Homecoming

Homecoming by Kate Morton is one of my most highly anticipated releases for 2023. This distinctly Australian historical fiction novel starts strong with a refreshingly different setting - for Morton - on Christmas Eve in 1959. It's here in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia that a terrible tragedy takes place that will reverberate through the Turner family for generations to come.

Meanwhile in the present, Jess returns to Darling House in Sydney after learning her grandmother Nora is in hospital. Jess is estranged from her mother Polly but finds a true crime book at Darling House that covers a family tragedy Jess has never heard of.

Familiar in all of Kate Morton's novels is a sense of connection between the past and present and the show more haunting of the present by tragic events and people from the past. The author's strength is also in creating homes, manors and mansions with character, and Homecoming had two homes to explore and enjoy.

"You'll see what I mean. It's a house that rewards the curious. Have you explored the nook under the east stairs yet? I used to love playing in there. I dare say it's been lonely all these years, just waiting for a child to claim it as her own." Page 90

Told in a dual narrative style, the nature writing was evocative. I enjoyed mentions of the little township of Hahndorf which reminded me of Devotion by fellow Australian author Hannah Kent set in the same region more than a century earlier. The Australian landscape is wild and beautiful yet also dangerous, as the next excerpt demonstrates:

"The story had given her chills, but of recognition rather than fear. Mythical though the creature might have been, inherent in her children's description was a recognizable truth about this place: the uncomfortable but certain sense that danger, the unknown, was always lurking in the dark spaces 'out there'. This continent was one where beauty and terror were inextricably linked. People died here from thirst if they took a wrong turn. A single spark of fire could grow to consume an entire town. Children who wandered beyond the back fence disappeared into thin air." Page 201

I was reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett earlier this year, and almost mentioned in my review that I was sure the writing style and infectious appreciation of nature in this classic went on to inspire some of my favourite authors in Kate Forsyth and Kate Morton. This thought bubble didn't make the final edit of the review, however I was reminded of it when I saw this quote very early on in Homecoming by Kate Morton:

"Curious, Percy urged Prince onwards up the dense, wooded slope. He felt like a character in a book. He thought of Mary Lennox as she discovered her secret garden." Page 23

Speaking of curiosities, the very next paragraph had a reference to 'Sir Gawain on the lookout for the Green Knight', a direct reference to a late 14th-century chivalric romance in Middle English, that inspired The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro that I read just recently. I think it's remarkable how many books reference other works and how authors can inspire others - sometimes from the grave - to create new stories for eager readers.

If you've skipped ahead or noticed the three star rating I'm giving to this novel, you might be wondering why. My primary issue with Homecoming was the use of a book within a book to provide an insight into the 1959 family tragedy. I usually love this writing technique, however in this particular case, the true crime book 'As If They Were Asleep' by Daniel Miller was unconvincing. Excerpts from the book were included in the body of the novel, however the writing style was not that typically found in this genre of non fiction.

"As Nancy had foreshadowed, some of the scenes were written in close third person, as if Daniel Miller had listened to Nora speak about herself and then, rather than write down the interviews precisely as they'd occurred, with his questions followed by her answers, taken the next step of interpreting the memories, history and personal feelings she'd shared, showing the things she'd described. The resulting scenes spoke of many conversations, not just one or two; there were too many diverse details - some of which Jess recognised from Nora's stories, others that were new to her - to have been gleaned in the formal setting of an initial interview." Page 376

This just didn't work for me. The resulting excerpts from Daniel Miller's book read as pure fiction and not a new style of narrative non fiction.

"The scene also showed the intimate way in which Daniel Miller had come to know his 'characters'." Page 346

This writing technique is ineffective if you need to have the character ponder Daniel's writing style within the novel, and then need Daniel Miller's niece to explain how he composed the 'scenes' from his interviews. The resulting effect and mixed tense was confusing and often took me out of the story. The idea of including a true crime element was definitely on trend, but I wished the author had stuck to her tried and true method of revealing secrets and unveiling long held mysteries.

