I spotted this book at my local
library and couldn’t believe my luck. Liane Moriarty’s books are difficult to
get a hold of at my library and I happily grabbed it right away. But then I
found out the reason why it sat all by its lonesome – it’s not exactly one of
her most popular books.
I admit I had a great deal of
difficulty getting into Truly Madly Guilty. It started soooo slowly it was
almost painful. The author offered so few tiny crumbs of information for
several chapters. Readers knew something awful happened, but we didn’t know
what happened, why it happened or even who the awful thing happened to. We just
knew it was bad and it happened at “The Barbeque”. I soon found myself so
irritated with this cheesy writing ploy that I ended up putting the book down
in frustration, only to pick it back up several days later. Then I found that
once I got about 150 pages into the book it actually picked up and got a bit
more interesting.
Truly Madly Guilty is filled with
dysfunctional characters, with dysfunctional past and present lives. By the
time the author finally reveals what terrible event occurred at the infamous
barbeque it’s almost a letdown. We’re expecting a monumental, devastating
occurrence, but it’s not quite there.
I was not at all a fan of the dangling carrot ploy used in this book. It was cheap and unnecessary. I can see how it’s angered many Moriarty fans – myself included. I wouldn’t say that Truly Madly Guilty is a terrible book – I’m not sorry that I stuck with it to the end. However, I would say this is definitely not one of Moriarty’s best novels and I sincerely hope she rethinks things in her next book.
3 of 5 Stars, Review by Susan Barton
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