I really enjoyed this family saga/mystery about a large, tennis-mad family. Lovely Joy, mother of four larger-than-life children, wife of Stan, and recently retired from running the Delaney Tennis Academy, disappears one day, leaving only a garbled text message behind. Stan is suspected of her murder, but the police are also interested in a mysterious house guest that Lily befriended some months ago.
Liane Moriarty writes such great characters, and I felt I really came to know the Delaney family, with all their quirks, history, dynamics and personalities. The only commonalities among the children are their great height and talent on the court. Moriarty uses the tennis theme not only to underpin the story, but also cleverly as a metaphor for life. I also loved the police team: hard-as-nails Christina, who cracked me up, and her number two, Ethan.
The author cleverly deceives her readers about Joy’s fate. While she lays all the rest of the characters openly out on the pages, the house guest remains a total mystery. “Trying to see Savannah was like trying to catch a true reflection in a funhouse maze of mirrors….she merged and morphed into different kinds of people.” What exactly was her role in Joy’s disappearance?
As the children and the police investigate, so more of the past is revealed, as well as the lies and the betrayals. We learn the back story from different points of view and from different settings – from Joy’s hairdresser, daughter Amy’s conversations with her therapist, police interviews and family gatherings. All expertly woven together to create a great mystery. The story is so authentic, and Moriarty explores themes of old age, mental health, retirement, self-esteem and many more with humour and realism. A solid four-star read.

I am a big fan of Liane Moriarty novels and this one was no exception. It is a brilliantly crafted family drama with real intrigue.
The book has a real slow burn start, setting characters & backgrounds, which I felt was necessary to involve the reader in the later layers of the family dynamic. The pace picks up when Joy disappears and events start to happen, you need to know the family to understand their reactions.
Moriarty tells the tale from a couple of timelines, before the disappearance, building up the intricacies of family life which most people would readily identify with, the back story being fed in bit by bit; and after, including the police officers investigating the disappearance. The reader learns about each family member in depth and what has brought them to where they are now in life and secrets each one is holding back from the family.
This multi-layered drama explores situations from all sides, like Brooke’s migraines, how did her parents deal with a child suffering so much, looking back did they feel they did everything they could? How does Brooke feel? Family reflections are a real part of everyones lives & with hindsight we might all change history.
The wonderfully challenging, competitive family dynamics were easily relatable and fascinating to read. The investigation into Joy’s disappearance raises many uncertainties in the family.
The mysterious Savannah adds whole new levels to the story along with frustrations about the understandable naiveties of Joy’s motherly reactions to her.
A very enjoyable read.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher, in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 5*
Writing skill : 5*
Plot: 5*
Characters: 5*
Twist: 4*
Suspense: 4*

WOW. This was really brilliant. <i>Big little Lies</i> is one of my all time favourites so when Michael Joseph offered me a widget for this one I jumped for joy.
The writing is exquisite, she sets scenes and describes characters in such as way you feel like you are there and you really know them. Logan was most definitely my favourite!
As always with a Moriarty book, there's a build up of story and tension and you just don't know where the story and twist is going to go. I thought it was executed perfectly!

I loved the family relationships and dynamics in this - childhood sibling rivalry continuing into adulthood, which seemed so natural and normal. I loved the different personalities of the Delaney children and how they all fitted together. Joy and Stan were a powerhouse couple as mum and dad, and when Joy goes missing, suspicion falls on her husband as the police assume she is dead. But where does the mysterious Savannah fit in, and what secrets are Joy and Stan keeping from each other and their family? There is humour too and some great personality clashes. I enjoyed this read. #netgalley #applesneverfall

This is trademark Liane Moriarty; there is the deft plot, with plenty of clues dropped along the way that are only obvious as the book reaches the final chapters.
Then therehere is the dark subject matter wrapped up in sufficient sweetness, that is incredibly addictive. In this book the question of whether we must follow in our parents footsteps is raised. Whether this is vocationally or in personality. When the head of the family, Stan, is hiding his own demons and is determined to coach one of his tennis club members to Wimbledon, this has unforeseen consequences that reverberate throughout the years. When his wife, Joy, goes missing, his children are forced to assess not only the impact that his blind ambition has had on the family, but whether this means he is capable of murder. Throw an apparent stranger into the mix, and what follows is an addictive and compelling plot that I savoured.

It's a cracking read that had me wanting to go back to the beginning to see if there were any clues that I missed the first time around.