My other gripe was the length of Homecoming. I love a chunky novel and am not deterred by a hefty page count, but at 640 pages in length, this could have been edited down by at least 100 pages. There were moments of terrific writing like this:

"Her grandmother was being very kind to her, which had the effect, as kindness often does, of making Jess feel terribly sad and lonely." Page 90

Wow, so insightful! However, these reading highlights were diluted by the above concerns.

Before I close out this review, I'll leave you with another quote I enjoyed, that provides insight into two siblings arguing:

"Silence fell. A stalemate had seemingly been reached, and with no further shots fired, the room's thick ambience briefly settled. But there is nothing surer than that two siblings, each nursing a problem, will seek refuge in the familiar comforts of quarreling, and so it was with John and Matilda in that moment." Page 309

Homecoming by Kate Morton contains themes of home and belonging, and explores the often rocky relationships between mothers and daughters.

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin * show less

Jess, who has been living in London for several years, returns home to Australia when her beloved grandmother, Nora, has been hospitalized after a fall. Nora had raised Jess after Polly, Jess’ mother and Nora’s daughter, had left. Jess can’t understand why Nora had been trying to climb to the attic since she had always been clear about the dangers of the steps. She learns that the fall may be linked to a letter Nora had received from a lawyer that had seemed to upset her and may have precipitated Nora’s attempted climb as well as some odd statements she makes when Jess visits her in the hospital. Jess is determined to discover what is in the letter and, in doing so, it sets her on a journey that will take her back to a long ago show more family tragedy.

Homecoming is a sweeping novel covering the stories of three generations of women and the tragedy that has formed much of their lives. There is a mystery at the centre of the story but, more than that, this is a tale of love and grief, motherhood, what defines home and family, the pain of secrets kept and the loneliness they can engender. Beautiful both in the writing and the plot and one of the rare books I know I will read again and again

I received an arc of this novel from Edelweiss+ and the publishers in exchange for an honest review show less

“Home, she’d realised, wasn’t a place or a time or a person, though it could be any and all of those things: home was a feeling, a sense of being complete. The opposite of ‘home’ wasn’t ‘away’, it was ‘lonely’. When someone said, ‘I want to go home’, what they really meant was that they didn’t want to feel lonely anymore.”

Homecoming is a captivating novel, the seventh from bestselling author Fiona Morton.

When London-based journalist Jess Turner-Bridges learns the beloved, indomitable grandmother who raised her, Nora, has been hospitalised after a fall from the attic stairs, she returns home to Sydney after a twenty year absence. Jess is distressed to find Nora in a frail and confused state, and desperate to show more learn what precipitated the accident.

Jess is stunned when her search leads her to uncover a family tragedy that had been kept from her. Hidden beneath her grandmother’s pillow is a true crime book, titled ‘As If They Were Asleep’, that documents an investigation into the shocking deaths of Nora’s sister-in-law and four young children on Christmas Eve some sixty years earlier in the small South Australian town of Tambilla.

While the narrative shifts back and forth in time, it does so in a unique way. In the present much of the story is related through Jess, and occasionally her estranged mother, Polly, while the events of past unfold from several perspectives, and through excerpts from the book, as Jess reads it.

Impressively, Morton sustains the intriguing mystery of what really happened to the Turner family at ‘Haylcon’ until the very end, slowly teasing out the secrets, deceptions and betrayals that reverberate among three generations. I was genuinely surprised by several of the plot reveals, and though Homecoming is a fairly hefty length it’s well paced.

The meaning of home is one of the central themes Morton explores in her story, along with motherhood, family, and identity. Nora, Polly and Jess are complex characters, whose lives, and relationships with each other, are each shaped by the events in Tambilla in both direct and indirect ways. The author also touches on the issue of mental health, and the joys of literature.

