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jansbookcorner's review
3.0
A sad book that even though all the threads were tied up at the end, it felt unfinished. Or maybe it was that it seemed to be an abrupt ending. If you like a good vs evil theme, this book is one for you. Interesting story by a good writer.
rnshack's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars rounded up to 3
My goodness this book was S.L.O.W. Slow as molasses. Well written and easy to read but so so slow. And I hated the ending that I saw coming a mile away.
I’m also pretty disappointed that Colleen didn’t even try to warn her dad not to go after her bad and uneasy feelings towards Groom. Especially after the book made such a fuss about how she was educated and her opinion should be acknowledged. That she didn’t have silly, wild theories like her mom did.
The only character I truly liked was Winston and the reason my review got rounded up to 3 stars. I kept hearing about the amazing ending. I don’t agree, it was sad and I wish I hadn’t read it. After all that the author just killed him off? I wish it had ended differently and it makes me sad that it didn’t. I may have liked the book better had Winston survived. I just don’t understand why he was killed off. It added nothing to the book and actually took away from it for me.
My goodness this book was S.L.O.W. Slow as molasses. Well written and easy to read but so so slow. And I hated the ending that I saw coming a mile away.
I’m also pretty disappointed that Colleen didn’t even try to warn her dad not to go after her bad and uneasy feelings towards Groom. Especially after the book made such a fuss about how she was educated and her opinion should be acknowledged. That she didn’t have silly, wild theories like her mom did.
The only character I truly liked was Winston and the reason my review got rounded up to 3 stars. I kept hearing about the amazing ending. I don’t agree, it was sad and I wish I hadn’t read it. After all that the author just killed him off? I wish it had ended differently and it makes me sad that it didn’t. I may have liked the book better had Winston survived. I just don’t understand why he was killed off. It added nothing to the book and actually took away from it for me.
suvata's review against another edition
4.0
#MMDBookClub Pick for October 2023 • 3.5 Stars rounded to 4 on Goodreads
When Ghosts Come Home examines race, justice, forgiveness, and family in a small North Carolina town in 1984. The story follows Sheriff Winston Barnes over a four day period as he investigates a murder and a plane crash that will reveal the secrets and tensions in his community. The novel is told from the perspectives of Barnes, his daughter Colleen, and Jay, the brother-in-law of the victim. It is a captivating (but slow moving) novel that offers a nuanced look at the South and its sordid history.
#Bookstagram #WhenGhostsComeHome #WileyCash
When Ghosts Come Home examines race, justice, forgiveness, and family in a small North Carolina town in 1984. The story follows Sheriff Winston Barnes over a four day period as he investigates a murder and a plane crash that will reveal the secrets and tensions in his community. The novel is told from the perspectives of Barnes, his daughter Colleen, and Jay, the brother-in-law of the victim. It is a captivating (but slow moving) novel that offers a nuanced look at the South and its sordid history.
#Bookstagram #WhenGhostsComeHome #WileyCash
wissota's review
2.0
I really liked the the story and characters and was on my way to rating it a 4 or 5. Then it ended. Abruptly.
alissa417's review
5.0
Wiley Cash’s latest novel, WHEN GHOSTS COME HOME (pp. 304, expected publication Sept 21, 2021 by William Morrow), is damn near the most perfect crime thriller I have ever had the pleasure to read. Propulsive and character driven, I could NOT put this one down, and I stayed up all night to finish it - my heart was pounding by the end. I did not want it my experience with this book to be over when the story concluded; WHEN GHOSTS COME HOME is such an amazing read and I imagine I will be hard pressed to find someone to disagree with that statement after picking it up later this year in my bookstore.
Winston Barnes, Oak Island, North Carolina’s aging sheriff, appears to be failing in his bid for reelection, when he is awoken by the sound of a plane crash at the nearby municipal airport and arrives first on the scene of an obvious crime. There is enough to fill a novel with tales of Barnes’ detective work that follows, but the real story, the heart of this novel, lies in Mr. Cash’s tender depiction of two families mired in complete turmoil. Barnes is nearly as preoccupied with losing the sheriff’s race as solving this crime, as his wife’s cancer is progressing rapidly, and they will lose their healthcare coverage without his continued employment. Their daughter, Colleen, blows into town from Dallas without her new husband, or any notice to her parents, to grieve the loss of her stillborn child and re-determine the course of her life.
Across town, the family of Rodney Bellamy is also picking up the pieces of their shattered lives in the wake of tragedy. Patriarch, Ed Bellamy, a war veteran and respected high school teacher, wants answers in the wake of his son’s mysterious death, and he does not believe he will obtain accurate ones from the Brunswick County Sheriff’s office. Rodney’s wife, Janelle, is overwhelmed caring for the couple’s infant son and her teenage brother, Jay, who recently arrived in town after a skirmish with law enforcement near their parents’ home in Atlanta.
Everyone is a suspect, and tensions are bubbling over between families and political factions as this well-paced novel edges towards its jaw-dropping conclusion. Set in 1984, I hold out hope for a present-day sequel, but until then, I will recommend Mr. Cash’s latest book to anyone looking for a compelling read, and I hope this one raises his national profile substantially, as it should.
Winston Barnes, Oak Island, North Carolina’s aging sheriff, appears to be failing in his bid for reelection, when he is awoken by the sound of a plane crash at the nearby municipal airport and arrives first on the scene of an obvious crime. There is enough to fill a novel with tales of Barnes’ detective work that follows, but the real story, the heart of this novel, lies in Mr. Cash’s tender depiction of two families mired in complete turmoil. Barnes is nearly as preoccupied with losing the sheriff’s race as solving this crime, as his wife’s cancer is progressing rapidly, and they will lose their healthcare coverage without his continued employment. Their daughter, Colleen, blows into town from Dallas without her new husband, or any notice to her parents, to grieve the loss of her stillborn child and re-determine the course of her life.
Across town, the family of Rodney Bellamy is also picking up the pieces of their shattered lives in the wake of tragedy. Patriarch, Ed Bellamy, a war veteran and respected high school teacher, wants answers in the wake of his son’s mysterious death, and he does not believe he will obtain accurate ones from the Brunswick County Sheriff’s office. Rodney’s wife, Janelle, is overwhelmed caring for the couple’s infant son and her teenage brother, Jay, who recently arrived in town after a skirmish with law enforcement near their parents’ home in Atlanta.
Everyone is a suspect, and tensions are bubbling over between families and political factions as this well-paced novel edges towards its jaw-dropping conclusion. Set in 1984, I hold out hope for a present-day sequel, but until then, I will recommend Mr. Cash’s latest book to anyone looking for a compelling read, and I hope this one raises his national profile substantially, as it should.
hishandmaiden's review
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
shawnita's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
iceangel9's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
When Sherriff Winston Barnes, who is running for re-election, decides to drive out to the local airfield in the middle of the night to check out a low flying plant that work him up, he is not prepared for what he finds. The son of the local school principal dead on the runway next to the abandoned, and empty, plane. The FBI arrive and believe the plane was carrying drugs, but Winston can't believe the dead man was involved with drug running. A complicated investigation that involves everyone in the community ensues. I enjoyed the novel until the ending, which I hated very much!