Apples Never Fall

When I started reading I wondered if I would make it to the end. Everyone seemed so crazy. And there was still so much left to read. But something compelled me to keep on reading. What a wonderful nutty presentation of our human frailties and finally I was caught up on a story about how life affects all of us. You will love this book this family this story with its unraveling to the end.

The Delaneys are known in Australia as a tennis family. Joy and Stan ran a tennis school for decades, coaching the next generation of tennis players after Stan's knee was injured ending his own career. He had one player who made it to and won Wimbledon. Now they are retired and not exactly sure what to do with themselves.

Their children are grown and have varying success. Amy is the oldest and still searching. She has always had issues fitting into the world and shares a house with flatmates, working various part time jobs. Logan is a teacher at the local community college but his long time girlfriend has just left him. Troy has made it big, trading commodities. He is wealthy but lonely, having no one to share his success with. Brooke has open a physical therapy business but the hours she is pouring into making it a success are affecting her marriage.

One night the doorbell rings at Stan and Joy's house after dark. On the porch stands a young girl, barefoot in the winter cold and bleeding on her face. She asks to come in for a minute stating that she is fleeing from an abusive boyfriend. The couple let her in and before they know it, have fed her, drawn her a bath and offered her a place for the night. Savannah slowly inserts herself into the household, doing all the cooking and cleaning and going on shopping trips with Joy. The children are all alarmed. Who is this girl? What does she want?

Then the worst occurs. Joy disappears. At first everyone thinks she has gone away for a few days after a fight with Stan. But there are scratches on Stan's face and Joy's phone is found under her bed. No money is being taken from the couple's accounts or credit cards used. As the days stretch on, the police extend the search but everyone suspects Stan may have done something although beforehand, everyone would have said their marriage was strong.

Liane Moriarty is an Australian author whose books have soared to the top of the thriller genre although the author doesn't consider herself a thriller writer. Her interest is in her characters, how they relate to each other and how they grow and change over the course of a novel. This book shows the truth of parenthood; you are never done and worry about your children even when they are grown. It also shows the varying nature of a long term marriage, how the partners grow together and apart, how small resentments can build to large ones but how almost losing someone reminds you how much you love them. This book is recommended for women's and suspense readers.

I have conflicting feelings about this book. It’s a strange story. Of course, it is Liane Moriarty, so…

Joy and Stan are retired tennis players and coaches. Their children grew up in the tennis world, to the point of obsession. Their lives have been shaped by the competitive atmosphere and by how they perceived their own ability. No one has some minor quirk. Each adult child has serious problems that have a huge impact on the way they live their adult lives. It would have been nice if there was at least one person that seemed healthy. On the other hand, that seemed to be the point. We all have problems.

As the story progresses, we do see the adult children grow through their fears and phobias. It’s after their mother disappears and they have to deal with the possibilities of what happened. I won’t go into the details of that. No spoilers. I will say it’s a young girl who knocks on the parents’ door one night who changes everything, or maybe just brings everything to light.

The story had a very long ending, way after the mystery of the mother, Joy’s disappearance was resolved. It was good in the sense you get to see what happened to each person. It was just very long. And the finale? Wow! I don’t think I’ll be forgetting that any time soon.

In style, this book is more like Moriarty’s “Nine Perfect Strangers”. There’s a lot of characters to keep track of. Minor characters pop back up after not having been mentioned in several chapters and you’ll probably finding yourself searching to see who they are and how they fit in. (Read the kindle edition. It’ll make the search much easier.)

Would I recommend the book? Probably. After all, I did read the whole thing. But, I would put the caveat that a large part of the book is rather depressing. And the ending is absolutely bizarre! Be prepared for a ride!