Home Sweet Home, April Smith
Home Sweet Home, April Smith
1 Rating(s)
List: $22.50 | Sale: $15.75
Club: $11.25

Home Sweet Home
A novel

Author: April Smith

Narrator: Cady McClain

Unabridged: 14 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/31/2017


Synopsis

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?

About The Author

APRIL SMITH is the author of six previous novels, including her first best seller, North of Montana. She is also an Emmy-nominated television writer and producer. She lives in Santa Monica, CA, with her husband.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Dale on September 17, 2017

Two and a half stars. The story starts at Mercy Medical Centre in 1985 with Jo Kusek visiting her brother Lance and nephew Willie, who have been savagely attacked and are barely clinging to life. Wendy, her sister in law is already dead from the brutal home invasion. Then the story moves back to 1950......more

Goodreads review by Cindy on November 12, 2016

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......more

Goodreads review by Marjorie on November 12, 2016

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 become......more

Goodreads review by Laurel on November 02, 2016

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 Preside......more

Goodreads review by Vicki on December 02, 2016

I have been a fan of April Smith’s work since her first novel, North of Montana. Smith has the ability to create suspenseful stories featuring flawed and relatable characters. In Home Sweet Home, she focuses on Kusek family living in the McCarthy era (a time period many contemporary readers may know......more


Quotes

Praise for Home Sweet Home:
 
“Smith’s second historical novel delves into the McCarthy era and how one family is swept up in its fanaticism. . . .[She] perceptively brings this dark period in U.S. history to light in her dramatic family saga.”—Deborah Donovan, Booklist (starred)
 
“[In] Smith’s terrific new novel. . . .[she] illuminates the force of McCarthyism-generated fear in the Midwest and effectively personalizes it through the persecution the Kusak family endures for their liberal beliefs. The author also skillfully ties together the two time periods, avoiding melodrama.”—Publishers Weekly