3 out of 4 stars
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A Home from Home is a witty and heartwarming fiction novel by Susan Barrett. Stoneycrest is an expensive nursing home in London owned by Spiro, a wealthy man who buys and sells property just because he can. He did not seek to invest in a nursing home or have the desire to manage senior residents, he just bought it on a whim and frequently wonders why he hasn’t sold it yet. He assigns Marion, his business partner, to deal with Stoneycrest so that he only has to check in on it once in a while.
Edith has resided at Stoneycrest the longest and has naturally attained the role as the liaison between the residents and the staff. She alerts Marion that her bracelet is missing and insists that the police need to be called to investigate a thief among the residents. Marion begins to doubt Edith’s mental state in her old age. Marion is afraid to alert the police to visit with the subpar conditions that she has let the nursing home become, and decides instead to drag Spiro in for damage control.
Each character who work and live at Stoneycrest are humorously described. When they make their way into the story, side stories of their pasts are revealed. As Barrett described everyone’s appearance and senior personalities, she would flashback to their past, revealing pivotal life moments which added depth to each character. You begin to understand each character as you learn more about who they used to be before they got to the point of living the rest of their lives in a nursing home. Most of the novel jumps around from Edith’s memories of childhood abandonment, to her active love life, and to the loved ones she buried. These heartwarming and sad moments were quickly lightened up when the story would return to the humorous events that were occurring at the nursing home.
Barrett creatively engages you, with the characters, to ponder about the different relationships in your life. A Home from Home is not only about the surface story of solving a crime in a prestigious nursing home, but it is also a story to bring to light the different people in your life who you may have taken for granted. It is a humorous tale full of anecdotes about old age, and also a heartwarming story about living a fulfilled life.
I gave this book a 3 out of 4 because of some misspelled words. It was easy to figure out the word because only one letter would be left out, so it did not interfere with the flow of the novel. I would recommend this book to those interested in fiction novels with a focus on a senior age group. It is also enjoyable for those who enjoy biographies because of how much of Edith’s past is revealed as you get to know her in her old age. It is a short novel, around 200 pages on my standard sized e-reader, and is fast paced. At times, I got lost when the story would jump between characters and time periods, but it was easy to get back on track once I would re-read a few lines. I was not initially interested in reading a story about senior citizens, but the frequent flashbacks throughout the story kept me engaged in the characters.
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A Home from Home
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