When Joy Delaney, of the famous Delaney tennis school goes missing her four children can't believe their dad is the prime suspect. But new carpet, new paint, and a bloody shirt do point to him, not to mention the cryptic text message their mom sent just before everything happened about going of the grid for a while see them soon, and the fact that Joy's phone was found under the bed of her house. But if their dad didn't do it what did happened, how does their one up and coming tennis star fit into this and what about the mysterious Savannah?

This a book so full of suspense and twists and turns you really won't know what happened until the end when all is revealed, if you can wait that long. This is a book about family and how sometimes you need to see it through someone else's eyes. This was a good book and had me totally hooked by half way through it just to see what happens.


This review will appear on my blog Sept 14th.

Liane Moriarty’s newest novel centers around the Delaney family. From the beginning we are aware that the mother of the four grown Delaney siblings has gone missing and their father is under suspicion by the police. The story then alternates back and forth in time and the reader becomes aware of the events leading up to the disappearance.

This was a quick read in spite of the fact that it is a long book. The chapters that alternate between the perspectives of the various siblings kept the momentum going and I really appreciated that. Each of the characters had a distinct voice which can be tricky to pull off in a book with so many major characters and I felt like I related to each one in a unique way.

The mystery of the mother’s disappearance is what propels this story, but this novel is about much more. It’s about a family and their own very specific dysfunction. It’s about the events that occur in our childhoods shape our psyches and how each child processed and reacted to the same events differently. Their dysfunction is believable and probably not that different from most families.

My only negative with this book was the ending. I felt like it went out with a fizzle and I wanted it to go out with a bang. To say much more would give too much away, so I’ll just say I wanted a little more drama. Overall though this was a successful and entertaining read.

Another Liane Moriarty hit! After a stranger shows up on Joy and Stans doorstep, thier kids get a little suspisous of the stagner their parents invited into thier home. When Joy sends a weird text saying shes going "off the grid" the kids aren't sure what to think. As the story moves on, the kids are trying to figure out what happened to thier mom, does it have to do anything with the stranger. This slow burn makes you want to keep reading to figure out what happens next.

This may be my favorite Moriarty book yet - I was hooked from the beginning and did not expect the ending. This will definitely be a hit for our library patrons.

I have been patiently waiting for a new Liane Moriarty and this one did not disappoint. Family drama, love it. Some twists and turns I did not see coming. Recommend for sure for fans of Moriarty!

The Delaneys are a golden family known for their tennis academy and beautiful family of 4 adult children. They seem like a close family who have it all until they don't. Joy Delaney hasn't adjusted to retirement and has had enough of being the orchestrator of the family and their issues. Then she disappears. Do the scratches on Stan's face hint at his guilt. The children have their own problems and do not worry at first. Did their dad hurt their mother? If so will they stand by him or not? The facts are adding up, and it doesn't look good for Stan Delaney. Overall, it was a good and enjoyable read.

I usually am a big fan of Liane Moriarty books. Big Little Lies and What Alice Forgot are two of my all time favorite books! Apples Never Fall unfortunately did not work for me. I think from the premise, I was expecting more of a mystery than a family drama, and I felt so much attention on each family member was frustrating. By the time I got to what I thought was the end (when you find out what happens to the main character), I had settled on this being a. four star book due to how it started to be wrapped up, then there was what felt like a strange editorial choice to add and ending with the pandemic written in and a very unnecessary scene with Savannah and how her story truly ended. I'm bummed that I didn't like this more, but it would absolutely be a great book club choice for people to discuss their thoughts on the various complex characters in this book.

This book was terrific. I was caught up in the story of this family. I found every POV to be equally fascinating. It was a touch too long and dragged a bit at the end but I found this book to be pretty satisfying.

I was so excited to be given the opportunity to read this title, and it did not disappoint! It did help that I am a tennis fan, as tennis features very prominently in this family story. As always with Liane Moriarty, the character development was superb, and every sentence was beautifully written. I look forward to recommending this book to our library patrons!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll admit that this wasn’t my favorite Moriarty novel. It was a bit too long and dragged out, I didn’t care about the characters as much as I think I should have, and…the tennis stuff was boring to me :( I’m sorry! That being said, a meh Moriarty novel is still a darn entertaining read compared to lots of other books. It was well written and included some lovely turns of phrase and the mystery element kept me reading. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the advanced digital reader's copy.

Moriarty has written another utterly absorbing, funny, and shocking page-turner which examines both the dark side of human nature and our amazing capacity to love, forgive, and find joy.

Joy Delaney - mother of four adult children, retired owner of a successful tennis business, and wife of thirty+ years - has gone missing. Her children are at a loss to figure out what may have happened, but they are beginning to wonder if there was more to their parents' marriage than they imagined. Could Stan, their dad, have actually done something to her?

