K Morton's Novel HOMECOMING-You Can Never Get Your Wasted Time Back Reading It

Kate Morton is a best selling author who hails from down under. As far as I'm concerned, her novel HOMECOMING should remain under wraps. It's underwhelming, overly convoluted and a complete waste of time. The heroine Jess also hails from Australia and studied literature abroad in the UK as did Morton. The relevance is of little importance to the story. A call from overseas regarding the flailing health of her beloved grandmother (GM), Nora Turner, brings Jess back to care for her GM. Nora raised Jess from early childhood and only went to her mother Polly's sporadically. Jess' life in the UK was floundering. She just had a recent breakup with her longtime boyfriend and her career was stalling. There were no ties holding her in England. Neither is anything else in the story tied into Jess' years abroad.  Upon returning, Jess visits her GM in her hospital bed.  Nora's cryptic comments set Jess on a whirlwind quest to decipher what her GM's last words meant. The story is told in the present and 3 decades prior; Christmas Eve just before Nora gave birth to Jess' mother Polly. A terrible tragedy befell the Turner family which was kept in the dark from Jess. Nora's sister-in-law Isabel who was married to Nora's beloved brother was in the UK at the time of his family's infamous catastrophe. Isabel died along with 3 of her 4 children. The bodies of Isabel and her 3 eldest children were discovered in repose on the estate. The serene picnic setting of the mother and children alongside their lake belies the horror of discovering the 4 of them are deceased and the infant missing. The tawdry tale of what befell this robust family is a mystery that is confusing to unfold.  Worse, this befuddling and turgid crime/mystery with its numerous trajectories are all misfired. The plot is a painfully slow burn saga. The final payoff when it finally arrives is a complete bust. Pass on this morass read.  Do not stop at home, the library or bookstore. I regret the arduous hours spent with HOMECOMING and I can never get my time back.