The Homecoming by Dan Walsh

The Homecoming by Dan Walsh ISBN-13: 9781441212054 Sony ebook: 310 pages Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company Released: May 4th 2010

Source: Free ebook offer.

Book Description from Back Cover:
No sooner has Shawn Collins returned home from the fighting in Europe than he is called upon to serve his country in another way--as a speaker on the war bond tour. While other men might jump at the chance to travel around the country with attractive Hollywood starlets, Shawn just wants to stay home with his son Patrick and his aging father, and grieve the loss of his wife in private.

When Shawn asks Katherine Townsend to be Patrick's nanny while he's on the road, he has no idea how this decision will impact his life. Could it be the key to his future happiness and the mending of his heart? Or will the war once again threaten his chances for a new start?


My Review:
The Homecoming is a Christian historical novel set in 1944 to 1945 and mainly occurred in United States and London, England. This book is a sequel to The Unfinished Gift. You don't need to read the first novella to understand this book, but I suspect I would have felt more connected to the main characters if I had read The Unfinished Gift first.

The vivid historical details were woven into the story without slowing the pacing. We get a tour of events happening at the time, from a bomber getting shot down and its crew escaping occupied territory, to fame for a war hero on a war bond tour, to missiles falling on civilian houses in London.

There was a romance as well, but I felt like time jumped by so quickly that we didn't really get to see the romance grow. We know that they spent time around each other and that they seem well-suited for each other, but the novel's focus was more on the historical events going on than on scenes of them falling in love with each other.

There was a Christian element to the story. Katherine knew so little about church that she thought she had to pay to attend (due to the offering plate), but we're told she learns more about how churches work and what Christ is all about. The hero believed in God before his wife died, but afterward he was mad at God and had to deal with the issue of God being good.

There was no sex or explicit bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting historical novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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