I enjoyed this one and got through it quite quickly, but I didn't love it. I didn't connect with the characters but at the same time, I found myself excited to see what happened

Homecoming by Isabel Ashdown is a complex and cleverly plotted standalone psychological thriller.

A twisted tale of dangerous secrets slowly being revealed in an affluent new gated community.

Thoroughly enjoyable and kept me guessing throughout.

Have you ever read a book and you’re still thinking about it days later? This is how Homecoming made me feel, I was still thinking about the story days later, trying to figure out how I got this book so wrong, how it tricked me into thinking I knew it all when really I didn’t!

This is very much an onion book…… what do I mean by onion book? It has layers, lots of layers that are slowly peeled back showing you their story piece by piece, and I think this is what I loved most about this book (and I usually like my books quick and fast). This book ticked all my boxes – tense, twisty, action-packed, thrilling, suspense, lies, affairs, revenge, secrets, bravery, loyalty. If none of that grabs you then I don’t know what will!

A must read for 2024!

Blogathon with Compulsive Readers (Tracy Fenton) -
http://ramblingmads.uk/2024/06/18/blogathon-home-coming-isabel-ashdown/

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TRIGGER WARNING: teen pregnancy, forced adoptions, miscarriage, sexual abuse, drug abuse
Katrin Gold seems to have the perfect life. She has created it for herself, having come from nothing. But as she hosts a celebration for her latest achievement, an incident occurs that could change her life forever and reveal secrets...
Homecoming is a psychological thriller set in Dorset.
Katrin and her family are property developers and pride themselves on having created a perfect little community at the Starlings. But a night of celebration with their friends and neighbours ends in tragedy and the past haunts the attendees.
The book begins with the party and then leaves a cliffhanger so we don't know who is missing or what might have happened to them. We are taken back in time to see the tensions, emotions and relationships between the characters. Lots of potential scenarios are set up and I was kept guessing about how the plot would progress.
There is also a lot of emotion in the book. I felt deeply saddened by the information about the history of the mother and baby home that treated young women so abominably. Frida's awful family situation and the neglect she suffers is also very upsetting.
I felt that perhaps there was a little too much delay in getting back to the present day and finding out what had happened at the party and who was affected, but I loved the ensuing police investigation when we return to it. There are plenty of clues about secrets and lies that are hidden by various characters which are then gradually revealed.
Homecoming has an intriguing mystery at its heart.

Homecoming by Isabel Ashdown is an addictive read set in the seemingly perfect gated community of The Starlings. The entrepreneurial Gold family has created an idyllic neighborhood with a sparkling sea view and secure environment. However, beneath the shiny exterior lie dark secrets. When a resident is found murdered after a party, the facade begins to crumble.
The novel is rich with well-developed characters and engaging dialogue. Ashdown skillfully weaves an intriguing plot with numerous twists that kept me entertained throughout. Set in the UK, the story explores themes of found family and hidden truths. Despite the idyllic setting, not everything is as perfect as it seems. The suspense and mystery surrounding the murder make Homecoming a compelling read that I highly recommend for fans of psychological thrillers. This book kept me hooked from start to finish, proving once again that Isabel Ashdown is a master of the genre.

Any book involving institutions and secrets are an absolute must for me and this is up there with the best!

I love the setting of The Starlings in its present timeline, cant really say this about some of the characters! Some of there actions were awful! I think my favourite characters was Frida, I felt so sorry for her, a horrible mother and all she faced at school.

I really enjoyed the different POVs, part of me wanted to read more about the history of the mother and baby unit, but I also enjoyed that info were drip fed and as a reader, a lot was allured to allowing for imaginations to run riot. Some relationships/connections, I thought I had completely solved, but I was so wrong!

I'm really excited to read this novel reading Homecoming has only made me more excited to read more of Isabel Ashdown's work. Homecoming is a complex, well plotted story with plenty of twists and I became completely lost in it as I was reading.

The greatest strength of Homecoming is the characters. I became hooked by their different stories almost instantly and was extremely keen to see how they would overlap. I loved that Isabel Ashdown chose four of the female characters to narrate the chapters as it showed the importance of female role models and highlighted that families can still be strong even if they are not conventional. I felt totally immersed in what was happening and was eager for the mystery to be solved as I tried to work out the answers. I did guess a few of the twists but this in no way affected my enjoyment of the novel.

Interwoven in the central story, there are lots of different social issues that Isabel Ashdown addresses through Homecoming. She does this in such a sensitive, emotional way and this means that parts of the novel are actually very poignant and adds even more layers to an exceptional story.

