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.

The first book I have read from this author. A solid four star read. Great premise. Well written. Good characters. Page turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing. I wouldI definitely would read the next novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it.
Starlings is a gated community in Dorset, where the rich and glamorous live. The sun is always shining and you get a sense of the privilege of living there.
Under the surface though, things are not so rosy, with addiction, affairs and historical abuse gradually coming to the fore.
The overwhelming theme of this book is strong women. A good read.

There’s a barbecue in celebration of the one year anniversary for the residents of The Starlings, a gated community and then, suddenly, a body is discovered. Who’s dead and is anyone responsible for this death? I was a bit overwhelmed with the start of the novel as all the characters were present and I didn’t know them yet but it was nothing to worry about because I had the chance to really get to know each of them throughout the story.

At first glance the Gold family are living the dream and they have the perfect family. Katrin and Bill and their young twins are residents (and founders) of The Starlings, and close to Hugo and Amelie and their daughter Frida. The drama seemed to be centered at first around Frida (there’s clearly something going on at school) and her parents (Amelie is not a devoted mother and poor Hugo just has to keep all the balls in the air) but looks can be deceiving. Then there’s Ginny who befriends Katrin and becomes her bestie but is clearly hiding something as well. Her fear is plain to see but the author did a great job at hiding what she’s fearful for.

Homecoming is a really intriguing read with a lot of mystery and I couldn’t quite put my finger on the situation there but it often felt not quite right. People are having secrets, they are hiding things, and some know things about others, others are completely oblivious… There was a lot left unsaid and I was very excited to see how everything would unfold and how it would eventually culminate to a situation that involved a dead body.

Before Katrin and her husband developed The Starlings into the luxury houses of the present day, the site was a Mother and Child care home and then an asylum in the past. That past setting was suspiciously often referred to and my feelers were out because I had a strong sense of foreboding that there was more to discover about the site and the clocktower that they had kept. Ginny volunteered to help Katrin with the restauration but there’s no real progress made after months and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why that was.

Homecoming has domestic suspense and family drama in spades and I really enjoyed the journey towards the fateful ending. I didn’t know anything at all and that’s what I love the most.

I you loved Big Little Lies (or if you like to watch a soap like Neighbours) then this will definitely be up your street, it had the same vibe for me although I liked this one better than both of these references, probably because it was slightly more atmospheric and there was a simmering unsettling feeling that the author was able to maintain from start to finish.

I loved this book. The beginning sets the scene and gives us a fab insight into all of the characters and the residents of The Starlings. The descriptions of
The Starlings and its location made me want to visit it to see it for myself!

Katrin Gold is a glamorous and successful business woman with an enviable lifestyle. She works hard and cherishes her family. She had an awful start to her life and is determined to move on with her life and make a success of the property company she co-owns with her husband and her brother in law. She has a strained relationship with her sister in law but adores her niece.

The Gold family create a coveted place to live with its own community. A number of the residents have past ties to the place which was previously a mother and baby home - over time information has been uncovered that proves that it was run very badly and lots of terrible things happened to its residents.

Ginnie Lefevre buys a property in The Starlings.
She clearly has some sort of connection to the place it once was but she does everything she can to hide this connection.

I would definitely recommend this book.

I found Homecoming to be quite a slow burner which at first I struggled to get into but once I did I really enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the characters and loved the setting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for my ARC.

y Bronagh on December 8, 2022
Homecoming‘Homecoming’ is the latest book by Isabel Ashdown.

Welcome to The Starlings… sun, sea and neighbours to die for. Security, a sparkling sea view and the best kind of neighbours – The Starlings gated community has it all. Here, doors are left open, children run free, and at the heart of it all is the entrepreneurial Gold Family, who first dreamed up this aspirational vision of ‘Dorset’s Safest Community’. To the outside world the popular family appears glitteringly blessed… until an idyllic party takes a dark turn and one of their number is found slumped at the foot of the clocktower. Who knows what really happened? And what answers are harboured within the old building, the former Highcap Mother and Baby Home?

The latest book by Isabel Ashdown is a character driven thriller packed with secrets and lies that made for gripping reading.

Set in The Starlings, it was once a mother and baby home but Katrin has bought the land and made a lovely development for homeowners. Born in the Starlings home herself, Katrin hopes to make the development a happier place and when Ginny moves in, an older woman they become close friends.

The story is seen through the narrative of Katrin, Ginny and Frida who is Katrin’s niece. All three are going through difficult times and keeping secrets and as the story progresses and we delve into their backgrounds of the mother and baby homes and in Frida who’s dealing with being dropped by her best friends and suspended from school.

The different perspectives of the story add such an element of mystery to plot as everyone has something to hide. The story is wonderfully descriptive from the vivid descriptions of the harsh treatment at the mother and baby home to the beautiful descriptions of The Starlings and its majestic clock tower.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, it had just the right amount of character and plot development that really pulled me in. The characters are relatable and engaging and their dramas really hooked my attention.

Twisty and compelling from the start, ‘Homecoming’ is a story of deceit, drama and finding yourself along the way.

