Catharsis for Christmas? –A HOME FIRES Review

In case you haven’t visited the Amazon site for HOME FIRES lately, here’s the latest review of HOME FIRES. It’s author, John Reinhard Dizon, is the author of  Nightcrawler, Tiara, and many other thrillers .

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Catharsis for Christmas?

Home Fires by Judith Kirscht is an intense and intricate family drama centered on the life and times of Myra Benning, a woman from the Midwest who marries into a wealthy family and plunges headlong into a web of deception and betrayal affecting three generations. A Christmas reunion provides an opportunity to clear the air, resolve disputes lasting over three decades and allow the family to reconcile and move forward anew. Only it also brings the crisis of confrontation as the bruised and bleeding family girds itself for the struggle ahead.

The author carefully weaves her tale with the expository narrative while building suspense and increasing tension as the story unfolds. This is symbolized by Myra’s skills as a painter, whose work hangs in the family mansion of Eleanor and Cornelius Benning as a reminder of the beauty of the past treasured yet left behind. Myra contacts her former in-laws and brings her daughter Susan, whose own husband Doug and son Billy look forward to the reunion. Only Myra and Derek Benning’s divorce was a bitter affair that the reunion is meant to resolve. Yet the reason for the split involves Derek’s brother Roger, whose sins against the family were such that its revelation brings both anguish and catharsis to one and all.

Kirscht’s novel evokes images of Dallas on the dark side, rich with imagery and metaphors of a family legacy torn asunder by evil forces of lust and debauchery. Yet we see the redemptive forces of love and loyalty that allow the less-privileged Goleta residents to bridge the gap between their estranged relatives in the exclusive Santa Barbara community. Both Myra and Susan eventually resolve their conflict with Derek as the door of the family closet is broken down once and forever. Home Fires by Judith Kirscht is a compelling family drama you won’t want to miss.

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