With vivid description and evocative prose, Morton brings her settings to life. I felt as if I could find my way around Darling House, on the cliff-edged of one of Sydney’s most exclusive suburbs, Vaucluse, where Nora raised both Polly, and Jess; and through the grounds and rooms of the grand stone hall of ‘Halcyon’ in rural Tambilla where the Turner family lived.

An enthralling and atmospheric tale, beautifully told, Homecoming is a stellar read, I recommend. show less

I am a big fan of family sagas, especially when the story draws me in, providing a strong sense of time and place, a feeling of connection with the characters, and a good dash of family secrets intrigue and tension. Morton delivers on all counts with her latest offering. Well, almost on all counts. I never really connected with the character Jess. Found her rather annoying, actually. Other than that, Homecoming was a satisfying winter read.

“Peeling back the onion" is a perfect way to describe this one. Layer by layer by layer, the reader slowly gets to the core of the family history, the shocking Christmas Eve discovery, the police investigation, the relationships and the closely guarded family secrets. Told in vivid detail, it is show more easy to picture the town of Tamilla and the evocative beauty of the South Australian Adelaide Hills. The 'who' and 'why' are slowly teased out, but the effort to follow the story through to the end is worth it, in my opinion. I really love how Morton makes use of chapters from a fictitious true crimes novel (another POV) to aid Jess in her ‘search’ for answers.

If you are looking for a fast-paced suspense read, you will probably be disappointed. This is not that kind of story. You need to be prepared to invest the time, to sink into the descriptive prose, soak up the atmosphere, and let the motivation behind certain actions – those all important ‘whys’! – slowly be revealed. Even though I was able to suss out the main family secret pretty early on, Morton still had a few more surprises up her sleeve that I did not expect.

Now, some readers may not be as enamoured as I am with Morton's latest. Some may not appreciate the shifting points of view and switching timelines. They may find revisiting certain events from different angles to be repetitive and may become frustrated that Morton takes such a circuitous route to tell the story. Some may find the pace slow, maybe even plodding in places. Some readers may feel there is just too much story (Geez, is there such a thing?) My response to these readers: Approach this story like a journey. A direct path may get you to the end quicker, but the slower, meandering routes reward the reader with unexpected vistas along the way.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy. show less

I’m a big fan of Kate Morton’s writing. I’ve been eagerly awaiting her newest book Homecoming. It’s another fabulous book from a gifted author. Before you turn that first page, stop and look at the cover. Isn’t it just gorgeous?

Morton tells her story in a now and then narrative, which is one of my favorite ways to tell a story. The opening chapter of Homecoming starts with a crime on Christmas Eve in 1959. We then flip to 2018. Nora is the commonality between the past and present. She was there, in the small town of Tambilla, South Australia, when the unsolved crime was committed. In 2018 her granddaughter Jess returns to Sydney as Nora is not well. She’s staying in Nora’s home and comes across a true crime book detailing show more the Turner Tragedy of 1959. Jess has never heard her grandmother speak of it – until now.

Morton's writing is so rich and atmospheric, with a bit of a gothic feel. Two houses are an integral part of the book. One beloved and one with a horrible history, and I could easily picture them.

The characters are so wonderfully drawn - both leading characters and supporting characters. It’s not just their actions. It’s their mindsets, the questioning of what’s going on, and the reasons behind those actions. Nora, in particular, was an especially intricate character. My thoughts and feelings about her changed as the book progressed. I liked Jess as well, but again, my feelings for her changed number of times as well. And there is more than one character who had me close to tears.

The story builds slowly and deliciously, with layer upon layer peeled away, as secrets are revealed over the course of 560 pages. (And I loved every last page).

The crime itself? I was so sure that I had figured out whodunit long before the final pages. I had figured out a little bit of the why, but was happily proven wrong by the final reveal. I truly didn’t see it coming.

Morton’s writing is very easy to get lost in and should be savored. Such as this thought one of the characters has...

