This is the seventh book I've read by this author. Each is so different from the other, which is impressive. This one is about four siblings and their famous artist father. It starts off as kind of a mystery, but ultimately is an exploration of family dynamics. Joyce weaves it together masterfully.

This novel follows Vic Kemp, an eccentric, aging painter, and his four children: Netta, Susan, Goose, and Iris. This is a great read for fans of complicated family sagas and Italian settings, and will surely be a good summer book, with its mix of nostalgia, heat, and suspense. I often have trouble with books that switch back and forth between perspectives, and I found myself wanting a more defined main character. Bella-Mae's character and motivations never really became clear to me, either. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc. I enjoyed this book very much. It follows four siblings who gather at their artist fathers lake house and he's dead and there's no sign of his last painting.

I really love when a book humbles me, and "The Homemade God" did just that. I really thought this novel was going in one direction and by the end, it had wrapped up so neatly and in such a despairing way, I felt like I had experienced the loss of God myself.

When the glue and provider of four siblings passes under questionable circumstances, the breakdown of the siblings is so chaotic that you begin to question which of the siblings is right. Through the course of the novel, you realize that life isn't easy and their glue was really just patchwork tape. It's a nicely woven-together novel. It's not going to change your world, but it may take your breath away.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

The Homemade God is a story which grapples with identity as it is shaped by our family relationships. There is something both heartbreaking and pathetic about each of the characters as we see them navigating loss amidst a family crisis. Mostly, it was easy to dislike these people, entitled, privileged, children whose lives have allowed them to never quite become fully functioning adults. Only Goose elicited any sympathy, and I was left feeling cheated out of knowing Bella-Mae better - I wanted more of her presence, more of her quirky ability to get to the heart of who the others were beneath the carefully constructed selves they showed the world. The story unfolds slowly, but the writing is beautiful, the setting perfectly rendered, and overall, it is a heartfelt portrait of love and grief, and a wrenching look at how we let others define us, how family can both hold us together and tear us apart.

Another book about a group of adult siblings that is slowly falling apart. While not as depressing as Long Island Compromise, it is just as funny, and has an atmospheric European island setting that is necessary for the artistic direction. Fans of Blue Sisters and Like Mother, Like Mother will love another world of complicated family relationships.

Netta, Susan, Goose and Iris all have wonderful character development in this novel, their father announcing he is setting aside his lothario ways and getting married to Bella-Mae, a 27 year old who is CERTAINLY not marrying him for his fame and money. A famous artist, Vic suspiciously drowns in the lake shortly after marrying Bella Mae with no will. And what is more, Vic's last piece of artwork is missing.

This is an easily readable book and the blurb is perfect, it gives away just enough about the plot to engage the reader without giving away too much. The premise, to many, may overshadow the outcome. The reveals throughout the book don't come as a big splash, but very human and subtle. It ends not with a bang, but with a music box tinkling. Each character is developed and tweaked, just when you think you know who they are, they surprise you and break your heart in the best way.

Then comes the time to separate and take the items from the family home. They use stickers to indicate what items they want, with a number from 1-4 based on how important it is to them. And by then, you know each character so well that they act completely as you'd expect. It is such a good scene and proof of how well developed they are. The character we don't actually know that well is Bella-Mae, but she is really more of a Maguffin to move the story forward rather than being important herself.

Not everyone will like this one, but I found it to be like listening to an opera.... the goal of an opera is not the ending, but the journey of the music drawing you in. The pacing and characterization are brilliant and I also loved the setting and how it built towards the complete arc of each sibling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC and for Madison Dettlinger from Random House marketing for recommending this novel. Book to be published June 24, 2025

I came away from this novel, opening my eyes as if awakening from a long dream. The pictures were so clear that I felt as if I had lived an entire lifetime with these people. It begins simply, an artist., father of four adult children, three daughters and a son. Netta, the eldest, a high-powered attorney, Susan, a frustrated housewife who longs to be a Cordon Bleu chef, Goose (Gustav) damaged in his soul, and Iris, the youngest who is adrift. Before long, Vic, (in his 70s), artist and father, announces that he is in love with a very young woman, Bella-Mae

At this point, it appears that this will be a mystery. All four children depart for Italy upon their father's death there. How did Vic die? Was there foul play? The four children arrive at the house on the island of Orta where their father drowned in the lake. But Rachel Joyce is too skilled a writer to make this so simple. Instead learn what makes each person who they are and how they are frozen in time. We learn this by intimate chapters about each of them, and later, also, Bella-Mae.

it was fascinating to consider how bad paintings can sell for huge amounts of money and how personalities can be stunted by family order and roles and by the influence of a selfish parent. Joyce's descriptions are vivid and beautiful, but she is a genius in illuminating the interiors of her characters. The satisfying ending explains the title.

Thank you, Net Galley and Dial Press, for the ARC copy of this book.

I was utterly captivated by this book. It’s poignant, razor-sharp, and so emotionally true that it aches. A stunning, unforgettable novel.

