Truly Madly Guilty

by Liane Moriarty

[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.