Truly Madly Guilty: From the bestselling author of Big Little Lies, now an award winning TV series

by Liane Moriarty

*** Winner: Best Fiction Book in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016 ***

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...

Praise for Truly Madly Guilty

'Wise, honest, beautifully observed. One of the few writers I'll drop anything for' Jojo Moyes

'Straight-from-life characters, knife-sharp insight and almost unbearable suspense will have you racing through' Good Housekeeping

'Brilliant, stand-out, superbly clever. Moriarty writes vividly, wittily and wickedly' Sunday Express

'A masterclass in teasing, drip-feed storytelling, this tale of three recognizably flesh-and-blood couples navigating the fallout of a disastrous social gathering is another triumph for Liane Moriarty. I loved every line of it' Louise Candlish

'Reading one [of Liane Moriarty's novels] is a bit like drinking a pink cosmo laced with arsenic . . . a fun, engaging and sometimes disturbing read' USA Today

''This book, about the tiny moments that can change your life, is perfect poolside fare' Hello Magazine

Praise for Big Little Lies

'A hell of a good book. Funny and scary' Stephen King

'The author of last year's bestseller, The Husband's Secret, is back with another sure-fire hit. Unputdownable' The Sun on Sunday

'This fantastically written story, with its little clues casually dropped in along the way, will keep you guessing until the very end ... Another compelling, funny and thought-provoking winner from Liane Moriarty. Do whatever you can to get your hands on a copy - it's brilliant' Heat Magazine

'It's not often that a book about murder mingled with domestic and sexual violence has you howling with laughter, but Moriarty pulls it off here ... Her ironic turn of phrases infuses even poignant moments with humour. Blending romance, comedy and mystery, this is a wonderful book - full of brains, guts and heart' The Sunday Mirror

'Another riveting thriller. Tackling difficult subjects with intelligence and humanity' Hello Magazine

'A compelling summer read not to be missed' OK Magazine

'This addictive new thriller from bestselling author Liane Moriarty weaves three stories together to a shocking and unpredictable climax' Take A Break Magazine

• ISBN10: 0718180275
• ISBN13: 9780718180270
• Publish Date: 28 July 2016 (first published 20 July 2016)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 12 June 2017
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Michael Joseph Ltd
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 496
• Language: English

Reviews

[gazmanic]

Just posting to clarify an important point that CPR is now 30:2 not 15:2 as in the story.
So 30 compressions to every 2 breaths.
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/how-to-perform-cpr
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/cardiopulmonary-resuscitation-cpr
https://www.redcross.org.au/get-involved/learn/first-aid/first-aid-app

[stressedrach]

I am a huge fan of Liane Moriarty and have read almost all of her books now so when Truly Madly Guilty was released I just had to get my hands on it.

This book focuses on three families, Erika and Oliver, a married couple with no children and good jobs, both had rubbish childhoods due to their parents so are made for each other. Clementine and Sam are a married couple with two young daughters, Holly and Ruby. This couple are friends with Erika and Oliver, although apparently not as good friends as Erika had thought. Clementine is a cellist and hoping for big things and Sam works in an office but doesn’t particularly enjoy it. Then we have Vid and Tiffany, they have one daughter, Dakota and a dog, they are Erika and Oliver’s next door neighbours. They have an extravagant house. Vid is an electrician and Tiffany spends her time doing up places.
The book starts Clementine doing a talk about a barbecue, Erika is watching the talk, hoping that it will jolt her memory to that day. The focus of this book is the day of the barbeque, the events that take place before the barbecue right up until the tragic event. Unfortunately you do not find out what this actual event is until about half way through the book. From then on in, we find that Erika is still trying to remember what actually happened as she had a blank spot in her memory about that afternoon. We also find that relationships are strained and the whole aftermath of the events of that day and a lot of guilt is floating about from all characters.
The book goes back and forth from the different characters and giving their POV’s from present day and the day of the barbecue but it does not get confusing as the author has put on the top of the chapter if it was a past event. It reminded me of a crime being reconstructed in some ways, but it definitely built up a wide and focused picture of what actually happened. The further into the book you go the more things are revealed and I was left quite shocked at some of the revelations.
Truly Madly Guilty is very much like Liane’s other books in the fact that it will keep you guessing but my also get you a little frustrated if you are not a patient person and wants to know what actually happened quickly.
I think the way Liane laid out this book was a great way to get the readers hooked, I certainly was. It was well written and although the event was not revealed for a long while I think that it made the characters more likeable and they developed greatly throughout. I like to get to know a character and you certainly do in this book.
All in all I think Truly Madly Guilty is fantastic read, it kept be hooked, which a good book should and I would definitely recommend it.

[Sam@WLABB]

Many, many thanks go out to Caitlin at www.thebookshire.com for meeting me at BEA and gifting me an ARC of this book. XOXO

This is the Liane Moriarty I love. I adore the way Moriarty weaves the lives of her characters together, and how she slowly reveals that piece of the story that jars you. Until about page 425 (I think), I kept saying, "What happened at this barbecue?!" When the "what" was finally revealed, many of the behaviors began to make sense, and THEN! LM throws in another interesting tidbit, and adds another interesting layer to the story. But, wait, BOOM! She drops another bombshell. The last reveal was slightly shocking, but I suspected that was what had happened.

I found this book an interesting study of how a traumatic event can cause people to look at their lives, what they have or don't have, those they love or think they love. The event at the barbecue had our MCs reflecting on their romantic and "familial" relationships. One big relationship that was under the microscope for the entire book, was the friendship between Clementine and Erika. It was a tenuous relationship that began through Clementine's mother's urging and had endured many years. It was interesting to see the cracks that both women were aware of, but never faced head on, and how it took this "event" for each of them to reflect on what the other meant to them, and perhaps, discover the value of one another.

Moriarty did a wonderful job of slowly revealing the layers of her characters. Some, lost their shine during the course of the book, while others were quietly revealed to be quite beautiful souls. The only thing I didn't really understand, was the need for Vid and Tiffany AFTER the event. They seemed like superfluous characters, and their "secret" did not really seem important with respect to the story. Other than that, I loved this book, and the quiet beauty of the ending left me with a smile on my face and warm heart.