A woman in a red skirt and black top leaning against a vintage car in front of a large house with a garden, with superimposed white text about a house bringing people together and the past threatening to tear them apart. The woman is looking to the side, and the house is in the background.

An Unlikely Home

The house brought them together. The past threatens to tear them apart.

A sweeping historical novel of 1960s Sydney, hidden diaries, and long-buried family secrets.

Paperback | 316 Pages | Set in Sydney, Australia

Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Vietnam War and the dramatic societal changes of the 1960s, feisty midwife Val Eddington returns to Sydney, done with love and riddled with regret. But a mysterious phone call summoning her to Carinya, a grand Victorian villa, catapults her into a future she never imagined.

The sudden, tragic death of Val's uncle, Geoff, leaves behind a trail of letters that bind Val to two strangers: Mack, a charismatic photographer searching for the mother who rejected him, and Sid, a broken man burdened by an inheritance he never wanted.

As the trio grapple with Geoff's final words, the scandals of the past begin to unravel in chaotic and unpredictable ways. When a tiny diary hidden in a dusty loft is discovered, the final piece of a decades-old puzzle falls into place.

As the only one with all the facts, Val faces a heart-wrenching choice. Can she expose the complicated truth behind Carinya's magnificent façade without losing the people she's come to love?

A woman sitting on a white chair holding a book titled "An Unlikely Home" by Carolynn King. She is wearing a brown satin blouse, a pearl necklace, and purple glasses with orange accents. She is smiling and has shoulder-length blonde hair. A colorful abstract painting is visible in the background.

“Rich historical detail of 1960s Sydney and a masterful depiction of the grand Victorian villa, Carinya.”

“I love Val, the dynamic and resilient female protagonist, and the courageous women who defiantly reinvent their lives.”

“The unravelling of the hidden diary and a family secret kept me deeply engaged and rushing to the finish.”