My thanks go to the publishers and NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to Apples Never Fall as I love Liane Moriarty's book but to my surprise, this one didn't work for me at all. It seemed to have all the ingredients to result in another Moriarty corker but it just failed to get there. There are some fascinating family dynamics that are definitely relatable, especially if you have siblings, and I completely understand what Liane Moriarty was trying to achieve but it just took way too long to actually get there and I admit, I unfortunately started to lose interest about halfway through and felt like the story was just dragging on too much. It isn't really until the last quarter or so of the book that things start to pick up.

I do think this novel would once again work quite well as a tv series and if it were ever made I might even watch it. But as a book, I'm afraid it fell rather flat for me. I'm awfully disappointed because her books are normally always a treat for me and I'm sad this one didn't hit the mark with me. For me, Apples Never Fall was missing that special element that makes this author so fabulous but I'll definitely still be looking out for her next one, though.

Apples Never Fall marks the return of the queen of the domestic-based psychological thriller, set in Sydney, Australia, this new slow-burn page-turner is a deliciously sinister story that unfolds when a seemingly idyllic family are put under the spotlight as their matriarch suddenly disappears. Joy and Stan Delaney met on the tennis tournament circuit half a century ago when they were both champion tennis players and have now been married for 50 years. They recently sold their successful and well-regarded business, The Delaney Tennis Academy, which became their passion, in order to retire peacefully. They are seen as a happy and contented couple by those who know them, but discontent has started to rear its ugly head. Even though they were frequently guilty of prioritising the game of tennis over both the health of their marriage and their children's wellbeing, now their four adult children - bohemian Amy, passive Logan, flashy Troy, and migraine-suffering Brooke - are grown, Joy often finds herself yearning for them to have grandchildren to enrich her life.

One September evening a young woman shows up on the Delaneys' doorstep; they had never seen her before, but she informs them her name is Savannah, claims to be a victim of domestic abuse and with her injuries on full show the Delaneys have no reason not to believe her. Joy and Stan both welcome her into their home due to feeling sorry for her and her awful situation, but a temporary stay soon turns into a permanent one. Although Savannah pulls her weight in the house by doing chores such as cooking and cleaning, it isn't long before the Delaney’s children become suspicious about her sketchy behaviour as she seems far too relaxed and at home in their parents’ home, and they suggest that it's high time she moved on. Then suddenly, on February 14, 2020, Valentine's Day of all days, Joy vanishes and the last text she ever sent to her children had been so muddled, incoherent and tampered with by autocorrect to even begin to decipher what Joy had been trying to say.

It soon becomes apparent to the Delaney children that their father is acting extremely suspiciously and he refuses to acknowledge that anything is wrong despite the love of his life being missing, and before long the police begin thinking along the same lines. Who is Savannah? Where exactly is Joy? And is Stan the one responsible for her disappearance? This is a compelling, engrossing and utterly masterful domestic thriller that is a character-driven narrative, and not only features plenty of thrills, twists and reveals but also has a deeper emotional side to it too. It's an irresistible and darkly delicious treat that takes readers behind the closed doors of seemingly tranquil suburbia as Moriarty expertly peels away the layers of a family to reveal heartfelt truths, deeply felt wounds and moments of humanity with her signature wit and expert observational powers. She has once again created a compulsively complicated and messy family dynamic. I just love how she uses the disappearance of a parent as a catalyst to unearth decades-long, unresolved issues within a family, but somehow does it all with biting wit, humour and ultimately hope. Highly recommended.

I really like this author's sense of humour, it shines through in her writing. This was an interesting, and different book from most others out there She certainly writes original books, that are out of the box.. It was a pretty long book, but well worth a read.

This is a book that really keeps you guessing about many things! What happened to Joy? Who is Savannah? Bringing all the threads of family life, sibling rivalry, sporting prowess and a disappearance together appears easy for this talented writer. There is not a moment that feels out of place.

I've read a couple of Liane Moriarty's books before and always struggled with the length - they just seem to go on far too long. This one hooked me in from the first page, but I hit a lull around a third of the way in and found it difficult to regain interest.

This book features the tennis obsessed Delaney family: Stan and Joy, plus their four children Amy, Logan, Troy and Brooke. Stan and Joy have sold their tennis business and retired, but their marriage, which was once full of plans and schedules related to the business, has now started to show signs of breaking down. Joy is desperate for grandchildren, but doesn't realise that two of her children's relationships have ended, meaning she's even further away than she thinks. The children get together at the start of the book to discuss Joy's recent disappearance, which is unexplained except for a strange text she's sent them all saying she's going off grid. The children discuss a girl called Savannah, who apparently randomly knocked on their door one night, claiming to have been attacked by her boyfriend, and then ended up staying with Joy and Stan. Could Joy's disappearance have something to do with Savannah?