As the story moves back and forth in time, the many facets of each character are revealed. None of us is perfect, and the Delaney children and their parents are the same. Their relationships with each other have made them complicated. They are all, in turn, appalling, afraid, angry, jealous, lovely, goofy, kind, and everything in between. In short, they are thoroughly human.

As I read this story, I could feel each character's frustrations and fears. I could understand why they would act the way they did, even when I hoped they would make different choices.

I was completely pulled into the Delaney family and wanted the best for each character.

A few moments, including a bit of the ending, were a little over-the-top and pulled me out of the story, but I kept turning the pages because I needed to know what happened to each of the Delaneys.

If you love character-driven domestic dramas, pick this up. It's a great read.

*language, adult situations, sexual situations

So....this was going to be a 5 star review. But. Unfortunately, she kinda blew the ending in my opinion. If I'm being completely honest, the advanced readers copy that I receieved is 464 pages and if they wanted me to tell the truth, I think pages 433-464 should have been completely scrapped and rewritten because the ending didn't serve the first 432 pages well imho.

I loved the book. I think Apples Never Fall is honestly Liane Moriarty doing what Liane Moriarty does best. It's riveting fiction. An absolutely heart pulsing, page turning, full hearted novel with a huge cast of diverse characters with different personalities. It's what she is GREAT at. I love her writing style, and it works beautifully in this book: a story about a family of tennis professionals, the mother and father retired coaches, and their children, whose lives are interrupted by a bruised and bloody woman showing up on the Delaneys doorstep one night, and in a separate timeline many months later, Mrs. Delaney is missing.

I was hooked from the very first chapter. I haven't wanted to put it down all week even though I've worked crazy hours and haven't had time to read, because like I said, it is Liane at her finest tackling some incredibly complex topics like the longevity of marriage and divorce and eating disorders and many more and in addition, the characters she has assembled are just stunning and you begin to root for them and want to know what really happened to Joy Delaney. I think the ending just didn't serve the book well and left a lot to be desired.

As much I loved it, and I'm still highly recommending it, don't take me for granted, it's a solid 4.5, I'm taking away a star because the ending bugged me.

4 ⭐️

I usually enjoy this author but I think this time the editors just let her run wild! So much back story and character development, which I usually insist upon, but Wow! They really let her run amok on this book. Women's fiction disguised as a mystery. I'll give it three stars because I did want to know how it ended and didn't wind up throwing it against the wall.

I got an ARC of this book and was thrilled to be chosen to read it before it was published. I had high hopes for this book, but it fell flat. It had a good premise, but much like many of the author's books, they are too long and have too many characters. I don't know if I would have finished it if I wasn't obligated to do so.

And that's why Liane Moriarty is considered a "big author". Deliciously entertaining. This novel will shoot up the bestseller list as soon as it's published.

Liane Moriarty is the queen of the slow burn. I found myself needing to ignore my family so I could figure out what the heck was going on is this book. And that ending!

Liane Moriarty has written a great book once again. This one had all kinds of family drama and took a deep dive into the Delaney family and all their issues. I loved the character portrayals and the level of detail about the characters, although I didn't particularly like any of them as people. The story had me guessing the whole time and the ending was definitely not what I expected. I also enjoyed the way she examined Joy and Stan's marriage and some of the complications that come along with a long marriage. Moriarty really understands family dynamics and relationships in a way the many other writers don't get. Thanks to @netgalley for the advance copy!

I love Liane Moriarty's writing, I have read all of her books. I have been looking forward to this book since February! I was very excited to receive the ARC.
I will tell all of this book now.
I have created fans with her previous novels. This will make more fans.

What makes a good marriage?
Does it matter on how it looks from the outside?
How does a marriage affect the children being raised in the home?

Liane takes these questions, involves a mystery that you will be trying to solve, and
makes a story that once you start reading - you won't be able to stop reading!

This is a very enjoyable family drama that also contains a fair amount of humor. Liane Moriarty has a particular talent for observing human behavior and creating fully-formed characters that act, think and speak like real people. I was pleased with the ending, and also appreciated the way all the intricate plot details were resolved at the end. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Liane Moriarty is BACK y'all! Whew. If you are a fan of family dramas, I'm talking, Sally Field's "Brothers & Sisters," or last year's "The Most Fun We Ever Had" (Lombardo), this book is for you! It may be the only child in me, but I'm fascinated by complex sibling relationships and the Delaney family is one for the books.

Joy and Stan Delaney seem like the perfect family. They ran a tennis school, their kids were all tennis protegees but eventually gave up the sport. They seem like the perfect loving couple. Until Joy goes missing. Does this have anything to do with the strange girl that showed up at their doorstep last year? The girl that they took in, and let live with them? That has to be a coincidence, right? And Stan is just too calm, too quiet about the whereabouts of his wife. And why aren't the kids more concerned?

Goodness, this book gave me chills, it gave me tears, and it was perfection. I can't wait for it to be out so I can talk to my friends about it! And thank you Liane Moriarty for writing a character with migraines, for real.