I finished this book last night and strangely enough it’s still been on my mind all today. I felt like I was a personal friend of Katrin and also developed a motherly connection to teenager Frida. I am now actually missing their company and the story in general. The author really captured my love and concern for the female characters in the story and a very strong bond quickly blossomed with them. The male characters were generally portrayed as misogynistic, unfaithful and uncaring, with the exception of Hugo who I had a soft spot for. The subject of the story involves a former Mother and Baby Home, “The Starlings” which closed in the early 1980’s with the babies who have now grown up searching for their birth mothers. This was quite upsetting at times with a deep harrowing secret at the heart of ‘The Starlings’ and the anguish was genuinely palpable for the characters involved.
This character driven suspense novel with a mystery element was very addictive and so well written. I’ve been introduced to a new author, who I’m hoping will be a regular author for me soon and I have no qualms at all in recommending “Home Coming” and Isabel Ashdown!

#HomeComing - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s an intriguing book with a lot of mystery. The characters are well developed. The writing is very addictive.
It’s a very good thriller

The pace is quite slow and initially I struggled to get into it. It does pick up though and becomes quite gripping and compelling.

I loved this book from start to finish! It pulled me in and refused to let go until the very last page. It was a slow burn type of story but the characters and setting were so interesting that it didn’t matter. There were so many secrets and I loved how everything unfolded and kept me turning the pages. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for a chance to read and review this book.

Thrillers are my favourite genre, so as soon as i read the synopsis for this book, I knew i just had to request it. Reading how the drama unfolds was a delight.

The Starlings Gated Community was supposedly one of the safest places to live. Until a body is found at the bottom of the clock tower and then everyone is suspected of being involved.
The characters were fascinating and some not as they appeared to be. An addictive storyline that had me reading until the early hours.

First time reading a book by this author and I really enjoyed it. A great book very hard to put down once you start. I would highly recommend this book if you are looking something to keep you hooked from the start.

The Starlings- a beautiful set of properties near the sea, lovely countryside, was the brainchild of Katrin & Bill Gold. The residents have been chosen to encourage a sense of community. The place used to be a workhouse & more recently a mother and baby home-it is also where Katrin was born. On the first anniversary of its opening a barbecue is held and late on in the evening a body is found at the bottom of the clock tower. The story then returns to the beginning of people moving into the Starlings.

The pace moves quite slowly and chapters feature different characters so the reader gets to know them. Not all of them are likeable but each one has something to add. I was drawn into the world of the Starlings and was left wondering about them after the book was finished- a real sign of a five star read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher of letting me read the terrific book.

I was really excited to read this book. sadly it just didn't work for me. It was very slow and I struggled to get into it.

I’m quite disappointed in this book. I was looking forward to reading it but I got tired of it quickly. Too many ‘nice’ , wealthy people. No real genuine characters I could relate too. I thought the story itself had potential but unfortunately it wasn’t for me.

We start in the present with a death at a street party celebrating the one year anniversary of The Starlings gated community. We then go back in time to witness the events leading up to the incident. We also learn the history that surrounds the building of said community and houses and meet the residents that move in. Further in the past is the original use of the main building. But I will leave you to discover all of that as the author intends.
Firstly there are a lot of characters to get to grips with all at once. But once I had resorted to my handy cast list notebook, it wasn't long before I got them all straight in my head and we were off and running. It helped that they were all well drawn.
As with all good books of this genre, the characters are larger than life and all have generous portions of secrets, lies and dysfunctional behaviour, as well as shady pasts. Delicious stuff that I willingly lapped up as I was reading... The author builds the interest and intrigue up layer by layer before getting to the point where it all starts to fall away to expose the truth... shocking as it was!
It's more of a slow burn but the pace suits the story being told. It also adds to the emotional side of things. As with other of her books which I have also read and enjoyed. I really must play catchup with the rest of her back catalogue.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Starlings is the vision of the Golds – husband and wife team Bill and Katrine and Bill’s brother Hugo, who run a successful property development company. . It seems the perfect place to live. While the old workhouse - later to become Highcap, a home for unmarried mothers - has been given a fabulous makeover, creating luxury accommodation, Bill and Katrin have build their own piece of heaven nearby, in a beautiful newbuild overlooking the sea.
Written from various viewpoints, the first section of the story, which is divided into two parts) opens with Katrin’s fortieth birthday celebrations where the reader gets to meet some of the residents. One of them, Anne Ashbourne, is researching the history of the site when it was used as a home for unmarried mothers in the seventies and early eighties. She is one of the children who were born there and later adopted, as is Katrin. Ginny, an older resident who has befriended Katrin, is the only one who appears to be uncomfortable with Anne’s actions.
On the day of the party celebrating Starlings first year as a residential development, someone is found badly injured at the bottom of the stairs in the Clock Tower – the one remaining place on the site waiting for renovation. DS Ali Samson arrives to investigate, but as she begins to build a picture of the place and its occupants, what seems to have been an tragic accident, appears to be something far different.
A brilliant read, so many twists and turns, cleverly taking me in the wrong direction. I thought I'd had some things worked out, but clearly not! Everything is here amongst this small community – cleverly written characters, family life, infidelity, secrets and lies. Then there is the backdrop of idyllic Starlings and the Dorset coastline. Wrapped together, the story delivers a thoroughly absorbing and unputdownable read. Highly recommended.