Homewrecked: A novel of obsession, desire and the lies that wreck a home

by Ruby Soames

Are you the Jack Mathews I met on Santa Catalina Island twenty-one years ago?

One question and the past is back—uninvited, unforgiving and set to wreck Jack’s world.

Elizabeth Lambert is a master of reinvention. From a Californian trailer-park kid to Paris socialite and home designer, she has everything—except the love she lost at fifteen. So when the pandemic hits, she tracks him down.

Jack Mathews is now a struggling car dealer in a small town near San Diego, father of three and married to a beloved school principal. But once he answers that first message, Jack and Elizabeth’s flirtatious exchange rapidly escalates into an erotic obsession, with both wondering: What if...?

Then Elizabeth arrives in Jack’s hometown, ready to risk everything for the life they’ve longed for—but is Jack?

When you best life comes at a cost, how much are you willing to pay?

366 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 19, 2025

About the author

Ruby Soames writes emotionally charged, character-driven fiction about ambition, desire, and the fallout from choices we can't take back. She's fascinated by the tension between self-preservation and self-destruction — especially when it plays out behind closed doors, in relationships that look perfect from the outside.

Her latest novel, Homewrecked, is longlisted for the Somerset (CIBA) Award for Contemporary Literature and is a finalist for the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2025. Her previous novel, Seven Days to Tell You, won Readers' Favourite at the Hookline Novel Writers' Competition before being published by Bloodhound Books.

If you enjoy the layered domestic tension of Big Little Lies, the cool intelligence of Anne Tyler, or the emotional precision of Maggie O'Farrell, you'll find yourself in familiar territory.

Born in Chelsea to an American-Irish model and film financier, Ruby was expelled from her girls' boarding school at fifteen. With no qualifications, she got by as a model, painter and decorator, and life insurance sales rep until, in love with reading, she found her way to Bristol University to study Literature and Theology. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University and an MSc in Psychology from Liverpool.

Ruby's writing has appeared in magazines, newspapers and anthologies, and her short fiction has been shortlisted in literary competitions including The Short Story Prize.

She lives in the south of France with her two children and travel writer Jon Bryant.

Fun fact: although a descendant of Nell Gwynne, she has never eaten fruit.

Reviews

[Caroline Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally got into this right from the get-go. Elizabeth, beautiful, rich and a strange mix of cold but vulnerable interior designer, gets in touch with an ex and they start this virtual romance which builds up into her leaving her husband and thinking they are going to end happily ever after - but that's just the beginning. The minute she arrives in Jack's life, hell breaks lose.

Sexy, philosophical, funny and spot-on character observations. This really pulled me in right to the unexpected ending.

I bought this because I really enjoyed this author's other books and was waiting for this one to come out - it didn't disappoint.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this family divorce drama with its multilayered characters. Plenty of wisdom about long-term relationships versus the allure of rekindling an old flame. Very engaging, abundant wit and enough bite to give it an edge. The structure of recent past and present keeps the narrative bouncing along, and I found myself wanting to read just one more chapter. So enjoyable. If you like Liane Moriarty, Celeste Ng, Claire Douglas or Lisa Jewell, you will love this.

[Morgana Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book of Ruby Soames' that I’ve ever read. Now I’m hooked on her style of writing and storytelling! This novel outlines a probably typical divorce drama scenario - one half of the couple falls for someone else and a world is destroyed, but this went so much deeper. All the characters have their perspective and objectives and, as much as I wanted to find the goodie or baddie, I was just so moved by their pain and passion. It's also very funny at times too! It’s much more about family dynamics and what it means to be married and to want to get out of that commitment. I loved it! What a great writer.

[Jim McGhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a multilayered tour de force as passion reigns and lives are shattered when two worlds collide. A gripping tale brilliantly told.