This is a classic Kate Morton novel about family secrets past and present. The plot has many twists and unexpected turns. The past/present shifts are seamless. The settings are well established and fascinating. The characters are well rounded, but are not always as they seem or as they would have others believe. Nora is an excellent example of this, she initially seemed very generous and loving, but she was manipulative and controlling with everyone she interacted with. The ending was a surprise, but Jess still did not seem to grasp how Nora had separated her from her mother. Things were left undone, Isabel's name was not cleared, and Jess did not contact her father. Although the book was long and complex, I wanted just a bit more. Highly recommended.

Kate Morton is a master at writing suspenseful family sagas that will hook the reader from the beginning. As with her other books, this is longer that what I usually read but it was nevertheless a page turner. It is beautifully written and the characters are well-drawn. A mystery is revealed at the beginning and the puzzle pieces slowly come together for a big, intensely rewarding reveal at the end.

Homecoming by Kate Morton follows a sort of formula that I have noticed in many books that I have read. A present day main character must return to her home to care for a fallen-ill relative (in this case, the grandmother who raised her), and in the process, discovers mysterious and secretive information about an event that occurred in the past (1959), and then spends the duration of the novel obtaining said information. There is comfort in identifying patterns, however, and I honestly enjoyed reading this very much! The setting and descriptions made me feel present within the story, and although there was a major aspect of the plot that I was able to predict, there was another twist at the very end. It certainly was believable, and the characters were well-developed and for the most part, likable. I just wish there were some author notes at the end, since I am always curious about how the writer develops the story and/or what resources she consulted. Overall, I recommend this novel. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance e-reader copy of this book!

Homecoming
My thanks to #NetGalley and #MarinerBooks for the advance copy ebook of Homecoming by #KateMorton. Full disclosure: I am a gushing Kate Morton fan. Like swooning schoolgirl crush when a new publication arrives, so it’s no wonder I loved Homecoming to pieces. Morton writes with such beauty – every character fully developed to the point that the reader really knows them. Each detail so beautifully described, the reader is transported to 1959, then back to 2018 seamlessly. Family secrets, mystery, murder? This book has it all wrapped up in family love and loyalty. It’s a beautiful read. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harpers Collins publishing for this early review of Kate Morton’s Homecoming novel. Kate never disappoints me in her detailed stories. As the story unfolds, Nora, the grandmother, has held a secret for over 70 years. What unfolds is how her sister-in-law and family died at their mansion, Nora and the granddaughter were very close but not Nora’s only daughter Polly. This was a book you don’t want to put down as the small town people all played a part in the mystery. A marvelous book!!!

Kate Morton returns to her beautiful story telling in this epic tale of family secrets. The Turner family is found mysteriously dead on Christmas Eve in Southern Australia and their deaths have implications over generations. Everyone has a secret but some know each other’s secrets. A journalist tells the story of the death of the family but years later, Jess, the granddaughter of the Turner family’s sister in law begins to uncover the truths of that day. There is a shocking connection between Jess and what happened that day. Kate Morton’s storytelling in Homecoming explores the strength and depth of relationships and how we protect people we love. In the end, the truth sets us free.

I read this lovely novel over the Christmas holiday, and its dual timeline—Christmas 1959 and 2018 in South Australia, where it is summer in December—made it exactly the “holiday” read I was looking for.

Kate Morton is one of my top five authors to read because she writes a rich story full of secrets, complicated characters, decrepit mansions that have seen the best and worst of family life, and contemporary women searching for the truth they need to make the puzzle pieces of their own lives fit together. Homecoming is perfectly paced—I often find myself racing to finish a book when the author is tying up all the strings—but I read carefully until the very end to ensure I didn’t miss a single detail.

I relished every element: a brutal yet unsolved crime; hidden love affairs; a beloved matriarch with more than her share of secrets; and three generations whose individual motives and decisions affect a far wider circle than they could have imagined.

For this gal whose perfect holiday read is more murder than mistletoe, Homecoming was perfect.

