Book Review: Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
Publisher: ‎ Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: September 14, 2021
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

The Delaney family love one another dearly – it’s just that sometimes they want to murder each other….

If your mother was missing, would you tell the police? Even if the most obvious suspect was your father?

This is the dilemma facing the four grown Delaney siblings.

The Delaneys are fixtures in their community. The parents, Stan and Joy, are the envy of all of their friends. They’re killers on the tennis court, and off it their chemistry is palpable. But after 50 years of marriage, they’ve finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. So why are Stan and Joy so miserable?

The four Delaney children – Amy, Logan, Troy, and Brooke – were tennis stars in their own right, yet as their father will tell you, none of them had what it took to go all the way. But that’s okay, now that they’re all successful grown-ups and there is the wonderful possibility of grandchildren on the horizon.

One night a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy’s door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to give her the small kindness she sorely needs. If only that was all she wanted.

Later, when Joy goes missing, and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the police question the one person who remains: Stan. But for someone who claims to be innocent, he, like many spouses, seems to have a lot to hide. Two of the Delaney children think their father is innocent, two are not so sure – but as the two sides square off against each other in perhaps their biggest match ever, all of the Delaneys will start to reexamine their shared family history in a very new light.

I read this book when it first came out but somehow neglected to review it. I decided to listen to the audiobook to refresh my memory of the story and I’m happy to say, it was just as good the second time around.

Apples Never Fall is told in classic Moriarty fashion. Something big happens in the first few pages – in this case, Joy Delaney, the mother of four adult children has gone missing. The prime suspect in her disappearance is her husband. Then the book alternates between the recent past, when a stranger knocks on the Delaney’s door and the future where the police are looking for Joy. The stranger, Savanah, is a young woman who says she’s running away from her abusive boyfriend and Joy invites her in. Savanah stays with them up until right before Joy goes missing. Could she be involved?

In the meantime, all four children are harboring secrets of their own. There’s a lot going on in this book and it’s all expertly woven together. I just love Liane Moriarty. Highly recommended.