From the flyleaf: “If your mother was missing, would you tell the police? Even if the most obvious suspect was your father? This is the dilemma facing the four grown Delaney siblings. A novel that looks at marriage, sibling rivalry, and the lies we tell others and ourselves.”
In theory I should have enjoyed this suburban mystery saga about a professional tennis family with a missing mother. Moriarty’s trademark sense of humour and plot twists were there, but this one fell far short of the author’s usual mark.
Australian Moriarty has always been one of my favourite authors. I thoroughly enjoyed her earlier novels and promoted them, but the last two I have been disappointed with. This one in particular dragged on and had way too much backstory. The characters, though well developed through all of the flashbacks, were shallow and hard for me to connect with. There was a major piece of the prologue that was never explained, and the ending was strange, weak, and unsatisfying.
Some of her books have been picked up for adaptation to the screen in recent years. Nicole Kidman stars in two of them (Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers). I can see how the story line in this book might also make a good movie in the hands of a talented screen writer, starring high profile actors. So I wonder if, after finding success on Netflix, Moriarty’s strength has been focused more on devising compelling new story concept, rather than developing good novels. Just a hunch.
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