She is one of my favorite authors and also one I find myself recommending often to readers at the library!

This story follows three different women and the stories that tie them to a shocking murder. From the very beginning, I was immediately drawn into this book and I didn't want to put it down to go to work or make dinner. The author is so good at creating these mysterious, almost haunting kind of stories.

I cannot wait to recommend this to readers!

Homecoming
by Kate Morton
Pub Date: April 4, 2023
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the digital file of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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.
I recommend this book for readers of Liane Moriarty. There is a strong sense of setting and story.
I could not put this book down until I finished it.
5 stars

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Mariner Books for an advanced copy of this book of historical fiction featuring family secrets, lies, and a murders.

Family asks a lot of us. We have to do things for families, do things as a family that sometimes we don't want to do. Smile at an age inappropriate gift, go to weddings of people that we don't know well, or even like, but they are family. Or even keep protecting the secrets of a long ago crime, one that still cause reverberations even now. Sharing would be the right, thing, and even good for a career, but sharing would also be betraying family, they ones who kept the secret and all that it entails. There lies the problem and the plot of Kate Morton's Homecoming. A book that is both a historical fiction look at life in Australia in the late 1950's and a study of what secrets can do to people in the present day, and the cost that telling the truth does.

Jess has spent the last twenty years in London working on a career in journalism, one that suddenly ends in one day. Jess needs a story, a hook that will get Jess back in the game, something that can get her a full time position somehow. Jess gets a call from Sydney, near where she was born informing her that her grandmother Nora, had fallen and has been admitted to the hospital. Nora had raised Jess from a child, and Jess returns to Australia to try and help. Nora had fallen from the attic in her home, a room that Jess had always been warned not to enter or play in. Which of course makes Jess look what her grandmother was trying to do. Jess finds a book about a crime the Turner Family Tragedy, in which a mother and her children had been found dead in a gully on Christmas Eve in 1959. Jess finds that her family has ties to this horrific crime, ties that could make a journalists career, or ruin a family's reputation.

A big historical fiction story with a lot of plot, story and characters, all expertly told and written. Kate Morton has a real gift for writing keeping the story strong and interesting, and slowly ratcheting up the tension making the book harder and harder to put down as one reads. The characters are all well developed, and while Jess might seem a little annoying at the beginning, Jess grows on the reader and as a character, going from someone who seems could not be a journalist, to someone who has matured and changed becoming someone almost totally different. The story does jump in times, but this handled well and the plot never skips or gets bogged down, or lost. Morton never seems to write the same kind of book, and this one I feel is one of her best.

Recommended for fans of Kate Morton, and for fans of historical fiction. Also for readers who like books set in different climes and times. A perfect gift for Mother's Day or early beach reading, though one won't leave the umbrella if one starts this.

A wonderful novel that gets better with every page. A young woman living in England is traveling back to Australia to uncover her family's dark secrets. The story weaves between two time periods but is easy to follow. Don't be in a rush and enjoy all the detailed descriptions - it will all be worth it when you get to the well thought-out ending. I really enjoyed it!

My first Kate Morton book. I would read another. Also, my first book set in Australia. I really enjoyed it.

On Christmas Eve, 1959 a lone rider comes upon what appears to be an idyllic scene, a mother and her children napping on their picnic blanket. But, they are not napping! Their deaths and the infant who is missing from the group mark the beginning of an intricate puzzle of a tale that leads 20 ears into the future. There is a wealth of characters in this tale. The author lets us get to know them well, their actions, their motives, the mix of good intentions and evil outcomes. This book is a feast and one you should share, via discussion, with others.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this title.

Combining beautiful descriptions of Australia and a family with a deeply buried secret, Kate Morton has written a richly layered book. This book looks deeply at the.flaws in all of us and the dangers they can cause. Wonderful.

Consistent quality with her other titles; good for fans of Liane Moriarty., strong setting and sense of place.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, Mariner Books and the author, Kate Morton.

This novel checked all of my boxes

*historical fiction
*mystery
*dysfunctional functional family
*spans generations
*back and forth between time lines
*author Kate Morton

I could go on and on and was very excited to get my hands on an ARC!

