A deliciously sinister thriller from the masterly pen of Liane Moriarty, Apples Never Fall puts a seemingly idyllic family under the spotlight as their matriarch disappears.

The brand new novel from the worldwide Number One bestselling author behind Nine Perfect Strangers and the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning HBO series Big Little Lies.

From the outside, the Delaneys appear to be an enviably contented family. Even after all these years, former tennis coaches Joy and Stan are still winning tournaments, and now they’ve sold the family business they have all the time in the world to learn how to ‘relax’. Their four adult children are busy living their own lives, and while it could be argued they never quite achieved their destinies, no-one ever says that out loud.

But now Joy Delaney has disappeared and her children are re-examining their parents’ marriage and their family history with fresh, frightened eyes. Is her disappearance related to their mysterious house guest from last year? Or were things never as rosy as they seemed in the Delaney household?

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I can’t wait to watch the show! I loved the book despite it’s few shortcomings (and I’ll talk about those in a moment) because it depicts the mundane part of a family so well. Imagine having a loving father and mother, both married for over half a century – so much that they come off as a unit rather than individuals – and four kids, two girls, two boys. Happy home life, kids are independent although none of them have settled down long enough to produce grandchildren.

The mother, Joy, is like the name suggest, a pleasant little lady, always looking for the good in people, enjoying her married life and kids.

It all changes when Savannah, a beaten up girl shows up at their doorstep barefeet and hungry – because their house was the only one that had lights on that night and they looked like friendly people.

I loved how the introduction of a foreign element – this time a girl no more than 25, disrupts all their children’s lives as they feel like the newcomer is an intruder in their nest. With no plans of moving out, she is wearing their old clothes, sleeping in their old rooms and making dinner for their parents. They feel displaced.

The parents feel like they have someone to focus their attention on since the birds have flown the coop and as they themselves admitted, none of them had planned for retirement, their business with the tennis court was the only thing that kept them active and engaged.

Savannah is your typical teenager / young adult – even her way of talking comes off as slightly rough and uneducated. Thankfully her story checks up as two of the brothers meet the boyfriend who beat her up and he’s all apologetic, saying it will never happen again. She collects what little things she had (still in boxes!) and she moves in with the old couple.

The story in the book jumps between then and now, and way – back -when via discussions so you learn that Joy had disappeared, that the husband is suspected of murder, that Savannah has also disappeared and is searched by the authorities but with no relation to a potential murder case, just someone they are interested to have a chat with.

The gossipy ladies at the parlour are talking about a potential new relationship for the husband (with Savannah), the kids are blaming themselves for not being there more and the husband is stoic but silent on the matter.

The “then” part reveals a family where Joy feels that she’s glued together with sheer will and grit, being a mother to rowdy boys who got into troubles, girls who had migraines, a husband who expected food on the table every day at 5pm and very little help around the house. A traditional marriage? With the introduction of Savannah in their lives, Joy feels more relaxed and starts thinking of what she wants to do. Even her sex life is better (she assumes it’s because of a young woman living with them) but she does not blame either – she also admits of finding stuff to do outside when her neighbour’s son was mowing the grass shirtless.

I also loved the Australian background (Sydney) and the narrator of the audiobook does a decent Aussie accent to a point where I was imitating it without meaning afterwards.

I did say the book has a few shortcomings and for me it was the ease that Joy and her husband Stan took in a woman who just knocked at their door in the middle of the night. Have they no awareness? How many people were killed or robbed blind by letting in strangers in. I mean even the movie “Strangers” is about the same scenario!

Otherwise the book is good, each of the characters is well rounded and the story flows well for a mystery.