Title : Apples Never Fall
Author : Liane Moriarty
Narrators : Caroline Lee
Genre : Contemporary
Publisher : Macmillan Audio
Listening Length : 18 hours 3 minutes
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
Narrator Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
I’ve been a fan of Moriarty’s writing ever since I listened to The Husband’s Secret. So I anticipated a good read/listen when I started Apples Never Fall. And while not quite as spectacular as Husband’s Secret or even Big Little Lies (another great book), Apples Never Fall is a decent listen.
The Delaney family is one of tennis players. Parents Joy and Stan have run the Delaney Tennis Academy for many years and have recently sold it to live a life of leisurely retirement. Their four adult children Amy, Logan, Troy and Brooke used to play tennis but have now given it up to follow other professional aspirations. The family is close, but when Joy disappears, suspicion falls on Stan; a betrayal in the marriage has recently come to light. Then there is also beautiful, young Savannah who came to stay for a night at Joy and Stan’s and stayed on.
Moriarty’s writing is, as always, impressive, teasing out fine character details effortlessly. She has this knack of describing her characters where it’s all showing and no telling – the characters build beautifully through different points of view, conversations and incidents. While all the Delaney’s are written very well, Joy stood out for me.
The story builds though current incidents and past reminiscences. The initial build-up is good, and the novel trundles along taking you with it. The underwhelming ending though left a little to be desired. Also the plot, the raison d’etre for the novel was a little shaky, a lot of something out of nothing, and a bit of a stretch honestly.
Apples Never Fall is not a pot-boiler – Moriarty’s books never are. They are graceful, elegantly constructed stories about relationships, and offer plenty of unexpected twists and turns and solid surprises. This book though was different – there was one big mystery (Joy’s disappearance ) and it resolves rather tepidly, none of the Moriarty-esque fireworks here.
While the book itself is a decent read, it was made so much more enjoyable by narrator Caroline Lee’s reading. The authentic Aussie accent, the different intonations for each character helped bring out their personalities. Lee has also narrated The Husband’s Secret and Nine Perfect Strangers.