Morton’s books are always long so I waited until I had enough time to savor and enjoy her work. I read this 560 page novel in about three days.

It starts off strong, a family tragedy on Christmas Eve morning and doesn’t stop until the very last page. All of the families involved were very intriguing. It demonstrated how one small thing (or large in this matter) can change the trajectory of your life and the lives around you whether you meant for that to happen or not.

I wasn’t a fan of Nora from the beginning. I felt that there was always a selfish ulterior motive. I didn’t care for Jess, either. Especially once she was in Australia after seeing her grandmother was in the hospital. Nora was in her 90’s – no spring chicken. Jess was very naive to believe that her grandmother would be the same strong woman she left 20 years before.

My heart hurt for Polly. I could be projecting as I had a strained relationship with my own mother. But I felt that she got the short end of the stick. For all of Nora’s “mothering” she was lucky to get away from her and set out on her own. The price she had to pay for her it was too much, but she was left to believe it was the only way.

If you love epic novels that span generations, pick this one up. I’ll highly recommend it to anyone who needs their next great read!

Jess is a journalist. She gets laid off from her job in England and then learns her grandmother has had an accident, so she heads back to her hometown in Australia. Jess’ mother abandoned her when she was a child and so it was Grandma Nora who raised her. While home in Australia, Jess discovers something is amiss but Nora is unable to talk and explain.

An earlier timeline, set 60 years in the past, recounts the tragic death of a mother and four of her children. They are found dead by the side of a creek as they were having a picnic. The fact that there’s no clear sign of violence adds to the shocking details and makes it all more mysterious. The Turner family deaths haunted the area for years and it is only now that Jess learns the details of the tragedy and the connection between her grandmother and the Turners.

Morton weaves her mystery into the bucolic setting. She takes her time in revealing the events and the characters’ relationships. As the story unfolds, Jess learns so much about her grandmother that had never been disclosed. Unfortunately, her grandmother is unable to shed light on the past.

Morton’s books give readers an invitation to places steeped in mystery. She breathes life into her characters, showing their humanity and their frailties. Her characters are beautifully wrought and demonstrate complexity, especially as the secrets are uncovered. Those who love her books will be delighted with this latest story of mysterious deaths in a small town in Australia.

The queen of dual timelines and captivating mysteries is back. 2018 London finds Jess adrift in career and life. She gets a call summoning her back home to Australia because her beloved grandmother is in the hospital. Once back in her grandmother's home a hidden book and her grandmother's strange bedside ramblings intrigue her to look into a tragedy that happened when her mom was a baby. How is her grandmother connected to a horrible tragedy that took the lives of an entire family in 1959? Working with background information and the author's family Jess tries to solve the mystery and write the article to jump start her career. Through that same true crime book that Jess is using the reader gets a first hand look at remote 1950's Adelaide and the events that changed their family history. Gloriously written it is an ode to motherhood, a dissection of memory, family secrets and community that is one of her best. Her many fans as well as readers of THE THORN BIRDS, ATTIC CHILD and UNDER THE GOLDEN SUN will relish this timeless story. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

On Christmas Eve 1959 four members of the Turner Family, the mother and all of her children except the baby, are found dead at their picnic site in Tambilla, a small town near Adelaide, Australia. The baby is missing from her carrier. Their was no evidence of foul play and despite a lengthy investigation the crime remained unsolved.

Many years later in 2018, Jess is a struggling journalist living in London. She is looking for a “big story” to help her career when she receives an unsettling call. Her grandmother, Nora, has fallen after trying to climb into her attic and is in the hospital unconscious. Nora raised Jess after her mother was unable to care for her. Jess immediately gets on a plane to fly home to Sydney to be with her grandmother. When she arrives, her grandmother is still unconscious so Jess tries to settle back into her old bedroom so that she can be near her. When Jess finds a true crime book written about the Turner unsolved case that Nora has hidden, she is perplexed. Why did Nora have this book and more importantly, what was Nora going to do in the attic after she had repeatedly warned Jess to stay away from it?

