Feb 2023 Group Read - Homecoming, by Isabel Ashdown

[Beth]

The story of the woman who found her mom using ancestry dna hit home! I connected with a half sister (whom I had no idea about) the same way!

I like the author’s sense of humour. Mom felt obligated to make up a story about 4-year-old’s success in martial arts to keep up with another bragging mom

Am enjoying the book so far!

[Bill]

‘As far as Bill’s affairs were concerned–most of them work-related–the small acts of vengeance Katrin had been able to wreak on his lovers had gone some way to soothing her humiliation, in lieu of a public showdown. A laxative-laced coffee served with a smile; an anonymous tip-off to a clueless husband; unwanted pizzas delivered at two in the morning; and her particular favourite, an overripe herring dropped into a handbag, stinking juice and all.’

I thought that passage hilarious.

[Bill]

‘She’d been pretty, in an obvious way, and even as Katrin had poured salt into the petrol tank of the girl’s Fiat 500 she had concluded that she only had herself to blame, for putting temptation so squarely in Bill’s way.’

As I drive a Fiat 500 too, one would have to congratulate the girl on her choice of cars, though her taste in men might be a trifle dodgier.

[Bill]

I'd loved Ashdown's Glasshopper although often confused about what was actually going on. But I was disappointed with Homecoming. Not only are there some holes in the plot, particularly involving Frida's relationship with Barney, but a change in genre and the roles of the characters, particularly Ginny's and Katrin's. And while we have a detective in Ali, she doesn't actually do any real detecting. I've maintained that a mystery story doesn't actually have to involve a murder, but here the actual crime doesn't really play a role in most of the story. As I said in the Spoiler section, I fear this novel underwent revisions that left major inconsistencies.