Apples Never Fall

Just from the couple of books of hers that I've read so far, Moriarty has an amazing way of evoking emotion and fascination about her very real characters with all their virtues and flaws on display. She drops bits that seem like simple world-building but are relevant later in a way that looks effortless but grabs you when you put it together.

With Apples Never Fall in particular, the examination of one's life and choices through the lens of uncertainty, suspicion, and mystery was quite gripping and provoked some personally relevant emotions and life examination in the reader (me).

Lianne Moriarty is my favorite author and this book did not disappoint. It's one of my top three favorites by her, along with What Alice Forgot and Truly, Madly, Guilty.

I love this book as it’s about a marriage in crisis and it shows the complete power that those we love most can hold over us.

I also loved the fascinating insight into the world of tennis as both main characters are tennis coaches – and I’ve always enjoyed Wimbledon! I thought the family dynamics and the push-and-pull of who to trust and why was utterly gripping.

I also loved how the way other people see the marriage is so completely different to how Stan and Joy, the husband and wife, see it. There are different versions of truth and,… show more.

Moriarty's writing makes me laugh in one paragraph and tear up in the next. One of her greatest writing strengths is her ability to place the reader in each character's head firmly.

This book has many poignant, quotable lines, and the plotline moves at a good pace, keeping the reader invested in the outcome, which is very satisfactory.

I'd consider this story a regular masterpiece, and I couldn't put it down. (Note-some strong language). I thought Nine Perfect Strangers was my favorite Moriarty book, but now I'm totally conflicted—a memorable read.

Full discloser: Liane Moriarty could write a book about lawn fertilizer, and I’d probably read it.

All of her books achieve that elusive balance between sincerity and laugh-out-loud humor, and this is no exception. The story revolves around the disappearance of Joy Delaney, a mother to four adult children and retired owner of Delaney Tennis Academy.

My favorite part of the book (and there are many!) is the glimpse into Joy’s inner life as a seasoned mother, which is different from yet fundamentally similar to my own experience as a young mom.

Each of Stan Delaney’s adult children knows he is not the easiest person to get along with.

So, when their mother suddenly disappears, two of them suspect their father. Footage from a neighbor’s security video seems to further implicate Stan.

But what about the mysterious woman that showed up on the family’s doorstep last summer, bruised and battered?

As the siblings try to find out what happened to their mother, they face long-buried resentments that further fuel familial distrust.

I have absolutely loved all of Liane Moriarty’s books (although NPS may have been too many POVs) and her dry wit.

This one encapsulates the stories of all the members of the Delaney family from their POVs and I especially related to Joy – the matriarch of the piece. The romance was there in this novel (between Joy and her husband amongst others); you were left wondering will they, won’t they – but the themes also verged on domestic noir/mystery.

The whole cast provided differing accounts of the same event, whether told in the present or past. Lenses are so… show more.

This was a literary mystery that renewed my love of the genre. Beginning with an abandoned bike and the disappearance of Joy, the family matriarch, the novel unfolds through the lens of each grown child’s experience of growing up in the Delaney family. When a stranger arrives at the home one night, fleeing her boyfriend, the story is set in motion. The father, a tennis teacher and director of a tennis school, seems the likely culprit of his wife’s disappearance. But as detectives investigate the missing mother’s disappearance and her relationship to the young woman who arrived at the family… show more.