Because Nora is unable to explain things, Jess begins her own search about the Turner deaths and what that case has to do with her grandmother. She might have found her “big story” but what will she find out about her family and the secrets they have been keeping?

Kate Morton has crafted another layered, family saga and despite the fact that it is a long book, I couldn’t put it down and read it very quickly.

Homecoming will be published on April 23, 2023. Add this one to your To Be Read list!

Thanks to Mariner Books and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

A compelling read focusing on three women: grandmother Nora, daughter Polly and granddaughter Jess. Their stories, and those of many other characters, are revealed over multiple time periods, from a disturbing crime in rural 1950s South Australia to present day in Sydney. Living in London and at a bit of a crossroads in her life, Jess rushes back to Sydney when her grandmother takes ill. During her visit, she comes across references to tragic deaths in 1959 and is determined to find out how her family might be connected to those deaths. Loved this book, a good family saga and a historical mystery as well. Lots of characters with great backstories all carefully woven together to keep you guessing. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a preview copy.

Thank you, Mariner Books, for the gifted copy of Homecoming by Kate Morton {partner}

Genre: Historical Fiction
Time: 1959 & 2019
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 4.4.2023
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆.5

"People who grow up in old houses come to understand that buildings have characters. That they have memories and secrets to tell."

Homecoming starts strong - a tragic event, a town trying to decipher what happened, and then we jump forward to a granddaughter trying to figure out her grandmother's past before it's too late. There were numerous moments throughout the book when I felt I had the answers within my grasp but couldn't put everything together.

If you've ever read a Kate Morton book, you know that nestled between the exquisite details of the ordinary moments, there are red herrings, and the fun in her books is trying to figure out what is fact or fiction. I was paying close attention to everything mentioned, determined to figure it out before Morton intended me to. While I did figure out pieces, I didn't see the big reveal.

Homecoming is a challenging read - it took me almost two weeks to get through this dense 560-page book. Around the 200-page mark, the story slowed, and I had to take a break from reading. I struggled with the book's middle section (which is why I gave it 4.5), but the last 100 pages made it all worth it. Again, if you're a Morton fan, you might've experienced this with her other books. If you're new to her writing, stick with it, the endings are always worth the wait.

😍 Captivating descriptions
🔍 Red herrings
🗣️ Multiple Perspectives
📖 Lengthy chapters
🤩 The ending is worth the wait

❌ discussions of maternal filicide and suicide, graphic details of miscarriage

I recommend reading Homecoming if you're looking for a beautiful, detailed historical fiction that will elicit numerous emotions.

Kate Morton has done it again! As one of my favorite authors, I am always chomping at the bits for her next masterpiece. Homecoming did not disappoint! It was a literal homecoming- becoming immersed in a home (Halcyon and Darling House) as the main character of the story is what we have come to look forward to in Morton's novels. Each and every character jumped off of the page and I became attached to each one. The past and present collide in a most satisfying ending. I will be thinking about this story for a while. I loved everything about this book and would highly recommend.

When Jess Turner-Bridges, a journalist living in London for the past twenty years, receives word that her beloved grandmother has been hospitalized following a serious fall, she returns to her native Sydney, Australia at once. Jess's grandmother, Nora Turner-Bridges, raised her, so the two have always been close. However, Jess soon discovers that her grandmother has kept a huge secret from her regarding her a scandalous murder-suicide involving extended family members in South Australia nearly sixty years ago. Jess's journalistic instincts kick in as she tries to learn all she can about the long-ago tragedy and why her grandmother has never said a word about it.

Kate Morton has written another page turner with a dual narrative and dual mystery that explores issues of motherhood, family, secrets, and protecting those we love. Using a true crime book written shortly after the scandal as a device to provide the 1959 narrative is clever and effective. The characters and fully-developed, compelling, and sympathetic. As always, Morton's descriptive prose draws the readers in and transports them into the story, where they watch breathlessly as they await the next revelation or clue. Highly recommended.

Although this book is long, I could not put it down. Kate Morton does not disappoint. There are so many themes---motherhood, family secrets and how these false beliefs can affect generations. There are several mysteries and I didn't see this ending coming. Loved it.