The movement through time between the events of Savannah's unexpected arrival and Joy's disappearance really intrigued me right from the off, but there was a point around a third of the way in where I lost all interest. I didn't like the characters, the chapters became longer and more banal, and I just didn't feel like I was getting anywhere. I persevered because I really wanted to know what happened, but it felt like a chore. A lot of the exposition seemed completely unnecessary and some of the scenes were incredibly convoluted - having several years of history crowbarred into other events.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it and I can't recommend it. It's a brilliant premise but executed poorly. It's just too long.

It seems like such an appropriate coincidence to have an historic tennis finale happen just as this book publishes, as it tells a tangled story of tennis family, the Delaneys. Parents Stan and Joy have had their own impressive careers before opening a tennis school, and training their own four children. But success always seemed just out of reach, and the pressures only intensify the usual family frictions. In true Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers) style, we get flashbacks slowly revealing all of the dramas of the past, set against the present and biggest drama of all: Joy Delaney’s disappearance, and the family rift as suspicions land firmly on Stan.

To be honest, I’m not particularly interested in tennis or sport in general, but as a backdrop and setting up obsessions, it works really well. The four now-adult children have all moved on with greater or lesser success, each with their own struggles in life, all still tinged with that early history of life centred on winning and competing – even with each other. There’s also the contrast between the generations, too, with Joy looking back in retirement at the life choices she made, including the generational assumption that she’d give up her competitional tennis hopes to be a wife and mother.

The author has an absolute knack for mixing family drama and upping the ante with pressure-cooker like special circumstances, but on top of that there are so many extra strands of mystery. What has happened to Joy, does it relate to Stan’s own mysterious disappearances in the past, what secrets are the four children hiding? But then, ooh, let’s just light an absolute powder keg fuse: a mysterious stranger that turns up at the Delaney’s door one evening. Savannah seems like a lost waif, a sweet girl in a moment of need, but suspicions run everywhere through this page-turner.

And yes, page turner it is: all the strands of mystery just keep you racing through, wanting to know what’s happened and where the resolution will be. I was not disappointed, either: the ending managed to surprise and satisfy, both.

Recommended.

The Delaney’s are a well known family that ran the local tennis coaching club for many years. Suddenly out of character Joy the Mum of the four grown up Delaney kids goes missing. All they received was a garbled text about going off grid. Once reported as a missing person the police start to suspect Joy’s husband Stan of murdering her. Will his children stand by him or turn against him. The siblings start to disagree with each other about what’s happened to their Mum and who’s to blame.
The book is written in two times the present and six months before Joy disappeared. We gradually learn about how life was for each of the children growing up in the busy tennis environment. Stan wants a Wimbledon champion and Joy wants her children to do well, but is this the life the four children actually want.
This book is well written and has lots of detail, but in giving all this I did find I struggled in parts of the story. Also after the long build up I found the ending fizzled out a little for me. Still a good book though and worth persevering with the slow parts.

Wonderfully Atmospheric….
The Delaney family love each dearly. Don’t they…? Do they really know each other at all…? The new offering from the accomplished Liane Moriarty doesn’t disappoint. Tension mounting from the start with a wonderfully atmospheric opening and ramping up as this tale progresses to the finale. The cast of characters are beautifully drawn and wholly credible. A perfectly plotted slow burn, laced with a dark wit, showing this author at the top of her game.

Liane Moriarty specialises in big family dramas that are a little bit darker than they first appear and always have a strong mystery at the core. I've read and loved both Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers, but I think Apples Never Fall is my favourite so far.

The story is set in Australia and centres around the Delaney family. Thirty years ago, Joy and Stan were moderately successful tennis players but when their children were born they gave up the circuit and switched to running a training academy. While each of their children inherited their talent, none of them were good enough to take it further. The very competitive Troy is now a wealthy trader. Logan, who makes a point not to compete at anything any more, teaches business studies. The youngest, Brooke, forever playing catch-up, has recently opened her own physiotherapy practice. Only Amy remains a free spirit/problem child - depending which parent you ask!

This is one of those stories where if the characters had just sat down and talked through their problems with a family therapist, this would have been a very short, dull book! And if Joy had not vanished without trace at the start of the book, with husband Stan soon touted as the main suspect, all the Delany's simmering and festering tensions would never have rocketed to the surface. As the police begin their investigation, each character is forced to re-examine their past, and how their family relationships - and tennis! - has contributed to how they've shaped their lives.