You can buy ‘Homecoming’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

This was a layered novel about family and belonging set at The Starlings, a luxury gated community in Dorset that has been built on the site of a home for unmarried mothers. Isabel Ashdown structures ‘Homecoming’ exceptionally well, opening the novel with the discovery of a body and then going back 12 months to when The Starlings opened. As a result, I devoured the first half desperate to find out who the victim was. With the twisted relationships deriving from the fact that several residents have secrets to hide about their associations with the mother and baby home, there’s plenty of potential for conflict and score settling. The second half of the novel following the discovery of the body is a more straightforward police procedural and, whilst I enjoyed it, I found the ending slightly underwhelming.
Having said that, if you’re a fan of domestic suspense and dysfunctional relationship novels, I would recommend’ Homecoming ’ wholeheartedly and it’s inspired me to explore Isabel Ashdown’s back catalogue.

Another new author for me and a pageturner. When I started it. I wasn't sure if it would be my type of book, but I was wrong. Not my usual fare of murders etc, but a highly enjoyable read. The characters were all written well, as were their interactions. The settings were easy to imagine as they mentioned areas close to home for me. Even the police were made to feel like real characters rather than just as investigators. In my opinion a book worth reading

I’m afraid I found this book almost impossible to finish. The slow burn does not speed up and the suspense couldn’t hold it.

This is the first novel I've read by the author and I will definitely read more after this enjoyable and engrossing read.
The Starlings is a gated community by the sea in Dorset that has recently been redeveloped by the Gold family. It had been empty for many years following it's history as both a workhouse and a mother and baby home.
The author writes beautifully with great characterisation and I was really drawn into the story of the Gold family and the other residents. I found the history of the building intriguing and love novels where the setting is as important as the characters. This is slow paced but atmospheric novel and this allows for the secrets to be slowly revealed. Recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

This is an engrossing page turner with striking imagery and breakneck twists. The author has a crisp writing style which guides readers through this layered and innovative thriller. It was a treat to read.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a brilliant book by an author I am becoming very fond of. Full of interesting characters, drama, mystery and lots of twists and turns. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed Homecoming by Isabel Ashdown. It was a fast paced and course-switching story about The Starlings; a gated community near the sea that occupies the former site of a mother and baby home. It’s past is notorious, but will bringing the site back into use heal old wounds or will it uncover some secrets that should have been left buried? Everything appears idyllic on the outside, but tensions are bubbling under the surface of nearly every character in this book, culminating in someone being found after a fall in the clock tower.

I think the thing I most enjoyed about this book was the authors seamless transitions between characters perspectives. There was no clunking of gears here!

This was my first Isabel Ashdown book so I didn’t have any expectations. The blurb and especially the cover drew me in and made me want to read it. The book starts out a little slow but keep reading because the action picks up. The story is about a new gated community, The Starlings. The building is a refurbished institution for unwell mothers or mothers that couldn’t take care of their children. Many children were born there but they did not always have happy outcomes. One of the children is the main character and it’s an intriguing story that she wanted to build where she was born. I enjoyed this book and hope you will too!

Homecoming is a slow Burn.
It took me awhile to get into the book but once you get a connection it was great.
The writing style of the book was good this is the first book i have read by this author will read some more of her books though.

I'm always a fan of a closed community story, they always have that eerie creepy edge that I enjoy in a book. 'Homecoming' is set in The Starlings. a luxury living community built in the grounds of an old mother & baby home - and in 'Homecoming' the setting is as much of a character as the residents.

We first meet the new residents of The Starlings at their anniversary get-together, where they all seem to be getting along wonderfully. Glamourous neighbours with luxury lifestyles are mingling over champagne and canapes, when suddenly a scream pierces the party atmosphere, and they discover that a body has been found...

We then go back a year to when the first residents move into The Starlings, and soon learn that its not as glamourous and perfect as it looks on the outside. Secrets are unveiled, alliances built, families and friendships challenged, all against this magnificent backdrop of the ex mother-baby home.

I enjoyed reading Homecoming - I was drawn in by the characters and their perspectives on life, though I did get a little confused in the very full cast-list, I had to check back to find out who was who, and what their backstory was. This means it the story is slower to get going than I was expecting and I had to adjust my expectations a little to go with the flow. I guessed one of the big reveals, but another was a complete revelation to me and as someone who reads a lot of crime fiction, that doesnt always happen! I wouldnt necessarily describe this as a thriller or a police procedural though it does have strong elements of both- it is more about the people and relationships contained in the book.

i found Homecoming to be enjoyable and entertaining and I would give it 3.75 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

This was an intriguing read, I love stories set within mysterious and historical buildings and areas and Homecoming did not disappoint. I enjoyed the language used to build the suspence up as secrets are revealed. I enjoyed discovering the backstories to the characters and revealed connections. Overall a fantastic book.

I have really missed books by this author so jumped at the chance to be involved in the tour.
Thank you to the tour organiser and publisher for sending me a copy of the book
I really enjoyed this book.
I went in completely blind and whilst reading it, I had serious Big Little Lies vibes. I thoroughly invested myself in this book and lost myself for a fair few hours in it. The book was read in one sitting, it was so hard to put down.
The setting is just perfect in this book. The author creates the perfect setting, full of tension and suspense, leaving the reader wanting more.
The book is slow, but it is delivered with such precision. The alternating chapters really do end on cliffhangers. Letting the reader into little secrets
I really enjoyed this book, as I knew I would and would highly recommend