Morton's newest historical fiction involves two timelines, a decades-old tragedy, and a modern-day descendant's discovery of her family's link to mysterious deaths.
"...People were wiser back then, and less selfish. They understood that they were part of a line, not the beginning, middle, and end of it."
In Kate Morton's newest novel, Homecoming, she explores two different timelines.
In one, it's Christmas Eve in South Australia, and a local man makes a horrific discovery on the grounds of a grand country estate.
Years later, Jessica is a struggling reporter in London who is summoned to Sydney to care for her beloved grandmother Nora, who has sustained a serious fall.
While there, Jessica discovers a true-crime account of The Turner Family Tragedy of 1959--and her own family's connection to the unthinkable events.
There are two mysteries surrounding the Turner Tragedy: the whodunit aspect and the unexplained disappearance of a family member. The identity and situation regarding the latter were somewhat easily sussed out--although the very specifics were not hinted at until the Big Reveal. The whodunit aspect kept me guessing and suspecting various characters until the end.
This is a long (it's almost 550 pages), winding story with complicated connections and mysterious motivations that are eventually laid bare for the reader's satisfaction.
Jess's grandmother is presented as having been a pivotal force in Jess's life and a formidable figure, but due to her grave illness and her unconscious state, she is only seen in action in the past timeline. In modern day, she serves primarily as a catalyst for Jess's arrival and amateur sleuthing, and it seemed strange not to witness the life-changing grandmother-grandchild interactions in some way.
There's a message about faulted mothers doing the best they can here, and there are some opportunities for redemption and peace.
I often feel more invested in one timeline than the other in a dual-timeline story, and here I was more intrigued by the past events than I was by Jessica's modern-day efforts to determine the truth.
Morton's story explores secrets, loyalties, mysteries, and the complicated matter of family--those you choose, and those you're born into.
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Morton is also the author of The Clockmaker's Daughter, The Forgotten Garden, The Secret Keeper, The House at Riverton, The Lake House, and The Distant Hours.