Apples Never Fall is an incredibly clever, twisty family drama with brilliantly drawn characters that feel very true-to-life. Liane's skill is such that whichever viewpoint I was reading, that person became my favourite character - until the next scene! If the epilogue seems longer than one would expect, keep reading for a jaw-dropping finish! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Apparently there is a TV series on the way. I can't wait!

Apples Never Fall will be published in the UK on 14th September 2021.



Thank you to Liane Moriarty and Michael Joseph (Penguin) for my copy of this book, which I received via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

I read this on a Kindle, and have to admit that when I started it and noticed I had 6 hours to go my heart did sink a bit at just how long a book it was!
However, it turned out to be a joy to read as it's a good hearted, slow burning, family drama with themes of love and redemption firmly at its core.
Thank you to netgalley and Michael Joseph for an advance copy of this book

Apples Never Fall follows the Delaney family, Stan, Joy and their four grown up children. The story begins just after the unexplained and surprising disappearance of matriach of the family, Joy. With a mysterious stranger on the scene, the children receiving a cryptic text message from their Mum and Stan starting to act strangely, the police suspect that whatever has happened to Joy is something to do with the family.
I really enjoyed the way this was told in a way that gave several points of view, including a few from bystanders, so you get full picture of each main character and how they relate to the main story, as well as their own little back stories too. I also really liked the portrayal of a 50 year marriage, it felt so real, showing the ups and downs of living a life together and with the added tennis element, it made for a very interesting read.
LOVED the ending!!

