Coming Home by Karen Kingsbury

Coming Home is a novel about tremendous victory and unprecedented loss, a story of faith and a forever kind of love, love that will stay with you long after the last page. This stand-alone novel will serve as either a grand introduction or a beautiful conclusion in the saga of the Baxter Family. The Baxters make plans to come together for a summer lakeside reunion, a celebration like they haven’t had in years. But before the big day, the unthinkable happens. As the Baxter Family rallies together, memories come to light in the grief-stricken hours of waiting and praying, memories that bring healing and hope during a time when otherwise darkness might have the final word. In a season that changes all of them, the brilliance of family love overshadows even the valley of heartache as the Baxters draw closer to God and each other. Along the way, secrets are revealed and the truth about the Baxter Family history is finally made known. Ultimately, in this portrait of family love, the Baxters cling to each other and to God’s promise of forever.

My review:

I am a big fan of Karen Kingsbury's books, and especially loved her Redemption series. However, that series had four "spin-offs", if I am correct, and I soon wearied of it. I heard good things about this book though, and requested it to review.

This book seems to be the conclusion (finally!) of the whole series of spin-offs, and it is a terrific conclusion. Yes, it has its sad moments, but overall, it is a great book and worth reading. It goes back and re-caps the events of the original Redemption series, and brings back the whole well-loved Baxter family, and shows how God can bring good out of tragedy, and that a family that is anchored in God will not fall apart when faced with tragedy, but will cling together and to God.

I enjoyed the book, and enjoyed visiting the Baxters this one last time. Anyone who enjoyed the original series, whether or not they read all of the spin-off series, should read this book.

About the author:

New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America’s favorite inspirational novelist, with over 20 million books in print. Her Life-Changing Fiction™ has produced multiple bestsellers, including Unlocked, Leaving, Take One, Between Sundays, Even Now, One Tuesday Morning, Beyond Tuesday Morning, and Ever After, which was named the 2007 Christian Book of the Year. An award-winning author and newly published songwriter, Karen has several movies optioned for production, and her novel Like Dandelion Dust was made into a major motion picture and is now available on DVD. Karen is also a nationally known speaker with several women’s groups including Women of Faith. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, Don, and their five sons, three of whom are adopted from Haiti. Their daughter Kelsey is married to Christian artist Kyle Kupecky.

Coming Home is available from Zondervan Publishing.

Thanks to Zondervan for the review copy.