I'll start my review by sending out a big thank you to the author, Rachel Joyce, Random House (Dial Press), and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance digital copy of The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce. I will share my review to Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble upon release. Even though this was a tougher read as far as emotional turmoil, it brought a lot of reflection on family, grief, love to the surface, which was powerful to read and experience from the perspective of the characters.

The sibling group of Netta, Susan, Goose, and Iris are reuiniting the wake of the death of their father, an enigmatic and renowned artist living in Italy with his much younger bride, Bella-Mae. To further add to the mystery of his death, his final masterpiece is missing - and the siblings are grappling with what could've happened to him, and how to communicate with each other when there are simmering tensions and resentments surfacing. The characters are played off of each other so well throughout the story, and each has their own individual voice. I was wondering whose motivations would rise to the top in the end, and even though the pacing was a tad slow in the beginning, the last half brought the strings together in a way that felt really well planned. I really appreciated the way all the pieces came together, and the way their bond was tested and strengthened.

If you like epic family dramas, character-centered stories, or generational mysteries, you'll likely enjoy! I'd recommend this book to fans of Ann Patchett and Kristin Hannah's books. I was very easily able to see this one made into a film with roles full of potential to be explored by talented actors. Considering the more emotional content and the mature themes of infidelity/family dysfunction, I think it's most appropriate for readers aged 18 and up.

Major Tropes & Themes:

- family/sibling story
- grief, parent loss
- mystery/suspense
- identity
- isolation/reunion
- art

3.4 out of 5 stars

Having read Rachel Joyce’s Harold Frye series, I was looking forward to reading her newest novel,
The Homemade God. This story centers around a family of four adult children of a well-known artist who raised his children after his wife died when they were all quite young. They, in turn, adore him while recognizing that he had his flaws. When he suddenly announces that he is planning to marry a woman who is nearly 50 years his junior, they are gob smacked.

After the pair are married, Vic, their father, invites his children – Netta, Susan, and Iris, and Gustav (called “Goose”) to spend the summer with him and his new wife Bella-Mae at the family’s lake home in Italy. They rebel and disregard his messages until it is too late. Just six weeks later, he’s found dead, and now they go to the lake.

Their imaginations had conjured up all sorts of ideas about Bella-Mae. None of them fit. Yet, they are suspicious. How could he have drowned? He was a good swimmer. What about the final painting he bragged about? Where is it? What about his will? So many questions. It can take days, weeks to get the answers.

Initially, I found the story to be slow-moving. The author painstakingly introduces the characters in their daily lives, their relationships, their habits. The reader gets an idea of who Vic Kemp is when he’s alive, but only a little bit. Much of who he was is revealed by his kids, his widow, and his friends after he’s gone.
But this family, four distinct individuals with distinctly unique personalities who perhaps think of their bond as unbreakable, experience something entirely different at the villa.

Each has his and her own perception of Bella-Mae and of her cousin Laszlo. Each is dealing with waiting for the results of the autopsy and everything about “Daddy’s” death in different ways. One drinks too much. One lusts after someone other than her spouse. Others obsess about “the painting.” It is intriguing, hopeful, and at the same time, dark and foreboding.

Bella-Mae seems the outsider, even when she stays at the villa, a mysterious observer. She does reveal bits of herself as, particularly at the very end, but with the siblings, she mostly keeps her distance. While the sisters’ lives often seem chaotic, unkempt, my favorite character was Goose. It’s not that he has his life together. Far from it, at least throughout most of the story, but he seems to just get along with others except with his own demons.

Do the Kemp survivors come to realize a satisfactory resolution of their fathers’ death and the disposition of his properties? What about his last great painting? And lastly, will their bond remain intact? Are those we love really who and what we thought they were?

I received a digital copy of The Homemade God as an ARC. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley, The Dial Press, and the author.

3.5 stars rounded up

I do enjoy family and generational fiction. In this novel Rachel Joyce creates a family of true characters who exhibit wildly different personalities. At first, the reader might think this is a mystery novel, and there is some of that, but primarily this book this book depicts a family in crisis. They are relationships relationships among the siblings are often co-dependent and each of the four of them has their own issues. The power that their father exudes over them is a segue directly to the book’s title.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the opportunity..

This is my first Rachel Joyce book but it will not be my last. The characters were well-written and thoughtful and the storyline was compelling from beginning to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Random House for the opportunity to read this advanced copy! Fabulous writing by Rachel Joyce - I felt like I was part of this family as I was reading. Four siblings who had a rather unusual life with their artist father, the conflict that arises upon his death and the aftermath of that conflict. Family is everything in the end.

I've read a few of the "group of siblings falls apart" type books recently, but The Homemade God has definitely stood out. For one thing, it defied genre- half a murder mystery, half an examination of family dynamics. The first half had me hooked with suspense, only to realize how far the cracks between family had spread right before it was too late. Joyce did an incredible job at holding back the ending and keeping me guessing at chances of reconciliation, the cause of the sibling's father's death, and the intentions of his suspicious younger lover. I think the occasional reference made in the narration, where the perspective would mention the looming Falling Out, also drove this tension throughout the first 70% of the book. This was one of those books that was enjoyable throughout, but so worth getting to the end- I was teary on a few occasions. I'm sure that anyone reading can see themselves somehow in Netta, Susan, Goose, or Iris.

