This book centers around a group of 6 friends/neighbors in Australia. They all attend a barbecue at one of the neighbor's homes. There is an "accident" that occurs at the barbecue, but you do not find out what happens until about 3/4 of the way through the book. The chapters alternate between the day of the barbecue and weeks afterward but also provides the background on some of the characters.

The relationship between Erika and Clementine is difficult. When guilt gets thrown into the mix, it slowly fractures their friendship. Pack some patience when reading this book....it takes a while for the characters to develop and to get to the barbecue. ( )

Suspense

Another Goodreads member rightly compared this book to the old joke.. which also relates my feelings about the book. I couldn't finish it.
"Worried that their son was too optimistic, the parents of a little boy took him to a psychiatrist. In an attempt to dampen the boy’s spirits, the psychiatrist showed him into a room piled high with nothing but horse manure. Instead of displaying disgust, the little boy climbed to the top of the pile and began digging.

“What are you doing?” the psychiatrist asked.

“With all this s**t” the little boy replied, beaming, “there must be a pony in here somewhere!”
No pony here! I didn't like any of the characters or care about their lives and my rule is 100 pages and I'm done trying. This author tends to write this way in other books, but in a far better way. I'd still read other by her...just not this one. ( )

Moriarty's latest book is an absolute gem. A well-written, page-turner with extremely well-developed characters, who have complicated lives and complex flaws and motivations. The story centers around an impromptu, ordinary backyard barbecue, where six friends/neighbors gather with their kids. The reader is deceptively lulled into believing that this is yet another tale of bickering, young friends gossiping and
bemoaning the sad state of their marriages, but the book isn't that at all. Instead, I was mesmerized my Moriarty's ability to weave together such a layered, multi-faceted story, and then deftly and expertly keep it aloft. Some reviewers have said this book meanders, but I disagree. The fast, luminous prose wraps around the reader, as one is taken from the present to the past and back again in an easy, fluid motion. Nothing lags, drags or falters. The reader senses that something major will occur, and when it does, all the subtle, build-up culminates into a shattering and surprising crescendo, like the music and the relentless rain that are the backdrop for the story. Moriarty writes with considerable skill and flawless pacing. She has a deep affection for her characters, as they stumble and struggle though friendship, love and forgiveness. This is a warm, redemptive book with a big heart and much insight. As an aside, I loved Ruby and Whisk! Of the three Moriarty books I've read, this is my favorite thus far. A great, worthwhile read. ( )

Three couples share a traumatic experience that tests themselves, their friendships, and their marriages. This plot is a slow starter as we see the characters floundering in the aftermath, with flashback interludes that tell the story of the “day of the barbecue”, so the reader is kept in the dark about what happened until at least halfway through the book. The hints about the traumatic event kept me engaged as much as learning about each of the characters and their individual struggles. Each of the characters is flawed enough to be realistic and each has their unlikeable features, but the ones most affected by the events of that day experience growth as they deal with it over the course of the book.

Caroline Lee gives her usual fantastic performance in narrating this audiobook. Borrowed from my public library via Overdrive. ( )