Rachel Joyce | Book Chatter

The Homemade God
By Rachel Joyce
The Dial Press, July 2025, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Complex families always hold my attention.

The Rest of It:

There is a heatwave across Europe, and four siblings have gathered at their family’s lake house to seek answers about their father, a famous artist, who recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his long-awaited masterpiece.

Now he is dead. And there is no sign of his final painting. ~ the publisher

Rachel Joyce. I’ve enjoyed every book she’s ever written and this one was no exception. The story unfurled. I like that word. It started off kind of funny and silly and then got real serious.

These siblings believe that their father has lost his mind. Marrying a woman much younger, losing weight, being even more eccentric that usual, which is saying a lot. And what about his last big painting? His work of art that he keeps bellowing about? Where is it? What’s happened to it?

The new love interest calls all the shots. No wedding. Siblings not included. They just head to the family lake house in Italy and the siblings decide it’s time to meet this new woman. I mean, she is their stepmother after all.

This is where the story gets interesting because this woman who has taken over their father’s life, doesn’t seem to be all that bad. As the siblings get to know her, all in different ways, they begin to question her motives and frankly his. But then he’s found dead.

At the house, the siblings all have their own theories as to what happened. There’s no way their father drowned in a lake that he literally grew up on. He was a fine swimmer. What gives?

This story is built on sibling interaction. They agree, they disagree, they argue over motive and all the logistical stuff like the house, the remains, the investigation. But Netta, the eldest, is convinced that her father was murdered. So much so that they all just throw up their hands and become even more divided.

This is not a predictable story. I want to say that upfront. Many times I thought I knew where the story was going and then was pleasantly re-directed. I really enjoyed this story and this family. If you like Joyce’s writing, you will enjoy this new one as well.

Recommend.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Miss Benson’s Beetle
By Rachel Joyce
Dial Press Trade Paperback, 9780812996708, November 2020, 368pp.

The Short of It:

What a treat. Fans of Joyce won’t be disappointed.

The Rest of It:

Margery Benson is a schoolteacher in 1950’s London, and not a very good one at that. She can barely get by, is harassed by her own students and isn’t comfortable in her own skin. Pushed to her limit after a particularly bad day in the classroom, she takes off on an expedition to New Caledonia in search of a rare golden beetle that her father once told her about.

But first, she needs an assistant. The last person she had in mind for the job is the one who eventually shows up to take it. Enid Pretty, with her shock of yellow hair, her cotton candy pink suit and her pom pom sandals trots into Margery’s life and from day one is a major annoyance. But Margery is pressed for time as her ship is about to leave the port and she knows she can’t do it alone, so Enid is it.

What a charming story. Although the expedition is a little far-fetched, I found myself hanging on every word as these two take off on their adventure. Two, very headstrong, quirky women traveling to the other side of the world with little to no experience under their belts. This makes for a very entertaining read but it’s not all fun and games. Very early on you are tipped off that something larger is at play. This is one of those stories that you can’t put down because it’s so fun and quirky and yes, different but you know, you just know there is going to be a serious payout. That was definitely the case here.

Fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine would do well by picking this book up. It has the same tone and feel and the way this friendship develops is quite sweet. Overall, it’s a feel-good book although there are two things that happen that made me a little sad. Those who have read it know what I mean. However, don’t let that stop you because I wish I still had more of the story to read. It’s that kind of story. I’ve read two other books by this author, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Music Shop and I loved them as well. Joyce knows how to write a good story.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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