Thank you NetGalley and Rachel Joyce for this ARC. This is my first Rachel Joyce book and it did not disappoint. The character were beautifully written. I was very intrigued in learning about the four siblings and the story with their father. Their childhood was very unstable with an artist father and motherless. You soon learn how their childhood has effected the in adulthood. I was very confused with the section giving a second point
of view. It just seemed very out of place. Complicated siblings, imperfect parents, it was just all so good.

I was invited to read this and received an ARC of this fine upcoming novel through NetGalley.

This is the fascinating story of a family. The father, Vic is a widower and artist. He has four children, three girls and a boy. Vic is in his seventies. The children are at various stages of adulthood. Vic is a rambunctious guy and shocks his family by running off with a twenty-something young lady he met online. They quickly marry in a private ceremony which none of the children attend. Soon after that, Vic dies.

The four children are extremely close knit, though their individual differences lead to clashes. The entrance of the young bride into their father’s life throws them all for a loop. How they all react to this is what this book is all about.

The author creates very authentic and complex characters. Yet it is quite easy for the reader to understand them. How they handle their father’s marriage and death is not necessarily what the reader might hope for, but what each child does is in character and understandable.

A very good book by an excellent author.

The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce 3-11-25 Review by Shirley W.

Three sisters and one brother have been close since childhood. Their mother died after the youngest was born. They are grown adults when Vic Kemp, their father, runs off to Italy with his new wife, who is 30 years younger than him, to get married. The siblings have never met Bella Mae, despite trying to! Netta, Susan, Iris and their brother Goose talk by phone often. None are invited to the wedding. They are all angry and suspicious as they traipse to the beautiful, family home on a lake in Italy.

Vic intends to paint a final masterpiece after his long, semi-successful art career. The siblings had a scattered childhood at the lake for many summers. Each is grappling with their past as their lives and experiences are so very different. The present is confused by their own worries about the autopsy, about where the will is, and what and where Vic’s great masterpiece painting is.

Author Rachel Joyce has a unique way of writing that pulls you in with beautiful words, phrases and perception. She is adept with explaining complex feelings of the characters and the situations that change at the lake.

I received a free advanced copy of this book from Net Galley. This is my honest review.

I have read, and thoroughly enjoyed, the author’s previous novels. They were character-driven, and very compelling.

This book felt like she was trying to break out a bit and deliver something different, but it didn’t work for me. My favorite novels all have strong, vibrant ( good or evil) characters, and this book failed to d3li Dr that to me. I was curious regarding the father and his marriage, but by book two, I really didn’t much care.

I am often happy with a book where “ nothing happens,” but Ms. joyce disappointed me with this novel.

Tense, atmospheric, and utterly engrossing, this novel captures the simmering unrest within a family grappling with grief, betrayal, and long-buried secrets. Set against the backdrop of a blistering European heatwave, four adult siblings reunite at their family’s lake house following the sudden death of their father — a renowned artist who recently remarried a woman half his age before retreating to Italy to complete his long-awaited final masterpiece. But now he’s gone, the painting is missing, and the siblings are left to untangle the truth — about their father, his new wife, and themselves.

The novel thrives on its tension. The siblings, once close, are now forced under the same roof for the first time in years, and their strained dynamic is palpable. Old wounds and unresolved resentments quickly resurface, and the house — filled with their father’s lingering presence — becomes a crucible for long-overdue confrontations. The author does an exquisite job of peeling back the layers of each sibling’s personal turmoil, subtly revealing how their father’s larger-than-life persona shaped and sometimes fractured them.

Adding to the mystery is the enigmatic young stepmother, whose presence hangs like a storm cloud over the lake house. Is she merely a grieving widow, or does she know more about their father’s death — and the missing painting — than she’s letting on? The constant question of her role in the family’s unraveling adds a delicious undercurrent of suspense to the narrative.

What sets this novel apart is the sharp, evocative writing and how the author captures the suffocating tension of a family on the brink of collapse. The summer heat, the claustrophobic setting, and the ever-present shadow of their father’s legacy amplify the story’s slow-burn intensity. Readers will find themselves turning pages as quickly as possible, desperate to uncover both the truth about the missing painting and the depths of the siblings’ personal fractures.

But this is more than just a mystery — it’s a haunting, beautifully rendered exploration of grief, identity, and the complex ways family wounds can bind and destroy us. By the time the summer comes to a close and the final, shattering revelations come to light, readers will be left breathless and aching for these characters.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm such a fan of reading about sibling relationships and this story has that. The book explores how four siblings get on living together as adults after their father dies. There are such complex scenes and a lot to unpack within the pages. I was captivated. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.