I received a NetGalley ARC copy of this novel from Penguin Michael Joseph UK, which I freely chose to review.
This is the fourth of Liane Moriarty’s novels I read, and I’m sure it won’t be the last one. She has become well-known, justifiably so, through her writing, and more recently thanks to the TV adaptations of a couple of her novels (Nine Perfect Strangers is available already, and although I’ve only watched a bit of it so far, it doesn’t look bad at all).
If I had to characterise her writing, based on the books I’ve read so far, I’d say she excels at creating lively and totally credible ensembles of characters (sometimes small communities, sometimes neighbours, sometimes complete strangers thrown into a common setting, or, as is the case here, a family and their close contacts), dropping —bomb-like— a mystery in their midst, and observing what happens. The mystery side of the story has the added benefit of getting readers hooked into the story at the beginning, when we don’t know much about the characters yet, because as things progress, and although the author is good at keeping her hand hidden (red herrings, twists and turns, and deceptive appearances are skilfully employed), we get more and more involved with the characters and learn things that sometimes end up being much more interesting than the original mystery. That, of course, depends on the reader’s taste, and I’m a sucker for psychologically complex characters and for books centred on the connections and relationships between individuals going through difficult circumstances. Those types of books that don’t seem too heavy on plot, but they are like ducks on a pond: there is a lot going on under the surface, invisible to the naked eye. One has to be prepared to get wet and go diving.
The description above is quite comprehensive, and as I want to avoid spoiler, I won’t go into a detailed account of what happens. Joy Delaney, a woman in her sixties, a tennis player and a coach, and mother of four children, disappears on Valentine’s Day, after having an argument with her husband, without telling him anything and only sending an unintelligible text to her sons and daughters, which mentions going off grid. We soon learn that a few months earlier they had a house guest staying with them, a young woman called Savannah, and the novel alternates the two timeline, both chronological: one following on from Joy’s disappearance, and the other going back in time to show readers what happened to all the members of the Delaney family after Savannah came into their lives. The story is narrated in the third person, but from different characters’ points of view, mostly the members of the family (well, not so much Stan, at least not in the beginning), but also from others who don’t play a major part, like friends of the family, neighbours, and also the two police officers investigating the disappearance. This provides us with a choral view of events, and we get very different pictures and perspectives of the family and their relationships, as if we were watching them though a kaleidoscope.
This is a long book (and quite a few reviewers have commented that they felt it could have been edited much more tightly, but I enjoyed the pace and the amount of detail, so I won’t complain), which I would describe as a domestic drama/mystery, and there are lots of issues explored: how our perspectives, goals, and priorities change with time and age; changes in the role of women and their own perceptions of themselves in recent generations; who gets to define success and how much of an impact our upbringing has on our sense of self; domestic violence; anxiety; migraines; sibling-rivalry; the world of professional sports, tennis in particular; long-term relationships and marriages; empty-nest syndrome and the toll of retirement... Even COVID-19 makes an appearance. Personally, I was a bit sceptical of the inclusion of the coronavirus in the novel, but although I don’t think it was necessary, I feel it adds a little something to the story, so it’s fine with me.
The six members of the Delaney family provide readers with plenty of room for thought. I was much more intrigued by the parents than I was by their children (although I developed a bit of a soft spot for Amy and quite liked Logan as well, oh, and some of their partners as well), especially because of their relationship, which we get to learn plenty about. They had not only been successfully (?) married for over fifty years and had four children, but they still played tennis together (doubles) and won, and had run a successful business together as well. What a challenge! Unsurprisingly, we discover there are some cracks and secrets between them, lies (some they tell each other and some they tell themselves), some skeletons hiding in cupboards, and quite a few things still left unsaid. Although Joy is the centre of attention, for evident reasons, and she is quite a character, I grew fond of Stan as well, and the author does a great job of making us understand why the characters are who they are and do what they do, even when they do pretty unforgivable and appalling things. Savannah is also fascinating, though extreme, and although I am not sure I’d say I identified with any of the characters, I was hooked from the beginning by their interaction and had to keep reading to find out what glued them together and who they really were and would end up becoming.
I have mentioned that the story is told in two timelines, which eventually converge, and it is narrated in the third person from a variety of points of view. The changes in timeline are clearly marked. As I have read an ARC copy of the book, I am not sure if the formatting of the final version of the novel will be very different to the version I read, so I can’t say if the different points of view will be evident to the naked eye, although I had no problem working out whose perspective I was reading, so I don’t think readers need to worry unduly about that, although I advise them to keep their eyes open and not get distracted. Everything has a good reason, even if it might not appear important at the time.
The author’s writing is deceptively simple: she does not overdo her descriptions or use complex words, but knows how to insert small details and motifs that create a vivid and compelling picture of the characters, their environment, and their personalities. Even the dog has her own mind. Moriarty knows how to drop hints and sow doubts in our minds and is an expert in leading us down the wrong path, and she takes her time building up the characters, the background, and maintaining the suspense. The reveals are well-timed, and although this is not a page-turner in the usual sense, dedicating plenty of time to exploring character’s motivations and going on detours to learn more about the past, the action flows well, and everything fits in beautifully at the end. Although it does not lack a sense of humour, I found it, in general, more understated when it came to light content and funny scenes than some of her other novels, with many more quietly amusing moments than those that make one guffaw.
I enjoyed the ending and its several twists, although more than one ending, this is a book that takes its time to tie all the loose threads, so although there are aspects of the novel (more to do with what will happen next than with the actual mystery) left to the reader’s imagination, I particularly recommend it to those who feel frustrated when any aspects of the story aren’t fully explained.
In sum, this is a good example of what Moriarty’s stories are like, full of psychologically well-drawn characters, an intriguing mystery, and a novel for readers who don’t mind taking time to learn about the relationships and interactions within a family or a community, particularly when there are plenty of secrets and lies to uncover. And those who love tennis will appreciate it even more.

Joy Delaney and husband Stan have four grown up children. they have recently sold their successful tennis school and are looking forward to retirement and spending more time together.
Then Joy disappears into thin air - no trace of her anywhere or the bike she was riding when she left home.
Also missing is the stranger they welcomed into their home.
The family begin to realise they never really understood their parents and maybe themselves. Who knows what happened to Joy?

Another great family dynamics book from this well known Australian author.
The Delaney family look like a normal family from the outside with parents Joy and Stan and four grown up children, living their own lives. Joy and Stan have recently retired from their successful tennis coaching business after 50 years and now have to find how to fill in their time. But looks can be deceiving, undercurrents run deep and with small flash backs we learn that our childhood can really shape the adult and not all was rosy in Joy and Stan’s marriage. It all comes to a head when a young woman named Savannah knocks on the Delaney parents door one night, claiming to be a victim of domestic violence and somehow she is embraced into the house, especially by Joy. And then a few months later after Savannah has left, Joy disappears and Stan finds himself under scrutiny.
At times I really wasn’t sure I even liked Joy or Stan but their children did stir empathy from me as I felt they were a product of their parents lifestyle/job.(ie obsession with tennis). This book really focuses more as a family drama than a mystery of Joy’s disappearance and that was fine with me.
While I did enjoy this novel it wasn’t my favourite of this authors but still highly recommended.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

Not for me this one. I couldn’t get into it nor relate or like any of the characters.
I guess I you can’t like them all