Homecoming is a beautifully written sad and mysterious saga. There are many twists but the main story is about mother daughter bonds.
Jess is a sweet character who searches for answers about her family's past in those drama set in Australia.
Thank you for the digital review copy.

Kate Morton's newest novel, Homecoming, was absolutely worth the wait! As always, Kate Morton's writing is exquisite. Her setting is wonderful - I truly felt like I was in Australia, despite never visiting, and I love the way she introduces us to her characters, particularly Nora and her daughter, Polly, and her granddaughter, Jess. I loved the dual timeline of this book - flipping between 1959 and 2018 and combining historical fiction, true crime, and mystery was just perfect! Additionally, I thought the technique of letting the readers read a book within a book was so unique! It really added to my understanding of the mystery.

Homecoming is a must read! After finishing it, I just can't stop thinking about it - the outcome of the mystery of course, but also about the themes of family, whether you can truly "go home," and loyalty.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

Another wonderful Kate Morton novel.Beautifully written characters that come alive an absorbing story.I Realy enjoyed all the twists and turns all the surprises.#netgalley #marinerbooks

*Publish date 4/4/23. Thank you to @katemortonauthor and @marinerbooks for the advanced copies of Homecoming by Kate Morton *

In true Kate Morton fashion, Homecoming is beautifully written with atmospheric descriptions that transport you to Australia and characters that work their way into your soul. The story is centered around a grandmother (Nora), her daughter (Polly), and her granddaughter (Jess). Family, love, and loyalty are central themes as are the secrets - so many secrets! And we learn why "being part of a family is complicated."

On Christmas Eve, 1959, a tragedy occurs that will alter the fabric of the Turner family and the town of Adelaide Hills forever. Sixty years later, Jess (who now lives in London and is a journalist) is headed back to Australia to see her grandmother, Nora, who has been hospitalized after a fall. Jess and her mother, Polly, have been somewhat estranged. Family bonds are tested, secrets are revealed, and mysteries are solved. I highly recommend this book! 4.5/5 stars because of the length (560 pages).

I've been a fan of Kate Morton's for a while and found this one pretty predictable and disappointing. too many red herrings and threads pulled that didn't go anywhere. Her details of scenery were great, I felt I knew the location.

From the publisher: "An epic novel that spans generations, Homecoming asks what we would do for those we love, and how we protect the lies we tell. It explores the power of motherhood, the corrosive effects of tightly held secrets, and the healing nature of truth." Set in Australia in 2019 and 1959, Morton's newest novel centers around the life of Jess. Jess has recently returned to Sydney after her grandmother (who raised her) suffers a fall. While staying at her grandmother's home, Jess stumbles upon information that may link her family to Australia's most infamous cold case. Propulsive and entertaining, I highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-galley.

I have always been a fan of Kate Morton, and this long-awaited new novel does not disappoint. Morton once again transports us into her world with incredibly descriptive prose about her native Australia and the vivid characters that populate it.

From the beginning we are instantly captivated by the Turner family and the secrets that they hold and the horrific tragedy that took place at Christmas 1959. Morton is exceptionally talented at hooking the reader from the first chapter, and making it impossible to put the book down until we find out exactly what is underneath surface of this family and the places they call home.

Woven into the story from decades past is the a modern story of an Australian woman living in London who is called home suddenly to the bedside of her elderly grandmother. As Morton often does, we are fascinated by the connections between the two stories and how they are woven together.

Morton is a master of historical fiction, and this newest offering explores the question of if we can, in fact, ever go home again.

Kate Morton never disappoints. She always has a moody setting with a grand house, and that is definitely apparent in this novel. This one goes back and forth between present day and the year 1959. In the past, a family suffers a horrible tragedy that is left unsolved. In the present, a woman discovers her family's tie to this tragedy and seeks to find answers.

