What’s the word for anti-drama? Whatever it is, it might be my favorite kind of drama. I loved this book and it follows a similar anti-drama formula author Liane Moriarty used in What Alice Forgot and The Husband’s Secret to great effect. All three books start with a dramatic, Lifetime-movie-esque premise (in this case, middle-aged retiree and mother of four vanishes, possibly connected to a mysterious stranger) and then use this to explore the most fascinating details of… just, normal life… getting married, raising kids, […]

Stan and Joy Delaney have been married for fifty years. They met in their youth playing tennis, and brought their love of the sport into their family and business, coaching their four children alongside paying customers. All the kids were talented, but none of them made it. Stan’s one close call with coaching greatness crashed and burned when the prodigy dumped him for another coach. The family has its ups and downs, but they’re happy right? One night a young woman knocks at Stan and […]

At this point, I’ve read a lot of books by Liane Moriarty. I’ve liked some better than others, but I’ve found them all interesting. So, it wasn’t difficult to pick up Apples Never Fall (2021) when I saw it was at the library. Although Apples Never Fall wasn’t as compulsively readable as some of her books, there were some good characters with some dysfunctional family dynamics. Stan and Joy Delaney just sold their tennis school, and are figuring out retirement in their empty nest. Their four children: Amy, Logan, […]