This story beautifully captures a family through the good, bad, and everything in between. Joy Delaney loves her family fiercely, but when all of her children have left the nest and she retired, she struggled to fill her days with meaning. Twenty-something year old Savannah finds her way into Joy’s heart, and everything changes for Joy. Joy’s family grows worried when she goes missing after a fight with her husband, and her family endures a grueling investigation with all the evidence pointing to her husband. Fans of mysteries and complex family dynamics will enjoy this audiobook.

This is a classic Liane Moriarty. Apples Never Fall centers around a highly competitive family, whose life has revolved around tennis, from the very beginning. Early on, the mother, Joy Delaney, disappears and a search unfolds along side the families many secrets. A strange house guest who probably isn't what she seems, adds to the sinister feeling. But, to me, the backstories of the four Delaney children is the highlight of the story. Their successes, failures, sibling rivalries and constant search for approval from their father and tennis coach, Stan Delaney.
Thank you NetGalley for the chance to review this ARC.

Liane Moriarty is a masterclass in character-focused stories. Like Big Little Lies, Apples Never Fall is not a plot-heavy story. Instead, the author delves deeply into the characters, developing backstories so convincing that it’s a shock when their truthfulness is questioned in the present timeline (wherein the police are investigating). While I am optimistic and generally give people the benefit of the doubt, I was throughly taken in by Moriarty’s characters, unsure of who to trust and what was reliable, alternating between distrust and belief in each of the characters.

Apples Never Fall is a great book. Liane Moriarty is one of my favorite authors and she does not disappoint. Go Read This Book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3.8 stars

The Delaney family were all local tennis royalty with Stan and Joy running a local tennis school. Stan and Joy are a bit lost after they sold their business. A stranger knocks on their door one night seeking safety from and abusive boyfriend and ends up staying for a while. Several months later Joy goes missing and no one reports her missing. The four grown kids are in disagreement if Stan is responsible.

Took a long time to build the story with lots of background on seven people. I kept waiting for something more to happen. It was 2/3 through before a big reveal happened and I kept wishing for more.

Caroline Lee did a fantastic job narrating, especially for Joy. She really brought this spunky 69 year old woman to life for me. Joy made the book for me—her positive attitude, her recollections of her mothering, how she interacts with her kids and Savanah. Loved her.

One good thing about audio books is I can’t peak ahead which I know I would have if it was a digital book.

Stan and Joy Delaney are practically royalty in their hometown, looked up to and revered. As they begin their retirement, however, things begin to fall apart. A woman knocks on their door in the middle of the night, claiming to be on the run from an abusive lover and the couple agrees to help her. But then Joy disappears and the woman that Stan claims to have come to their home looking for help is also strangely missing. Of the four adult Delaney children, two believe that their father had something to do with their mother’s disappearance, two believe he’s telling the truth. It turns out that the Delaney family had a lot of secrets, and some of them were deadly

Oh man, I feel blasphemous saying so, but this was not my favorite. The story follows Moriarty's Hansel and Gretel signature style by dispensing small bits of detail and drama to propel the reader forward towards the big reveal, but in this instance, the characters, setting and drama do little to make you want to turn the page. I normally can't put Moriarty's books down, but this one I had to talk myself into picking it up. Overlong and over-boring. Twist at the end was okay, but it takes a looong time to get there. The narration improves as the story progresses, but the accents were really rough. For Moriarty completists only.