“The bike lay on the side of the road beneath a gray oak, the handlebars at an odd, jutted angle, as if it had been thrown with angry force. Four green apples lay scattered on the dry grass beneath the tree as if they had spilled and rolled from the bike’s basket.”
I’m Betty Martin with "Martin’s Must Reads" and those are two sentences from the prologue to Liane Moriarty’s newest novel Apples Never Fall. The story revolves around the Delaney family. Seventy year old Joy and her husband Stan are tennis pros who, until recently, had their own tennis school. Their four children were raised to be fierce tennis competitors, though none were ever good enough to be champions. Amy, the oldest, is a lost soul who has a job as a taste tester. Logan is a business teacher who’s just ended a promising relationship. Troy is the successful one, a rich trader. And Brooke, the youngest, has just opened her own physical therapy practice and ended her ten year marriage.
As the story opens a stranger, Savannah, appears at Joy and Stan’s door with a bloody forehead seeking shelter from an abusive boyfriend. They take her in and in exchange, Savannah cooks and cleans for them until a connection between her and the Delaney family is discovered. A month later, Joy disappears without a word and the police are called in. Foul play is suspected and the evidence points to Stan.
As the novel progresses much is revealed about each character’s personality. Moriarty is a master at seemingly effortless character development. And when the mystery is solved on page 411 of 464, you will be astonished at how she has made all the pieces of the puzzle fit. You must read Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty.
