Everyone in the small coastal town of Shelter Bay, Oregon thinks of Sax Douchett as a hero.  Everyone but Sax, that is.  After surviving the death of his teammates followed by his capture and torture in Afghanistan, the ex-Navy SEAL just wants to return home and live a normal life, not be celebrated for doing his duty.  But a local parade isn’t the only thing the former town bad boy is surprised with.  When his dog uncovers a human bone on his property, it brings Sax into contact with the girl he’d carried a torch for back in high school.

Kara Blanchard, now Sheriff Kara Conway, has also moved back to Shelter Bay.  A widow with an eight-year-old son, Kara’s first responsibility is her son and her second is her job.  That leaves little time for romance.  But as Sax, the man she’d always considered a friend, slowly winds his way into her heart, Kara discovers that perhaps there is such a thing as a second chance at love.

The Homecoming is a charming story of family, old friendships, and new love.  Its characters leisurely made their way into my affections, making it easy to become invested in the story as it progressed.  I liked Kara, Sax, and their loved ones, and it’s the characters more than anything else that have stayed with me since I finished reading The Homecoming.  JoAnn Ross beautifully handles not only the subject of soldiers dealing with the horrors of war they have lived through, but what their loved ones at home must cope with as well and for that I commend her.

The Homecoming is the first book in the Shelter Bay series, but fans of Ms. Ross (or those who check out her website as I did), will know that the series is a spinoff of Ms. Ross’s High Risk series.  Characters from Crossfire and Shattered appear or are mentioned, and I admit this made me want to go and read the High Risk series.  Enjoying The Homecoming as I did, I will likely do that as I eagerly await the next Shelter Bay novel.