Homecoming Chaos
D. W. Brooks
Homecoming Chaos is a ‘Model MD’ novel of romantic suspense that follows Jamie’s return home after a failed wedding that led her to flee her family and job for an overseas refuge.
Now she’s back, rebuilding broken bridges and facing a murder mystery and an attractive detective who is determined to uncover the truth.
Jamie’s experiences, perspective, and challenges neatly dovetail with insights into the perp and others who circle around her life. These add depth and intrigue to the story of an unusual homecoming that challenges many characters:
“After his release from prison, he had to confront the women who’d contributed to the end of his life as he knew it. It didn’t go well. The first woman he’d confronted in that parking lot ended up dead.”
From company politics and a father who feels responsible for security’s failure to protect to choices that Jamie, too, now regrets, D. W. Brooks spins a compelling saga. It revolves around those who seek chaos, those who try to prevent it, and individuals who return to their roots in an effort to consider better and different options in their responses to adversity.
The blend of romance, intrigue, and family ties is well done. Brooks creates a compelling series of chaotic encounters in which disparate characters harboring their own special interests and prejudices grow from their mistakes as well as their successes.
At stake in Jamie’s decision-making process are the family business, the outcome of a murder investigation, a hot detective’s ability to love her, and a future that is determined not by past chaos, but present-day growth.
Brooks focuses on characters that evolve through desperation and surprising circumstances which test their moral and ethical mettle as well as their abilities to evolve and change. This creates an attraction that nicely supplements the investigative tone of the story, providing draw for readers who look for more than a murder mystery or romance alone.
Libraries and readers interested in multifaceted stories of growth, family ties, and hard decisions that lead full circle will find Homecoming Chaos a compelling story of dreams, nightmares, and revised perceptions of home and self.
–D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review