At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek in the grounds of a grand and mysterious mansion, a local delivery man makes a terrible discovery. A police investigation is called and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled in one of the most shocking and perplexing murder cases in the history of South Australia.
Sixty years later, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for almost twenty years, she now finds herself laid off from her full-time job 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 been raced to the hospital.
At a loose end in Nora's house, Jess does some digging into her past. In Nora's bedroom, she discovers a true crime book, chronicling the police investigation into a long-buried tragedy: the Turner Family Tragedy of Christmas Eve, 1959. It is only when Jess skims through the book that she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this once-infamous crime - a crime that has never been truly solved. And for a journalist without a story, a cold case might be the best distraction she can find . . .
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.***
And, of course, there was to be a launch party to mark the New Year.- PROLOGUE: ADELAIDE HILLS, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, NEW YEAR'S DAY 1959
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(@panmacmillan, 13 April, e-book, 608 pages, copy from the publisher via @NetGalley)
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I really loved Homecoming. I've read and loved other books by the author so expected to feel the same about this book. I loved the complex, interwoven stories of Jess now and her family in 1959. The narrative switches between both eras and this an effective form of storytelling, gradually revealing what happened in 1959 and how it still impacts Jess and her mother Polly's life. This is the kind of book where revelations slowly unwind and what you think you understand about the characters and their circumstances is turned on its head every few chapters. This is a gripping, heart-breaking read.