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    Home Sweet Home: A novel
    Home Sweet Home: A novel
    Home Sweet Home: A novel
    Audiobook14 hours

    Home Sweet Home: A novel

    Written by April Smith

    Narrated by Cady McClain

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    From the widely praised author of the FBI Special Agent Ana Grey series and A Star for Mrs. Blake, this riveting epic drama follows the Kusek family from New York City to America's heartland, where they are caught up in the panic of McCarthyism, a smear campaign, a sensational trial, and, ultimately, murder.

    Calvin Kusek, a WWII pilot and attorney, and his wife, Betsy, escape the 1950s conformity of New York City to relocate to a close-knit town in South Dakota. They settle on a ranch and Betsy becomes a visiting nurse, befriending a quirky assortment of rural characters. Their children, Jo and her brother Lance, grow up caring for animals and riding rodeo. Life isn't easy, but it is full and rewarding. When a seat in the State Assembly becomes available, Cal jumps at the chance to repay the community and serves three popular terms.
           Things change when Cal runs for the U.S. Senate. The FBI investigates Betsy, and a youthful dalliance with the Communist Party surfaces to haunt the Kuseks. Mass hysteria takes over, inflamed by Cal's political enemies.  Driven by fear and hate, their neighbors turn, condemning them as enemies and spies. The American Dream falls apart overnight as the Kuseks try to protect their children from the nightmare that follows. The family is vindicated in a successful libel lawsuit, but the story  doesn't end there: years later, Lance Kusek and his wife and son are brutally attacked, and the mystery then unfolds as to who committed this coldblooded murder, and are they related to the stunning events of decades earlier?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
    Release dateJan 31, 2017
    ISBN9781524755225

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    Reviews for Home Sweet Home

    4/5

    19 ratings6 reviews

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    • 5/5
      An engrossing read of how a climate of fear and hate can run amok and cause great sadness and distress among ordinary people.
    • 5/5
      Wonderful historical fiction, even though, as the author, explained, a few things were exchanged---such as location. Nevertheless, a horrible set of circumstances that are all too real in today's world.
    • 4/5
      The Kuseks, Betsy and Cal, with their young daughter Jo, and baby son Liam leave New York and head for the open spaces in South Dakota. Scotty, a friend of Cals from the military and his family own a ranch, and the Kuseks hope to start a new and better life for their family by acquiring a ranch of their own. For a while they seem to be successful but then a past youthful indiscretion of Betsys rears its ugly head, there will be a trial and later a murder that will bring a now grown Jo home again.

      This is a hard story for me to review, their was so much I liked.. The life of a rancher, the hardships they encounter, bull riding, the relentless hunt of McCarthyism and the total fear of Communism, all seemed very realistic. This the atmosphere was spot on. Some of the story was, however, was quite slow and others seemed rushed.

      This was based on a true story though the location was moved and the characters invented. Much to like, I just wish the pacing would have been more even. A good story though, showing the far reaching effects of McCarthyism on one particular family.

      ARC from publisher.
    • 3/5
      Home Sweet Home started out very strong. The topic is fascinating and certainly relevant for the issues we are facing in 2016. However, it really dragged on as the book continued, and I didn’t love the ending. I would have liked the story better if it had been edited down a bit (second review I have written this week saying that exact same thing). After I finished it, I read the Author’s Note and learned that she based Home Sweet Home on a true incident which explained the ending a little bit.

      The book is set in two time periods, one beginning in the 1950’s and the other in 1985. 95% of the story is set in the earlier time period which I found a little disorienting. It would have been nice if it was a little more balanced. In 1950, the Kusek family leaves NYC to move to Rapid City, South Dakota. The Kuseks are Democrats living amongst mainly Republicans and initially fit in fairly well with the new neighbors. However, Cal Kusek decides to run for the Senate, and the FBI investigates the family. Betsy’s youthful brief infatuation with the Communist Party comes back to haunt the family. Sadly, this occurs during the height of the McCarthy era, and the Kuseks are unfairly tormented and terrorized. This portion of the book should surely serve as a reminder to the United States in our current political climate. The brief part of the story that takes place in 1985 deals with the murder of one of the Kusek’s grown children. Usually when two time periods are used, the story connects up successfully. I did not feel like that happened here. I also felt the cover had nothing whatsoever to do with the story which is a pet peeve of mine.

      Thanks to First to Read for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
    • 3/5
      This book is loosely based on a real-life family who was victimized by the fear and hatred created during the McCarthy era. Cal Kuseck and his wife Betsy move their two children, Jo and Lance, to a cattle farm in South Dakota. The book chronicles their struggle to adapt to their new life. Cal becomes interested in politics and serves three terms in the State Assembly. When he decides to run for the Senate, the FBI looks more closely into his and his family’s past affiliations and learn of Betsy’s short membership in the Communist party when she was a very young woman. Cal’s political enemies start a smear campaign and his friends and neighbors turn against him. This all leads to a libel lawsuit and ultimately, many years later, to murder.

      I had expected this to be a fascinating, empathetic book but for some reason, I never could really connect with the characters. I thought this book would really speak to my heart, especially during this difficult time in our country when people are so divided and fear is prevalent. I read this book during the last days of the presidential election. But I really didn’t get caught up in the victimization of this family and didn’t find much suspense in the murder either. It felt a bit flat and disjointed to me. But it’s certainly a timely book and shows just how fear and hate can grow in a country until it produces unreasonable mass hysteria.

      This book was given to me by the publisher through First to Read in return for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      April Smith has taken real-life events, relocated them to the state of South Dakota, and created an excellent historical account of the Red Scare, McCarthyism, and what hate and fear can do to a nation and even more personally, a community. I could not help but think of our 2016 campaign for President.

      It begins with a break-in and murder in Rapid City, SD in 1985. The Kuseks - Lance, Wendy, and their son Willie - are savagely beaten and Wendy dies. Lance and their son are rushed to the hospital where their lives are in question. Lance’s sister Jo arrives from her home in Portland, OR and the story moves backwards in time.

      In 1941 Betsy Ferguson and Cal Kusek meet and fall in love in NYC. He is a young and promising liberal lawyer and she a Gimbels’ clerk and fledgling member of the Communist Party. They marry, tire of the pace on the East Coast and move to Rapid City, SD where Cal’s Army buddy, Scotty, has roots. Through hard work, help from Scotty and his parents, and sheer determination, Betsy and Cal start a new life, have and raise Jo and Lance and enjoy success on their ranch. Cal thrives in local politics and is convinced to run for U.S. Senate. At this time, the FBI investigates Betsy for her past ties to the Communist Party, and the Kuseks’ storybook existence begins to fall apart.

      While the majority of the novel follows Cal and Betsy’ life in 1950’s and 60’s Rapid City, we are occasionally brought back to “current” events in the Rapid City Hospital where Lance and Willie fight for life and Jo tries to piece together what has happened to what’s left of her family and if it’s related to the past.

      I found this book to be very informative (I forgot to mention the Minuteman Program) while never losing its personal feel. A strong reminder of how quickly fear can turn friends against friends and even destroys families.