Review: TRULY MADLY GUILTY, Liane Moriarty

• this edition published by Pan Macmillan Australia 2016
• ISBN 978-1-74353-491-5
• 509 pages
• source: my local library

Synopsis (Pan Macmillan Australia)

What's meant to be a relaxed backyard barbeque splits apart a group of friends who can't change what they did and didn't do that sunny afternoon.

Marriage, sex, parenthood and friendship: Liane Moriarty takes these elements of our lives and shows us how guilt can expose the fault lines in any relationship, and it is not until we appreciate the fragility of life that we can truly value what we have.

• Long-listed for Indie Book Awards 2017.

• Short-listed for ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year 2017. 

My Take

My first reaction is that this is not crime fiction, but there is plenty of mystery, puzzles that the reader wants to solve.

There are 3 couples at the backyard barbeque, 3 children from two of the families and a childless couple. The scope of the book then extends to a grumpy next door neighbour and the parents of two of the couples. The first mystery is what happened at the barbeque, what caused it, and also what preceded it.  This mystery results in plenty of tension. So I'm not going to tell you what happened at the barbeque - that would spoil the story for you. One of the characters is going around giving talks about her experience at the barbeque, but what happened?

The second focus of the book is definitely relationships, things people say and do not say, things people do. Some of these relationships have been built on over decades, and perspectives on their nature vary from character to character.

The result is, from my point of view, a very long book, and perhaps at times I was guilty of speed reading, but as you can see from my rating, I did enjoy it.

My Rating: 4.5

I've also read
4.6, THE HUSBAND'S SECRET
4.8, BIG LITTLE LIES