Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

Hello everyone.  I hope you're enjoying a nice day.

Growing up in upstate New York had many advantages, one of them was fall.  Not only is the heat gone and the air crisp, but the sweaters come out and so does high school football.  I've already admitted I was a band geek, and yes, before someone asks, I did go to band camp.  No, we didn't do anything that you're currently thinking of.  Anyway, if you'll get your mind out of the gutter I'll continue my story.  Our school band was huge 670+ people.  We had professional drill writers and did a different halftime show each week.  I attended every single football game at home and away.  While sitting in the stands many kids would go to the snack bar, not me though.  We had these tall fuzzy hats (we had to shampoo them), when I say tall, I mean at least 10 inches.  My dad made me put apples in my hat for a snack.  During the whole pregame I would feel apples rolling around on my head.  Actually, weekly pummeling by apples might explain a lot, my sisters would definitely agree.  My dad was proud of the apples, he picked them himself...hundreds of them...McIntosh.

I recently read Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty.  This is the story of the Delaney family.  Stan and Joy have four adult children.  The family owned a famous, Wimbledon winner producing tennis school.  Sadly, Stan and Joy have decided it is time to retire and because none of their children want to continue the school, they are forced to sell it.  Now the family struggles with their new life both being free of the constant game of tennis and missing it dearly at the same time.  One late night there is a knock at the door and a strange young woman appears who has been beaten and is desperate for help.  She, Savannah, becomes a bit of a project for the newly retired couple.  Their children, however, aren't so sure of Savannah's intentions. When Joy goes missing, fingers start pointing in every direction.  

This is book is being sold as a thriller.  If you have read even a small number of thrillers and are expecting one here, you'll be very disappointing.  Instead, I think the reader is getting classic Liane Moriarty, a family drama with a mystery thrown in.  While this book is a chunky 464 pages and may have been able to have been cut down some, the story is easy to get invested in and a bit addicting.  Despite its length I never found myself wishing it would be over sooner.  While not like Nine Perfect Strangers, if you're a fan of Truly Madly Guilty or any of Moriarty's earlier books, you'll be very comfortable here.  Interesting and enjoyable from start to finish AND a must for tennis lovers.

Until a year ago my sister still played tennis with her wooden racket from about 1972.  People kept stopping her offering her money for it.  I'm surprised my brother-in-law didn't offer them my sister and her racket as a package deal.