William Leverne Smith

I thoroughly enjoyed this novella, I liked the characters; they were well developed. The central character called Penny is a newspaper reporter/freelance writer and I liked the way the storyline was written, in a conversationalist style.

As a reader it was almost possible to walk alongside Penny as she seeks and uncovers information through her interview skills. The moment I started reading the novella had a feel of Kinsey Malone from the Alphabet series by Sue Grafton and I smiled as Dr Bill threw that bit in too!

This is not feel like a regular who done it, but as a gentle mystery, as the character teases the information from her interviewees. Written in a diary style it is easy to keep track of the flow of information as the story builds.

I really must seek out the rest of the series.

Disclaimer - I was provided with a copy by the author in exchange for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)

The second book in the "Homeplace" series, I found the story intriguing. However, in comparison with the first book in the series, "Back to the Homeplace", I found it a bit more difficult to follow.

Smith brings characters to life easily enough, but tends to get more technical in the day-to-day job descriptions each character takes upon himself. Perhaps a little less of the job descriptions and a little more in the character build is called for.

Nonetheless, the story, as I have stated, is intriguing and pulls you along to find out what will happen around each bend and twist of the family's lives.

I did find editing to be lacking somewhat, when compared to his previous work. There were not only spelling, but grammatical errors in places.

And I was not impressed with the abrupt ending to the story, although it does leave one feeling like the old cliff-hanger movies of the '50's once did! You can't wait for the next in the series to come out to find out what will happen within the family Bevins next!

All in all, I give The Homeplace Revisited three stars and my Thumbs Up Award!

I highly recommend reading both Back to the Homeplace and The Homeplace Revisited.
Both books are suitable for readers of all ages.

****DISCLOSURE: A copy of this book was provided by the author for unbiased review.… (plus d'informations)

Back to the Homeplace is a story of families and the ties that bind them together, and the lengths the matriarchs of the Bevins family went to in order to preserve the Homeplace!

Upon the death of Mildred Bevins, the family was shocked to find the terms of the will that she and her husband Frank had devised fifteen years earlier. Their will stated that four Bevin's children had to live for two years on the homeplace, with each of the children being assigned 80 acres to manage and maintain, and at the end of the two years, if the minimum requirements set forth in the will aren't met then the Homeplace will be donated to the State University. Will the Bevin's children be able to work together and meet the terms of the will, or will they lose it?

Each of the Bevin's siblings have their own set of problems that they bring with them. Bart had given up his job in real estate when his father Frank died, and he had always assumed that the farm would someday be his. Peter has always been a loner, but he has some secrets from his past that will surprise some, and jeopardize the lives of others.Karen and her husband Jason, moved from Arizona to fulfill the terms of the will, while things seem OK on the surface, they have problems back in Arizona that worry Jason. Beverly the youngest seems to really resent being forced to come back home. While her husband Paul and their two children Scott and Heather seem to thrive at the Homeplace, Beverly isn't happy and doesn't mind telling anyone that will listen. Sheila, Paul's daughter from a previous marriage has also come to the Ozarks, she makes poor choices that in the end not only affect her but others that have come in contact with her.

The author does an amazing story of bringing these characters to life, you can easily see why Frank and Mildred wanted to keep the homeplace intact, it had been in Mildred's family since 1833, and was a legacy to be passed down, I think the plan wasn't only to preserve the land, but also to bring the Bevin's children back together. The characters seem very down to earth and real, with problems that we all face, I found it interesting that a few were addicted to Diet Coke, and would make trips to Walmart to purchase it, for me it doesn't get any more real than that!

The descriptions of the birds, landscape and the Homestead in general were so vivid that it is easy to visualize it, and at one point when the author describes a vee of Canadian Geese flying overhead, I could just imagine hearing them honk.

The author opens most of the chapters with a brief bits of actual news from 1987, really taking me back in time, a true trip down memory lane.

A book that gives a true glimpse of how situations can cause some family members to draw together while others pull away. A story with several unexpected developments and a shocking twist near the end left me anxious to read the next book in this series titled The Homeplace Revisited due out in the late spring of 2011.

Even though I was provided a copy of this book for review it in no way alters my opinion of this book.… (plus d'informations)