Homecoming

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 24,823 ratings

Price: 16.7

Last update: 12-20-2024


About this item

A brand-new book from award-winning author Kate Morton, read by powerhouse Emmy award–winning actress Claire Foy. This breathtaking mystery of love, lies and a cold case come back to life is told with Morton's trademark intricacy and beauty.

Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959. At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek in the grounds of a grand and mysterious house, a local deliveryman 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.

Many years later and thousands of miles away, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for nearly two decades, she now finds herself laid off from her full-time job and struggling to make ends meet. Until a phone call out of nowhere summons her back to Sydney, where her beloved grandmother, Nora, has suffered a fall and been raced to the hospital.

At Nora’s house, Jess discovers a true crime book that chronicles the police investigation into a long-buried event: the Turner Family Tragedy of Christmas Eve, 1959. It is only when Jess skims through the pages that she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this once-infamous scandal – a murder mystery that has never been resolved satisfactorily.

2023, Queensland Literary Awards, Short-listed

2024, Indie Book Awards Fiction, Long-listed

2024, Australian Book Design Awards, Short-listed

2024, Australian Book Industry Award General Fiction Book of the Year, Short-listed

2024, The Crime Writers' Association Dagger Awards Gold Dagger, Long-listed


Top reviews from the United States

pinphoenix
5.0 out of 5 stars An engrossing read.
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2024
This is one that was twisty and turny and kept me reaching for the next revelation . Good story about family and life and death and one I didn't want to end. Well written and good characters.
RSW Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars 4 stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2024
4 stars

A family drama set in 1959 and present times.

In 1959 a mother and her children are found dead just before New Year in the Australian outback. They look like they took a swim in their pond and then all spontaneously died. Did the mother commit suicide and take the children with her or did someone kill all of them or was it some sort of unintentional food poisoning? Also, added to the mystery, the baby was missing and never found.

Many years later, in the present, a woman living in London receives word that her beloved grandmother, who raised her, had an accident and is hospitalized in Sydney, Australia. She hops onto a plane immediately to see her grandmother.

Once in her childhood home, she begins to dig into how her grandmother was injured in the first place and finds a connection to a tragic incident at a house the family apparently owns in the outback which included the death of several of her family members. How does it all connect?

What I loved:
Fascinating story. Great characters. I loved the back and forth between the present and past. Loved the whole Aussie piece.

What I didn’t love:
I found it confusing at times as to who was who and how everyone was connected. I spent a lot of time wondering about the characters relationship with the woman from London’s mother and why things went badly between the mother and grandmother; and then the mother and daughter. The reader was subtly allowed to make their own conclusions late in the book after given additional information but it felt pretty late in the game for me. It made me reframe everything but, by that point, there had been so many revelations that I wasn’t sure I needed another one.

Overall
Good book. Definitely worth reading.
Marilyn Henderson
5.0 out of 5 stars Great novel
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2024
Kate Morton writes absolutely wonderful books. Elaborate stories that often span time periods and weave people together in the most interesting ways. They take you to the past and pull you forward to present day.. All of her books are fabulous. I have read them all.
SPN_972
5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2024
Adelaide Hills Christmas Eve December 24, 1959
On a sweltering hot afternoon beside a watering hole on the grounds of a grande country house, a local man makes the discovery of the Turner family police are called, and the small town of Tambilla becomes involved, in one of the most baffling, murder investigation in the history of South Australia. Almost sixty years later, and thousands of miles away Jess, who has lived in London for nearly two decades while out, enjoying a drink with her close friend Rebecca jess receives a phone call to inform her that her beloved grandmother Nora, who has raised Jess when her mother could not has suffered a fall and is in the ICU. When, she’s looking in her grandmother’s room. Jess discovers a true crime book chronicling, a long, buried police Case, the Turner family tragedy of 1959 while Jess skims through the pages of it she finds a shocking connection between her own family and, a murder mystery that has never been satisfactorily resolved.

The Prose is captivating and lyrical. The main characters are relatable and well developed. The plot is an emotional, mysterious saga filled with love, loss, heart break, secrets, lies, and deception. The story is told in multiple POV, the story flows seamlessly together as it flows between timelines. Just when I thought I figured out the mystery I was totally wrong. There were many plot twist and it had me surprised and shocked and heartbroken at every turn. There are so many family secrets between the characters it changed my feelings towards them with each reveal. This tale is filled with many dark filled secrets and lies that were done to protect family, because of the love and loyalty they felt at that time. Seeing what happens to the characters lives because of their choices and seeing how those secrets and lies effected so many of the characters was gut wrenching for me. This beautifully written saga will be etched into my mind long after I have read it and will definitely reread it again. Homecoming was definitely worth the wait

“Home is where the heart is and the heart could be a dark and damaged place”

star rating 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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SPN_972
5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2024
Adelaide Hills Christmas Eve December 24, 1959
On a sweltering hot afternoon beside a watering hole on the grounds of a grande country house, a local man makes the discovery of the Turner family police are called, and the small town of Tambilla becomes involved, in one of the most baffling, murder investigation in the history of South Australia. Almost sixty years later, and thousands of miles away Jess, who has lived in London for nearly two decades while out, enjoying a drink with her close friend Rebecca jess receives a phone call to inform her that her beloved grandmother Nora, who has raised Jess when her mother could not has suffered a fall and is in the ICU. When, she’s looking in her grandmother’s room. Jess discovers a true crime book chronicling, a long, buried police Case, the Turner family tragedy of 1959 while Jess skims through the pages of it she finds a shocking connection between her own family and, a murder mystery that has never been satisfactorily resolved.

The Prose is captivating and lyrical. The main characters are relatable and well developed. The plot is an emotional, mysterious saga filled with love, loss, heart break, secrets, lies, and deception. The story is told in multiple POV, the story flows seamlessly together as it flows between timelines. Just when I thought I figured out the mystery I was totally wrong. There were many plot twist and it had me surprised and shocked and heartbroken at every turn. There are so many family secrets between the characters it changed my feelings towards them with each reveal. This tale is filled with many dark filled secrets and lies that were done to protect family, because of the love and loyalty they felt at that time. Seeing what happens to the characters lives because of their choices and seeing how those secrets and lies effected so many of the characters was gut wrenching for me. This beautifully written saga will be etched into my mind long after I have read it and will definitely reread it again. Homecoming was definitely worth the wait

“Home is where the heart is and the heart could be a dark and damaged place”

star rating 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Mtlnative
3.0 out of 5 stars In the end, the book was just too long
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2023
Kate Morton is a wonderful writer, a great spinner of tales. For the first 250 pages I was mesmerized by the story she was telling, of a tragedy that happened to a family in 1959, discovered by a young woman related to that family in 2018. The tragedy was mysterious—how DID the family of a mother and her four children die, who was to blame. It took 250 pages to lay the incident out, again as with so many modern books, the going back and forth between 1959 and 2018, multiple voices telling the story. And there were still 275 pages to go! Much as I had enjoyed the book, and wanted to know what would happen, I couldn’t face another 275 pages. So I skipped to the final 50 pages for the solution.
It was a good ending and sometime in the future, when I can get the book again, I may read those pages that I skipped. I do think that Morton might have got away with writing a perfectly wonderful 350 page book and that’s why I gave it 3 stars. It’s worth reading though, the descriptions of Australia brought back memories of my own brief time there many years ago. It’s just that, at 552 pages, it’s quite a time commitment. Not easy when the library is only lending it out as a short lend.

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