Apples Never Fall
Fiction
Henry Holt and Company
September 14, 2021
Hardcover/Audio
467
Purchased/ALC from Libro-FM
The Delaneys are fixtures in their community. The parents, Stan and Joy, are the envy of all of their friends. They’re killers on the tennis court, and off it their chemistry is palpable. But after fifty years of marriage, they’ve finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. So why are Stan and Joy so miserable?
The four Delaney children—Amy, Logan, Troy, and Brooke—were tennis stars in their own right, yet as their father will tell you, none of them had what it took to go all the way. But that’s okay, now that they’re all successful grown-ups and there is the wonderful possibility of grandchildren on the horizon.
One night a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy’s door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to give her the small kindness she sorely needs. If only that was all she wanted.
Later, when Joy goes missing, and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the police question the one person who remains: Stan. But for someone who claims to be innocent, he, like many spouses, seems to have a lot to hide. Two of the Delaney children think their father is innocent, two are not so sure—but as the two sides square off against each other in perhaps their biggest match ever, all of the Delaneys will start to reexamine their shared family history in a very new light.
This author never disappoints me. Many disliked her last novel (Nine Perfect Strangers), but while it was not my favorite from her extensive titles, I enjoyed it. I went into this one knowing that the plot was right in my wheelhouse, the family saga. I was correct in that this book is chock full of family drama, particularly when siblings have to take sides on whether their father could have murdered their mother! How's that for family drama? As is always the case, Moriarty develops her characters very well, and her writing makes a 467 page book fly by. You are kept guessing on what exactly happened to Joy Delaney, with alternating chapters from the time Joy disappears, back to the time six months earlier when a stranger appeared on their doorstep. I loved the conclusion of this story, most of the ends are tied up, but not to the point where it felt forced. The last couple pages gave me the creep factor, and put a nice spin on the book's closure. My one small criticism would be that it may have been a tad too long, but that's for the editor's to decide and is not a fault of the author. There was a nod at the end to the pandemic, which was a nice touch and made the time period current.
Lots of secrets, lots of drama, and great writing make this well worth the read, particularly if you enjoy family stories. I'd say if you were disappointed in this author's last novel, you will feel like she has returned to her roots in this one.