A Many-Layered Mystery

Homecoming is a historical mystery set in Australia about a murder, a missing baby, and complicated family secrets.

2018, Jess is an investigative journalist who lives in London. When she receives news that her 90-year-old grandmother, Nora, is ill in Sydney, Jess flies home. Not only does Jess go to care for Nora, but also she is looking for her next story. Little does she know that the story she is going to chase is going to be one to change her entire life.

Flashback to Christmas Eve day in 1959 when grocer, Percy Summers, stumbles upon a horrifying murder scene in Tambilla, a rural town located in Southern Australia. The murder becomes a sensation, not only in Australia but also in America--it is never fully solved.

Nora is the link between the two narratives, and Jess must rely on her investigative skills to uncover the many secrets and lies her family has kept secret.

As much as this is a mystery--and there are several mysteries at hand--it is also a generational novel and embodies themes of family, mother-daughter relationships, and the meaning of home. Morton also does a good job of exploring post-partum depression in the 1950s.

The first half of the book is told primarily through Jess and Percy’s POVs. It is in the second half that additional POVs are shared as well as different genres including a non-fiction novel titled As If They Were Asleep by another character, Daniel Miller.

Both timelines work--they don’t compete with one another, and I enjoyed both equally, which is rare.

Told in nine parts plus a prologue, this novel felt long--it comes in at 560 pages. The pace is slow, and it felt too long while reading. I usually enjoy a book within a book. I had trouble connecting to As If They Are Asleep, which is shared in its entirety. The length and this book within the book took my rating down a star. Outside of these elements, there is much to enjoy about Homecoming.

The mystery is complex and has many parts. While one main element is easy to guess, several aspects associated with it are quite surprising--these surprises are revealed near the end, and they were not ones I guessed. They add a whole other layer to the novel.

Morton creates complicated and rich characters, many of whom felt alive to me, especially by the end. I am still thinking of them. Her writing is detailed and rich in description--if you don’t like this type of writing, stay away from this. I especially enjoyed her descriptions of Tambilla and Sydney, and I could visualize both, especially the landscape of South Australia in the 1950s.

Homecoming is well worth reading. It has depth, a riveting mystery, and multidimensional characters. Best of all, I was transported to Australia while reading this!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Mariner Books in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an early copy of Homecoming by Kate Morton

Nora Turner Bridges is a strong and capable single parent in a small town in Australia. But who is this daughter she has named Polly? It will take her granddaughter Jess to help unravel and come to terms with the secrets of the past.

The deaths of Nora's sister-in-law along with three of her four children in 1959 are the catalysts that unite the characters of this saga including a journalist who writes a book about the horrendous incident that the town cannot forget. Was this a murder-suicide? What happened to the missing baby?

Norton cleverly delivers a clue, then proceeds to give the backstory. The reader begins to suspect that facts are not adding up and that Nora may know more than she is telling.

Homecoming is a lengthy read and some readers will want to cut to the chase due to the mysterious circumstances. But a Kate Morton novel should be savored as each page is thoughtfully engaging.

I’ve been a fan of Kate Morton for a long while now, with few disappointments. This one, however, was arguably my favorite. I know Kate is a fan of the alternating timelines, but she went beyond that with this: there is a book within the book. And it was just so well done!

Jess, a freelance journalist, lives in London, estranged from her Mother and raised by her beloved Grandmother, Nora. When she receives the phone call saying Nora is in the hospital, Jess is on the first plane back to Australia. While there, she discovers there are many secrets hidden within her family. Flashback to 1959, when an entire family is found dead in the Adelaide Hills with no apparent cause. How is Jess related to this? That is the story that Morton sets out to tell and tell it she does! I literally was on the edge of my seat and could not put this down. Not only was I invested in Jess and the events of 1959, but I wanted to read the true crime novel embedded with Homecoming for real! Alas, the only thing I did not love about the book (but I think perhaps that was Morton’s point), was Nora. But Jess loved her immensely, so she mustn’t have been too terrible.