Book review! Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty. @PenguinUKBooks #LianeMoriarty

Blurb.

The electrifying new novel from the international bestselling author, Liane Moriarty

Despite their differences, Erika and Clementine have been best friends since they were children. So when Erika needs help, Clementine should be the obvious person to turn to. Or so you’d think.

For Clementine, as a mother of a two desperately trying to practise for the audition of a lifetime, the last thing she needs is Erika asking for something, again.

But the barbecue should be the perfect way to forget their problems for a while. Especially when their hosts, Vid and Tiffany, are only too happy to distract them.

Which is how it all spirals out of control…

What does TWG think?

I was introduced to Liane’s books not long ago and I soon became hooked on her enchanting writing. As soon as I heard that she was releasing a new book the excitement took over and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. However, I couldn’t read it as quickly as I would have liked to and I was incredibly surprised by the topsy turvy reviews of this book on Goodreads and Amazon. After all, Liane Moriarty is like a literary Princess and how can little ‘old’ me be allowed to review her books! Sacrilege!

Despite being aware of the reviews before I began reading, I did put them to the back of my mind as I wanted to make my own decision. I love Liane’s other books and my fingers were crossed that this one would follow suit.

The storyline predominantly focused on the background information; what happened before the BBQ from different people’s perspective. Every now and then the storyline switched back to ‘now’, teasing the readers curious mind.

Well, it most certainly teased my curiosity! So many questions went through my mind as different events unfolded. As soon as I tried to work out one situation, something else happened and I was left trying to figure out multiple situations and the characters involved. It is safe to say that by half way through, I became quite infuriated because I wanted to know what happened at the BBQ! Why was it such a big deal? Why were good friends now acquaintances? Once or twice, I did wonder why some pieces of information were brought to the reader’s attention as I couldn’t quite see where it fit within the storyline. However, if I had been patient and let the rest of the story unfold, I would have found out why those pieces of information were written. Every teaser, questionable circumstance and dodgy character traits, all had their own places within the story.

‘Truly, Madly, Guilty’ reminded me of a phrase that I used to get told as I child; ‘Never look at a piece half finished’. It’s the same with Liane’s book. If you try to work out circumstances halfway through the book, nothing will make complete sense. Certain pieces of vital information will be missing and you’ll end up being a very confused reader. Due to the complexity of the story and the emotional nature of the storyline, there is a lot to take in and can take a little while to settle into the book. However, it most certainly is worth it. I didn’t expect the book to turn on its head when it did in terms of emotion and ‘omg’ moments, so for me, that gave the story even more of an edge. Even though the background information was setting the scene for the big situation reveal, I didn’t expect it, it was as though it came out of nowhere.

I was constantly on edge reading the book and I LOVED it. Liane Moriarty has written such an emotional rollercoaster of a story that will definitely have you sitting on the edge of your seat, almost shouting at the book ‘WHAT HAPPENED?!’. ‘Truly, Madly, Guilty’ is very cleverly written from start to finish and it just oozes suspense.

Personally, I cannot see why anyone wouldn’t like this book as it definitely hit the mark for me. I thought Liane was a literary Princess before reading her latest book, but now? She gets promoted to literary Queen.

Another magnificent read from an incredible author. Absolutely brilliant.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher in return for my honest opinion.

Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty, published by Penguin, is available to buy now from Amazon UK.