I did 'solve' one part of the mystery pretty early on, so that wasn't a surprise. There was a different twist that I did not see coming, so that was a pleasant surprise. Everything is revealed in the last 10 percent of the book, and I felt like I was on pins and needles as I waited for everything to come together.

One thing that had me perplexed was the absence of Mr. Turner. He's barely acknowledged and is never forward as a character. I would have liked to learn more about him.

Unlike many other reviews I have seen of this book, I was unfamiliar with Kate Morton and her works prior to reading this book. But the summary seemed interesting to me, so I decided to check it out. What I got was a wordy and slow paced story revolving around a family and their mysteries. And sadly, I don't think it was for me.

This book felt the need to describe every detail of every thing that happens in the novel. Not necessarily a bad thing, but that combined with an abundance of far too many side characters results in a clumsy read. The story will start to pick up some steam, but then come to a screeching halt because we need to learn about the backstory of a reverend. Does this character have a role in the story? Yes, but what was told about him in several pages could have easily been told in a paragraph or two. I wouldn't be as mad if it only happened once or twice, but this happens constantly throughout the book. The book could have been much sorter yet more effective if it just cut out so much of these descriptions

The story only starts to really pick up in the last third, but by then it was honestly hard for me to find the time to care. And when the big reveals hit, I was more compliant with it rather than blown away. I was like "Yeah, that makes sense" and didn't feel much of anything else.

This all being said, I just don't think this book is for me. I am sure people who enjoy a more slow pace story will enjoy it. But for me, I feel more meh about it if anything.

If you are a Kate Morton fan the long wait is now over! When I heard that Kate Morton was releasing a new book I knew that I needed to get my hands on it. This was well worth the wait and sadly I devoured it quickly as posible. Now that I have finished it I will now have to wait a few years for her to release another book. Just like in her previous books, the past meets up with the present and Jess Turner-Bridges, the grandaughter of Nore Turner-Bridges is left to uncover the mystery of the Turner family tradgey, Jess has very little clues to go by and is desperate to find out what her grandmother was doing up in the attic that caused her fall. This one has a lot of twist and turns and keeps you quessing up until the end of the book. I can't say enough about Kate Morton and her writing styles. She brings you into the word of both the Turner family and the Turner-Bridges family that you feel like you are in the book with these characters. If you have never read a Kate Morton book you are missing out!

I enjoyed several of author Kate Morton's earlier works & decided to give her new novel "Homecoming" a try. Glad I did! It's another dual time-line story - this time 1959 & pre-pandemic 2018. Set in the Australian outback, it centers on a murder mystery, the Turner Family Tragedy of Christmas Eve & a later investigator, Jess who nay have had family involved. It's a long book at 560 pages, and while I occasionally skimmed here & there, I was very invested in the ending and resolution. Recommend it to any who enjoy well-written & character driven mystery or historical fiction. My sincere thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the complimentary DRC - opinions & ratings are my own.

This book is filled with family and secrets. Returning home to Australia when her grandmother falls Ill, Jess stumbles upon a family secret that will change her life.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I adored the part that was in the past with the mystery and tragedy. The part in the present was harder because I found Jess and Nora to be quite unlivable.

Homecoming is brimming with vivid imagery, compelling storytelling, identifiable characters, and smoothly flowing, evocative prose. This multifaceted story follows the lives of Isabel, Nora, Polly and Jess and explores complex relationships, the power of memories, the unreliability of perspective, the strength of family, and what it means to truly belong.

Kate Morton is on a short list of storytellers whose writing I find so incredibly immersive that when I read the last page and close their book I feel I'm saying goodbye to living, breathing friends and a different life I lived for the hours spent within the pages of the book. I don't know how she does it. How she brings not just characters, but also a setting and a period in time to life so fully and descriptively that the story stops feeling like fiction and begins to feel real.

Kate Morton's magic pen continues to captivate me, and I loved every minute spent with this story. This is enthralling storytelling at its finest and not to be missed.

Thank you to both Netgalley and Mariner Books for providing me a copy to read and review.