The Homecoming

By: Alan Russell

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Seven years ago, young Stella Pierce vanished from the face of the earth. Now her grieving, broken family - along with Detective Orson Cheever, who never stopped working her case - is stunned by her mysterious return.

The now-teenage girl claims to have spent her missing years in the company of Travelers - extraterrestrial nomads - voyaging through space.

Despite her family's effort to keep Stella's incredible tale secret, the story becomes a national sensation. Most people want to discount her story, saying it's the result of trauma; only Detective Cheever seems to want the same thing Stella does: the truth.

The enigmatic Stella finds herself in the eye of the storm while vying forces - some visible and some not - swirl around her. Is it her tale that is incredible, or is it Stella? As new questions surrounding the girl gain terrifying urgency, Cheever learns that there is nothing - and no one - he can trust.

©2017 Alan Russell (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

This Book.....Wonderful

Didn't think I would, but I loved it!! Great book and great narration!
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Deftly handled mystery w/sci-fi wrinkle

I really enjoyed the premise and the story (although a few recurring odd turns of phrase stood out to me), but I felt the narrator struggled with some of the voices.

A Parent’s Nightmare

As a mother of 4 kids, I was sucked in from the get go. Sad and very scary plot(pretty whacky premise) but boy was it engaging and strangely hopeful for me. This was a book that I didn’t want to put down!, Enjoy! It’s a very cathartic experience.

Perfectly unexpected

There are two things that I prefer to experience when reading a new book: unpredictablity and great character development. The Homecoming delivers on both in phenomenal ways. While I initially thought that I knew where the plot was headed, within a few chapters I had no idea. Rather than be bored as I waited for the plot to go to its expected destination, I was enthralled as the story moved in unforseen directions. I literally was unsure what would happen next or how the book would end.

The characters were full and vivid. Not only were you able to get a sense of who each person was, but also their relationships with each other. Cheever specifically was so well developed that it felt like I knew him. The author was also able to find realistic voices for all of his characters from teenage girls to seasoned politicians. You could feel the emotions in their interactions, and see their relationships grow and develop.

The only downside I saw to this book was the naming of certain characters. The obnoxious, self centered high school girl was named Tiffany, which is a little too calculable. But then again, this is probably a personal bias.

All in all, I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author.

Anticlimactic ending

The storyline was engaging. However the plot unraveled toward the end and left me feeling dissatisfied with the conclusion.