Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

Amy     
Lynnie  

fiction

Apples Never Fall is a family drama. Stan and Joy, who met as young, successful tennis players, have been married for 50 years. They have four adult children with whom they remain close. Joy is missing. A missing person report is filed and the detectives suspect foul play.

Amy's Review

What a fun ride! Liane Moriarty does it again with a very readable story with realistic characters and situations that go just a little outside of believable but make you want to keep reading.  The detectives expect a body to be found. As more time passes, the children cope with the possibility that their father caused some harm to their mother. Anyone who knows Stan and Joy has opinions and various suspicions. The plot thickens. As the reader gets to know the characters better, little pieces of new information come to light. It was crafted well and the pacing was perfect. This is the first novel I’ve read that includes references to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were tastefully woven in at the end of the novel as storylines were wrapping up.

I listened to the audiobook most of the time but also read some parts on my Kindle when I had time. The narrator, Caroline Lee, is the same woman who narrated two other audiobooks of Moriarty’s that I’ve heard. She’s a wonderful voice actor that gives the characters such personality. I give her an A-.

Lynnie's Review

I had the "mystery" of Apples Never Fall figured out pretty early in the novel but Liane Moriarty's wonderful writing compelled me to keep reading as I wanted to see how she would unwind the story. There were a few surprises along the way. One character had a level of cruelty I hadn't anticipated, for example. But, generally, things unfolded as I anticipated. My biggest complaint was with the COVID chapters at the end which, while certainly timely, added no value to the story and, in fact, took me right out of the novel. It was a weird choice after such a well-crafted story up to that point. I think I would have gone with 4 stars if not for that, actually.

If you've enjoyed Moriarty's prior work, you'll enjoy Apples Never Fall. She continues to craft engaging stories with characters you want to read about--what more can you want from a novel?