"This was the magic of books, the curious alchemy hat allowed a human mind to turn black ink on white pages into a whole other world."

I think that's an apt description of any and all of Kate Morton's books. An easy five stars for this reader. show less

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 show more 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. show less

4.5⭐️

“People who grow up in old houses come to understand that buildings have characters. That they have memories and secrets to tell. One must merely learn to listen, and then to comprehend, as with any language.”

Jess Turner-Bridges, a forty-year-old journalist, is called back to Sydney, Australia, from her current home in London when her grandmother Nora is hospitalized after a fall. Nora’s accident occurred while she was searching for something in the attic of her home, Darling House. Nora had raised Jess after Polly, Nora's daughter and Jess’s mother, left for Brisbane when Jess was only ten years old. Jess and Polly have remained in touch, but they are not close. As her grandmother floats in and out of consciousness, show more she utters a few disjointed phrases that initially do not make much sense to Jess. Jess learns that her grandmother had been agitated over the last few days. As Jess tries to find out what caused her grandmother’s recent distress, a significant childhood memory resurfaces and she begins to piece together what her grandmother was trying to convey in her semi-conscious state.

Her research leads her to discover events in her family’s history on her mother and grandmother’s side dating back over sixty years --a tragedy that occurred in 1959 in the small town of Tambilla in South Australia – that sent shockwaves through the small town. Jess also learns of a true crime book, “As If They Were Asleep” written by Daniel Miller, an American journalist who was living in the vicinity during the time, that documents the details of the Turner family living in Tambilla and the tragedy, the ensuing police investigation and features true accounts shared by the townspeople of Tambilla who knew the Turners as well as Nora herself. As the narrative progresses, Jess discovers that there was much about her family and her grandmother that was deliberately kept secret from her – facts that will shake the very foundation of what she believes to be her reality.

Kate Morton is a masterful storyteller. The author seamlessly weaves dual timelines and multiple perspectives into a well-structured and fluid narrative. The vivid imagery, intriguing plot and superb characterizations render this novel a compelling read. The beautiful prose draws you in from the very first page. Both timelines are well depicted. While we follow Jess in the present day, past events are revealed through flashbacks from 1958-59 from multiple perspectives with segments from Daniel Miller’s true-crime book and his research notes interspersed throughout the novel. We also get a few chapters from Polly’s perspective, giving us a window into her complicated relationships with her mother and her daughter. The author excels in developing the nuanced and complex characters and the storylines of the different women in the story – Isabel, Nora, Jess and Polly – each of these characters stands out and we go through a spectrum of emotions as we follow the events that impact their lives – from sorrow and sympathy to shock, exasperation and outrage and much more.

The story touches upon themes of loss, motherhood, home and how we define family. The author also incorporates the issue of mental health in a very subtle manner. As far as the mystery element of this story is concerned, there are plenty of breadcrumbs strewn throughout the narrative and though I could guess, in part, the direction in which the story was headed, I was genuinely surprised by much of what is revealed as all the threads of the story are brought together toward the end. The pacing is a tad uneven but not so much that it detracts from the overall reading experience. The story does move faster in the second half. However, I should mention that this is a meticulously detailed, lengthy novel (540 pages) and I thought that a few segments could have been shorter.

Overall, exquisitely written, atmospheric and immersive, Homecoming by Kate Morton is an intricately woven story that I would not hesitate to recommend to historical fiction fans and those who enjoy multigenerational family sagas with an element of suspense. Finally, I just have to mention that cover! It is stunning!

Many thanks to Mariner Books for the ARC of this beautifully written novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

"Home, she’d realised, wasn’t a place or a time or a person, though it could be any or all of those things: home was a feeling, a sense of being complete. The opposite of ‘home’ wasn’t ‘away’, it was ’lonely’. When someone said, ‘I want to go home’, what they really meant was that they didn’t want to feel lonely anymore.”

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(March 11, 2023 : Book Mail! ARC received! show less