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A review by daredeviling
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I didn't realize that this was the author who did Big Little Lies, which I feel like I liked much more than this one. Although both are about family drama and all, which I normally enjoy, there were large chunks in this book where it just dragged and I didn't feel like a ton was happening...which which be fine if I felt like I was getting some good character exploration or development, but I wasn't getting that either. I thought about dropping the book several times towards the first half, but for some reason, it kept pulling me back in long enough for me to finish it and give it a fairly decent (or at least average) rating.
My main issue was the climax/finding out what actually happened, because it felt like a cop-out and just generally seemed like it was not super realistic.Joy goes on a trip/charity thing with someone who admitted that she was trying to scam/get revenge against her family? This trip conveniently is paid for and is off-grid so that she can't be reached, and since she decided to go last minute, she never had to register for anything? Also, even if all of that did happen, I feel like someone who was involved in organizing this charity situation should have known Joy was there, seen all the media around her disappearance, and let Joy know that there's a situation at home. It was all just too convenient.
Most of the family members were also just generally annoying people, as well as Joy herself. I just could not get myself to care about any of them, so it made it hard for me to care that Joy was missing or any of the subsequent mystery. I did enjoy the way that the author framed some of the chapters from the POVs of other people who were overhearing the family's conversations or family friends or whatever, I thought that was a cool frame that broke up what would otherwise get pretty monotonous and repetitive.
I also just...never really felt like the whole situation with Savannah really ended up fully tied in super well with Joy's disappearance. I mean, it did a little, but there was never a moment where I was like "Ohhhh it all makes sense now!" which is the whole point of a thriller. The summary also mentioned the siblings facing off against each other re: their dad's involvement in their mom's disappearance, which was brought up, but it never ended up feeling like a big epic fight sort of thing, so that was pretty disappointing imo. And the book should have ended several chapters before it actually did. There was a natural ending, and instead, the author stretched it out to the point where it felt absurd and falsely "and everyone lived happily ever after, but also there's COVID" vibes.
I have another book by this author checked out of the library right now, so I'll read it soon and see if this was just a one-off book that I didn't like by her or if she's just not my speed.
My main issue was the climax/finding out what actually happened, because it felt like a cop-out and just generally seemed like it was not super realistic.
Most of the family members were also just generally annoying people, as well as Joy herself. I just could not get myself to care about any of them, so it made it hard for me to care that Joy was missing or any of the subsequent mystery. I did enjoy the way that the author framed some of the chapters from the POVs of other people who were overhearing the family's conversations or family friends or whatever, I thought that was a cool frame that broke up what would otherwise get pretty monotonous and repetitive.
I also just...never really felt like the whole situation with Savannah really ended up fully tied in super well with Joy's disappearance. I mean, it did a little, but there was never a moment where I was like "Ohhhh it all makes sense now!" which is the whole point of a thriller. The summary also mentioned the siblings facing off against each other re: their dad's involvement in their mom's disappearance, which was brought up, but it never ended up feeling like a big epic fight sort of thing, so that was pretty disappointing imo. And the book should have ended several chapters before it actually did. There was a natural ending, and instead, the author stretched it out to the point where it felt absurd and falsely "and everyone lived happily ever after, but also there's COVID" vibes.
I have another book by this author checked out of the library right now, so I'll read it soon and see if this was just a one-off book that I didn't like by her or if she's just not my speed.