Harriet Evans, Going Home

Going Home

Harriet Evans

Simon & Schuster, October 2006, $14.00

ISBN: 1416503951

When London becomes too overbearing or her troubles overwhelming, sensitive Lizzy Walters enjoys the respite of her rustic home Keeper House where her family has always been welcoming. Lizzy needs the warmth and hugs of her kin after she has lost her "big love", so she plans to go back as soon as she can escape from the hustle and bustle of London.

However, this time, Keeper House seems more foreboding than hospitable, as family secrets begin to surface that shake Lizzy. Even more shocking and making Lizzy feel dizzy, he who abandoned her has arrived at her haven. She is not sure she wants to deal with him, as his arrival and her family's behavior since her return make GOING HOME seem a mistake.

This is an interesting English character study starring a fascinating female who decides a bit of family love is just the cure for her broken heart, but instead receives a horde of woes tossed like grenades from those she expected comfort from. The absorbing storyline is somewhat amusing, as the Walters seem harmlessly eccentric, but throughout readers will wonder why there is the lack of communication from anyone with Lizzy; neither her family members nor her "big love" who dumped her appear able to simply talk to Lizzy, though this reviewer is not sure why. Still, she is an intriguing protagonist struggling with the down side of love.