Review - All The Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

Title: All The Bad Apples

Author: Moïra Fowley-Doyle

Pages: 352

Publisher: Penguin

Release Date: 1st August 2019

Blurb from Goodreads:

 The day after the funeral all our mourning clothes hung out on the line like sleeping bats. 'This will be really embarrassing,' I kept saying to my family, 'when she shows up at the door in a week or two.'

When Deena's wild and mysterious sister Mandy disappears - presumed dead - her family are heartbroken. But Mandy has always been troubled. It's just another bad thing to happen to Deena's family. Only Deena refuses to believe it's true.

And then the letters start arriving. Letters from Mandy, claiming that their family's blighted history is not just bad luck or bad decisions - but a curse, handed down through the generations. Mandy has gone in search of the curse's roots, and now Deena must find her. What they find will heal their family's rotten past - or rip it apart forever.

 Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Penguin*

When Deena's wild sister Mandy disappears, everyone thinks she's dead except Deena who is sure that Mandy is still alive.
Then letters begin to appear from her supposedly dead sister, claiming that all the bad things that have happened to their family are because of a curse, and Deena discovers that Mandy has gone to try and find a way to end the curse. Deena is determined to find Mandy, and as she tracks her down, Deena will learn about all the bad apples in her family.
Is the curse real?
Will Deena find Mandy?

Going into All The Bad Apples I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it - the blurb intrigued me but that's never a guarantee that I will enjoy a book. However, in this case, I did like All The Bad Apples.
I thought Deena was a good protagonist - she was likeable and relatable.
I also liked most of the other characters.
The plot was interesting and engaging. I enjoyed following the history of Deena's family, and a lot of what happened made me angry (which I'm sure it was intended to because of the themes of the book). I did guess one of the plot twists, but still thought it was a good twist.
Magical realism doesn't always work for me, but in this case I thought it suited the story well and I liked it.
The writing style was easy to follow and I would be interested in reading more from the author.
I thought the subject matters were handled well, and it's scary to think that women have actually been in the same (or similar) situations in real life.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, thought-provoking read that I would recommend.