Every time I read a new book by Liane Moriarty, I think I appreciate it more than the last one! She just gets better and better!!!
I truly enjoyed reading this story about a family that not only played tennis, but whose lives were completely immersed in the tennis life! I've never really played tennis and I don't know much about it, so that was fascinating. I also really found the family dynamics fascinating! This is one of the first times I recall reading a book by Moriarty that didn't necessarily take each chapter by a different character.... I'm typically happy with that style of writing, but this slight change in format pleases me, as well.... I appreciate that Moriarty doesn't necessarily let herself get into a rut or let her former books dictate the way she writes upcoming books. I feel like she is an absolute MASTER of storytelling! This is one I'll go back to again in the future! ( )

Joy Delaney and husband Stan have done well. Four wonderful grown-up children. A family tennis coaching business to envy. The golden years of retirement ahead of them. Then Joy Delaney vanishes. How did Stan scratch his face? And who was the stranger who entered and suddenly left their lives? What are they all hiding? But for the Delaney children there is a much more terrifying question: did they ever know their parents at all?

This was a complicated story about a family, their various conflicts between each other, sibling rivalry and a lot of family drama. Things really get stirred up when a strange young woman gets involved in their lives. The characters are well-developed and there’s a humorous tone throughout. The story is a bit too long but all the pieces of the mystery of Joy’s disappearance are explained in the end and it makes sense. A final twist at the very end is unexpectedly chilling. An entertaining read about a family that cares about each other despite their conflicts. ( )

Liane Moriarty's "Apples Never Fall" focuses on dysfunctional relationships. Aussies Joy and Stan Delaney are retired senior citizens who are reassessing their marriage. In their younger days, they were accomplished tennis players and coaches who ran a successful tennis academy. Their four children, Logan, Troy, Amy, and Brooke were proficient at tennis when they were kids, and their trophies testify to the hard work they put in over a period of years to improve their skills. Joy gave up a promising singles career to take care of her husband and kids and help run the Delaney tennis academy, a decision that seemed sensible at the time. Now, Stan and Joy have an empty nest and a bit too much time on their hands. In this funny and heartbreaking novel, loved-ones squabble with one another and long-held secrets come to light. One evening, a waif-like woman named Savannah appears at Joy and Stan's home barefoot, bleeding, and distraught. Joy takes her in, Savannah insinuates herself into the Delaney household, and the newcomer becomes a catalyst for discord.

Moriarty uses flashbacks effectively and depicts her characters with care. Logan is a kind man who shies away from conflict. Troy is a risk-taker and show-off who wrecked his marriage to the beautiful and good-hearted Claire. Amy, whose emotions are never far from the surface, is still struggling to find herself. Brooke is glad to be rid of her soon-to-be-ex and hopes that her new business will thrive. Meanwhile, there is trouble afoot. Joy and Stan are a bit bored now that they are no longer working. More worrying is the fact that the four younger Delaneys suspect that Savannah is a liar and scam artist who could pose a threat to their family.

"Apples Never Fall" is an engrossing tale about the façades people maintain in public in order to conceal their genuine thoughts and emotions. Moriarty digs deeply into her characters' psyches, revealing their fears, dreams, weaknesses, and strengths. The author shows that childhood resentments do not always fade with time. Even well-meaning parents may be controlling and obnoxious, to the detriment of their unfortunate offspring. When a central character disappears, two detectives grill anyone with information to share and the cops eventually zero in on a suspect. Moriarty suggests that fame, wealth, and awards may be gratifying, but they do not ensure lasting happiness. Those who lack self-esteem, nurse grudges, and live in the past are likely to end up alone and bitter. Redemption is possible only if those who have been hurt or have inflicted harm on others are smart and self-aware enough to face reality, get competent professional help, and make amends before it is too late.
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The mystery in this story is about the events surrounding a 69-year-old Sydney woman’s disappearance. Joy and Stan Delaney met as champion tennis players more than 50 years ago and ran a well-regarded tennis academy until their recent retirement. Their long, complicated marriage has been filled with perhaps as much passion for the game of tennis as for each other or their five children. Then Joy disappears February. 14, 2020. The last text she sends to her now-grown children...Amy the bohemian, Logan the passive one, Troy the flash, Brooke who suffers severe migraines, is too garbled by autocorrect to make any sense of...and Stan, the fifth and the strangest child, refuses to believe or accept that there might be a problem, for some odd reason. Days pass and Joy remains missing with no other communication attempts...which is not like her at all. As details begin to come together the police finally become involved. At this point the mystery is becoming clearer when it jumps back several months into the past. Here, we return to the day that a stranger named Savannah turned up one day on the Delaney's doorstep, bleeding...and Joy welcomed her to stay for an extended visit. Who is Savannah? Is she’s an innocent, or is she a scammer, or could she be something else entirely? This all continues to remain unclear. This author is very good at only giving the small details such as the tossed tennis racket or the repeated appearance of apple crumble and the abandoned bike that's found by a passing motorist. The evidence that accumulates around what happened to Joy constantly challenges the reader both take notice to which are minor details and which characters are telling truths or mere half-truths. It became at one point difficult to distinguish between what are red herrings, buried clues, or out-right lies. The ultimate reveal is troubling. I finally interpreted it that the authors main focus was on the mystery of family...what it means to be a parent, or a child, or a sibling in the Delaney family, or in any family, for that matter, more than what actually happened to Joy. The story is funny, sad, astute, occasionally creepy, but absolutely intriguing. ( )

Liane Moriarty has created lovely, complicated, and heartwarming characters in this family drama about Joy and Stan Delaney, parents who run a tennis school behind their home in Sydney, Australia while raising their four talented children. In retirement, Joy and Stan find themselves with too much time on their hands while waiting for one of their independent offspring to provide some grandchildren. When a young girl, a victim of abuse, turns up on their doorstep, Joy is quick to step in as a motherly figure. From this act of kindness, Joy and Stan quickly become victims as their lives are upended, and their past lies are revealed. The tennis theme is used well in this family drama to illustrate the parents' difficult task of setting standards, playing fair while raising a family, and keeping their marriage alive while dealing with life's unpredictable choices. "Apples Never Fall" is a suspenseful murder mystery with an ending that brings it all together. ( )