Well, shoot. This was a strangely unsatisfying read for me. The long tease about what happened at that dang backyard barbecue just wasn't quite worth the wait. Looked good, smelled good, but upon tasting it, I wanted more salt and pepper.

My reviews can also be seen at: https://deesradreadsandreviews.wordpr...3.5 Stars!! I really enjoy Liane Moriarty’s novels. “Big Little Lies” is one of my favorite books. I’ve had this audiobook for quite a while. I’m surprised it took me so long to get to it. “Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One small dog. It’s just a normal weekend. What could possibly go wrong?” This novel had a lot of characters but I thought they were all very well-developed. I especially loved the children, Ruby...

Truly Madly Guilty is the telling of a BBQ event where things go wrong. The book focuses on 6 adults and 3 kids so that every aspect of a family can be brought to the table. The first half of the book is slow as molasses and sometimes I had to refrain myself from reading ahead and skimming to the juicy parts.We get to know of the characters' past while the book is building up to this big reveal. To be honest I've already forgotten a lot about the early segments of the book. I thought the book wa...

Maybe I'm just spoiled by domestic thriller authors like Gillian Flynn and Megan Abbott, maybe I want all the wrong things from Moriarty, but whatever the reason, her books never pull me in. This is the third of her books that I've tried and once again I’m overcome by the slowness, the lack of pull… the sheer dullness of the characters.Perhaps I do expect the wrong things, but I don't think that's completely my fault. I'm starting to realize that Moriarty's novels are given titles and descriptio...

Oh geez, don't shoot the messenger here but this one left me flat. I'm a big fan of Liane Moriarty, but not only was this book about 200 pages too long, the storyline was weak, I didn't like any of the characters, and the "big reveal/secret" Moriarty usually puts in her books was a big letdown. Once it came out, and believe me, the almost 300 pages leading up to it was hard enough, all I could think was "that's what all of these people are going on about?" I think the main issue is that they jus...

This SLOW building character-driven story of a disastrous BBQ truly tested my intestinal fortitude, but I stuck it out, and once I made it to the half-way point (whew!) when the (ho hum) proposal is finally made, the first shocking twist occurred tempting me to stay with it and discover what would happen next.TRULY MADLY GUILTY is a story that entices the reader in Chapter 1 to find out what really happened at an innocent neighborhood BBQ, but when Chapter 2 begins, a SLOW progression detailing

Something terrible happened at a BBQ, a BBQ that three couples plus three young children attended. Whether this book works for the reader depends on patience, patience because it takes quite awhile before, we find out what happened. Not that a great deal, back stories of the characters, their thoughts, doesn't happen in alternating chapters, so it depends on how interesting you find their stories. Obviously it worked for me.So much is happening here, a troubled marriage, a cellist with a big upc...

Did you ever hear this old joke?Worried that their son was too optimistic, the parents of a little boy took him to a psychiatrist. In an attempt to dampen the boy’s spirits, the psychiatrist showed him into a room piled high with nothing but horse manure. Instead of displaying disgust, the little boy climbed to the top of the pile and began digging.“What are you doing?” the psychiatrist asked.“With all this s**t” the little boy replied, beaming, “there must be a pony in here somewhere!”That’s ho...

I enjoyed this very much but you do have to be patient! We all know something happens at the barbecue but the reader is not let into the secret until half way through the book, which is a long time to wait! However the author gives us lots of back story to fill all those pages and I found myself intrigued. The problem with such a build up is whether the event, when it materialises, will be as bad as we are expecting or will it be an anti climax. Fortunately Moriarty picks the kind of event which...

What do people want from their lives? What is important to them and what trade-offs are they prepared to accept to achieve their goals? And how do we deal with the surprising and sometimes shocking situations life throws at us? These questions seem to me to be at the centre of Moriarty’s stories of modern day suburban life, set in and around Sydney, Australia. There’s normally quite a bit of humour, a cast of colourful characters and a sting or two in the tale. I thought her last book Big Littl...

Alright, before I begin my review of this book I need to admit something. A secret shame. This is my very first Liane Moriarty book! Yes I know, I know! I can hear you SHARPLY GASP! Her books seem right up my alley, how could I have not read Big Little Lies, or The Husband's Secret? "SHAME ON YOU MELISSA!" I hear you yell! "She is one of Australia's most loved authors!!" I have heard such good things, but guiltily have never had the chance or inclination to read them before. However, this means

Obviously I loved this. I read it all in one day. Her books are so addictive—that's the best word to describe them. The epitome of a page turner.Like I said in my review of Big Little Lies, Moriarty is great at crafting complex characters. The 6 adults, and even the 3 children, in this story or so well developed and interesting. They have flaws and personalities that will make you love them and hate them. It's that complexity that takes this book from 'soap opera'-esque to engaging and compellin...

4 1/2 starsThis is one of those long, drawn-out stories that's more about character assessment and the hardships of life than it is a story based on its plot.This is about 3 couples and how they react and cope with something that happens at a BBQ one afternoon. By the time Liane Moriarty unveils the secret, you'll be just over halfway done with the book.I feel I should warn you though: Please don't expect the twist to be overly shocking, twisted or scandalous. I did have that expectation, merely...

★★★½If you have read any reviews for Liane Moriarty's Truly Madly Guilty, you already know that it all seems to be about something that happened at a barbecue. Be forewarned, it's much too easy to get sucked into the mystery of what happened...afterall, the hush hush event is brought up over and over and over again and appears to be something horrendously taboo based on how the characters continue to refer to it. But I beg you, for your own enjoyment, ignore these traps. Instead, meet the charac...

Another enjoyable read but I found it a little slow getting to what actually happened at the barbecue. I do have to confess though that I was getting a little bit impatient at what transpired at the barbecue so I did read ahead. It didn't really spoil anything for me as I guessed that it had to be something like that. It was a fast and easy read. I really do like this author.

Shame on me. I find myself rather shocked to have been so bowled over by a novel written by an author who I've pre-judged as a purveyor of chick-lit for the masses. I'm guilty of thinking myself too high brow, too science-y to succumb to the charms of a 'woman's writer'. Such a snob.I was wrong. Liane Moriarty has got it going on, and I will read anything else she publishes from this point forward. For those female readers out there who also regard themselves as more selective than the average w...

You could jump so much higher when you had somewhere safe to fall.

EXCERPT: As she reached the back of the room, Clementine said, 'I remember there was a moment when my friend screamed my name. Really loud. I'll never forget the sound.'Erika stopped with her hand on the door, her back to the room. Clementine must have leaned towards the microphone because her voice suddenly filled the room: 'She shouted, Clementine!'Clementine had always been an excellent mimic; as a musician she had an ear for precise intonations in people's voices. Erika could hear raw terror...

4 stars! I enjoyed this book! Liane Moriarty does a great job of grabbing your attention from chapter one. She throws multiple characters' perspectives of an "unknown dramatic event" at you throughout the first half of the book. She pulls the reader along, feeding their curiosity with just enough detail to keep them reading "one more chapter" to find out more. Even when you do find out what the "event" was (at about the halfway point), you need to continue reading to the end of the novel to find...