World War II flying ace Shawn Collins returns home on leave to visit his wife’s grave and to spend time with his young son, Patrick. But his country isn’t ready to let him return to civilian life. Instead, they order him to report for a USO war bond tour up and down America’s east coast, accompanied by Hollywood starlets. Shawn sees that his aging father isn’t able to cope with Patrick for the duration of this tour, so he hired Patrick’s beloved social worker, Katherine Townsend, to be the child’s nanny.
When the tour is over, Shawn is sent back to England to train pilots, and because the London bombings are over, he takes Patrick and Katherine with him. But it was only a lull in the storm.
The Homecoming is a nostalgic, gentle love story set during the 1940s. If you enjoy reading about the war and are interested in a male author’s version of a romance (think Nicholas Sparks) you may enjoy this novel. I picked it up when it was a Kindle freebie and read it while camping a couple of weeks ago. While definitely not riveting, I did enjoy it.
Dan Walsh is an ordained pastor and served in the same church for 25 years until his recent retirement to write full time. He is the award-winning author of The Unfinished Gift (the prequel to The Homecoming. He and his wife make their home in Florida and enjoy their adult children.
