Truly Madly Guilty

By: Liane Moriarty

Narrated by: Caroline Lee

Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Here’s the best news you’ve heard all year: Not a single page disappoints....The only difficulty withTruly Madly Guilty? Putting it down." —Miami Herald

“Captivating, suspenseful…tantalizing.” —People Magazine

The new novel from Liane Moriarty, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Husband’s Secret, Big Little Lies, and What Alice Forgot, about how sometimes we don’t appreciate how extraordinary our ordinary lives are until it’s too late.

Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One small dog. It’s just a normal weekend. What could possibly go wrong?

In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty turns her unique, razor-sharp eye towards three seemingly happy families.

Sam and Clementine have a wonderful, albeit, busy life: they have two little girls, Sam has just started a new dream job, and Clementine, a cellist, is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime. If there’s anything they can count on, it’s each other.

Clementine and Erika are each other’s oldest friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don’t hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid’s larger than life personalities there will be a welcome respite.

Two months later, it won’t stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can’t stop asking themselves the question:What if we hadn’t gone?

In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty takes on the foundations of our lives: marriage, sex, parenthood, and friendship. She shows how guilt can expose the fault lines in the most seemingly strong relationships, how what we don’t say can be more powerful than what we do, and how sometimes it is the most innocent of moments that can do the greatest harm.

©2016 Liane Moriarty (P)2016 Bolinda

Critic reviews

Entertainment Weekly’s “Best Beach Bet,” Summer ’16

A USA Today Hot Books for Summer Selection

A Miami Herald Summer Reads Pick

“Caroline Lee with Liane Moriarty makes one of the great pairings in audio publishing. Moriarty constructs a plot the way God builds an onion...Before you know it, Lee and Moriarty have you hopelessly hooked until you reach the dense, intricately interlocked heart of this wholly satisfying listen.”--AudioFile, Earphones Award Winner

“Moriarty’s fans will rejoice at her latest title as she tackles marriage, parenthood, friendship, and sex, in this provocative and gripping read...This novel sheds light on the truths that we all fear as parents, spouses, and friends. It’s perfect for those long summer days, but readers will have to pace themselves to not devour it in one sitting.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“Liane Moriarty is one of the few writers I’ll drop anything for. Her books are wise, honest, beautifully observed, and—unusually—I can never tell where they’re going to go.” —Jojo Moyes

Not quite enough

As many others, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the release of Moriarty's new book. "Big Little Lies" by her was in my top 10 books of all times.
With expectations high, this story was disappointing. 4 stars is generous. I would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could. I'm rating it four stars because Caroline Lee as the narrator is inspired. She is amazing. Her accents are fun and bring the characters to life, the emotion she brings added more to the story than was actually there.
Moriarty is a master at developing characters, but in this book, there wasn't enough of a story to carry the characters. The drama in this book was almost non-existent which left the characters not doing much at all. When they did respond to situations, they overreacted almost to the point of absurd.
The book in audio form made it entertaining. I enjoyed the listen. The story however left me wanting more.

Truly, madly awesome

Loved this book! The author has a way of hooking you in from the very beginning and keeping you interested the whole way through. We get to know the characters so intimately and their stories are very real. The narrator is talented and gives voices to the characters that also helps us shape them. Great listen!

Worth the read!

Did Caroline Lee do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Her voice was hard to get used to- I pushed through because the story was so good, but I definitely wished the narrator was different.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes- the story definitely held my attention and kept pulling me back in.

Any additional comments?

Definitely worth the credit- really enjoyed this book!

An experience not to miss

Amazing characterization and insight to human nature - captivatingly portrayed by the most talented reader/actress. Beautiful , sad and touching story so brilliantly written that the listener completely relates to the emotions and situations being portrayed.

Complex characters

For most of the book I did not find the characters like able. But as the weathered their experiences after an almost tragedy, they were human as each of us has flaws in an imperfect world. We try to cover them, but until we can accept who we are or who we have the potential to become, I found the resolution satisfying.

Could not stop listening!

Would you listen to Truly Madly Guilty again? Why?

No. It's nothing against the story, the author, or the narrator - all were fantastic. I usually just don't read this genre more than once. Once you find out the secrets and what happened at the barbecue you can't forget it.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the character development, the multiple perspectives from the characters, and the suspense.

What does Caroline Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I love her voices, tone, and animation. She brought all of the characters to life!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES!

Any additional comments?

Don't listen to the negative reviews. It was a bit slow and hard to follow at first, but it really picked up and had good twists and turns. Some of the secrets were a bit predictable (especially if you are familiar with the author's works), but I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out the truth and see if I was right! Read this book!

Slow at first

Started out slow - but was brilliant!!! Huge Fan if both Author and Narrator. Would love to see this in a miniSeries

Splendidly suspenseful

In true Moriarty fashion you are swept up in the lives of characters that you truly care about and wish you could invite over for a BBQ.

I guess having no expectations was a good thing.

Would you listen to Truly Madly Guilty again? Why?

No as it was a little long.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes and no. I wanted to figure out what happened and then after it was revealed I figured out the rest by myself.

What about Caroline Lee’s performance did you like?

Caroline Lee is brilliant. I loved her and in fact she made this book come to life. I loved the Vid character.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I had lots of reactions. Erica and Clementine's relationship really resonated with me and I was a little disappointed that the book ended without anyone outing Holly. Sorry if this will spoil some peoples read so don't read on if needed but if I found out one sibling had pushed another sibling into water where she potentially could of drowned I would of definitely alerted the parents. This behavior to me is something that needs to be watched. What if it happens again and what if next time the outcome is not so favourable. It just didn't seem realistic that two adults would separately agree to keep it a secret.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book but then again it was my first Liane Moriarty read so I had nothing to compare it to.

Another engrossing story

This book is quite wonderful as it unravels unexpectedly. Simple yet complicated characters so affected by their past.