I am glad I read Big Little Lies and The Husband’s Secret before this offering from Liane Moriarty. I was totally underwhelmed by The Last Anniversary. This was apparent from the length of time it took me to read the book after nearly giving up on it many times.
The story focuses on Sophie Honeywell, a single 40 year old who inherits a house on Scribbly Gum Island from her ex-partner’s Aunt Connie, who she met on one occasion. As you would expect this creates conflict within Aunt Connie’s large family, especially as Sophie decides to reside on the island which is inhabited by the family. The island and its inhabitants have a long held secret Sophie soon discovers. The secret revolves around a 70 year old unsolved crime.
I will not divulge what the secret is as you will need some suspense if you decide to read this book. I found the family secret not terribly exciting. Even the obligatory twist of events at the end of the book left me disappointed. I did not find any of Moriarty’s characters, who spanned many generations, endearing or terribly interesting and this made the reading of the story more a chore given I was determined to get to the end.
Apologies to Liane Moriarty, as unlike the 2 other novels I have read, The Last Anniversary is not one I would recommend.
