Check out the #1 New York Times bestseller Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, called “a surefire hit” by Entertainment Weekly. “The secrets burrowed in this seemingly placid small town…are so suburban noir they would make David Lynch clap with glee…[Moriarty] is a fantastically nimble writer, so sure-footed that the book leaps between dark and light seamlessly; even the big reveal in the … seamlessly; even the big reveal in the final pages feels earned and genuinely shocking.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Reading one [of Liane Moriarty’s novels] is a bit like drinking a pink cosmo laced with arsenic… [BIG LITTLE LIES] is a fun, engaging and sometimes disturbing read” –USA Today
Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal. . . .
A murder… . . . a tragic accident… . . . or just parents behaving badly?
What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.
But who did what?
Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:
Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).
Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.
New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.
Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.
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There’s so much to love here. The characters, the dark undercurrent of seemingly normal, blissful lives weaving throughout the story, the whodunnit element is such a wonderful tease. Each chapter is so superbly structured you want to keep reading and keep reading.
One of my favorite books ever!
Loved this book! Such catty, competitive moms of kindergarteners!
I enjoyed this read and the show too! I read the book first and found the show to follow pretty closely.
Well worth the read.
I could not put this book down. Well written. Just when I thought I had something figured out there was a twist. Quite sad and unfortunately believable through and through.
This is, hands down, the best Liane Moriarty book she has written so far. I LOVED it. It’s better than the TV show on HBO.
My book club chose this book for November. It was well liked by everyone and portrayed the problems of bullying and spousal abuse in a very poignant manner.
I read the book (too soon) in three days. That is fast, for me. I couldn’t put it down, and even skipped to the end to find out who died. Then I had to reread parts for our book club meeting on the last Thursday of the month.
The murder mystery aspect was well planned with a surprise ending. I plan to read more books by this author!
This was my kind of book. Anyone who has ever sent their children to school will know about playgroup and PTA politics. Moriarty satirises the little comments and little lies that sometimes hide big secrets. Ordinary adults behaving like naughty children. This novel reminded me of the French play God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza.
I loved the structure that Moriarty gave her novel to crank up the suspense. We know there will be a murder, and even when and where, but we don’t know who and why. Terrific.
This was an excellent book! One of the better ones I have recently read!!
One of the best books I have ever read..and I read 4-5 books a week. Wow, just WOW! Highly recommend.
The characters alone will keep the pages turning. Another amazing creation and addition to Liane Moriarty’s collection of novels.
Moriarty is fast becoming one of my favorite authors, one I can rely on for a story with good pacing, compelling characters and some trenchant insights into human behavior. What more do you want? Well, if you’re me, you sometimes want beautiful prose, lavish scene setting, bad guys that stay bad guys or an ending that’s a little less predictable. But not always. Sometimes I want exactly this sort of story.
One aspect of Moriarty’s talent I admire most is her ability to draw me into the book, thinking we’re having a few laughs and poking fun at silly, self-absorbed idiots, just me and Liane, strolling down the garden path, shoulder to shoulder. Then the story takes a turn downward, and keeps spiraling down, until I realize I’m not in a garden at all but deep in a moral morass, with the muck of human weakness and evil pouring into my boots. The characters, it turns out, are not silly idiots, but real, complicated people I simultaneously want to hug and kick in the ass.
Oh, calamity.
This book is not your typical murder mystery. In the beginning you know that someone has been murdered however the ensuing plot leads up to the murder and how it happened rather than weaving a story that focuses on who dun it. The plot is a delightful and delicious drama of three interesting women and how they come together in the kindergarten class of their kindergarteners. The women are clever and witty. Although from different walks of life, their lives are engagingly brought together into meaningful friendships and when the story is over these characters are truly missed. Issues discussed and touched upon range from domestic violence to teenage fallout from divorce to romance and positive solutions. Jealousy and backbiting among unwitting moms are cleverly and wittily depicted with skill and ease. There is debth and redemption in the moving and very satisfactory ending. A delightful read!
It kept my interest throughout. Never dreamed the ending!
This was a fabulous book. I loved the characters and can’t wait to watch the HBO version. Great beach read. It’s a story you’ll never forget.
I saw the miniseries on HBO first, my downfall when it comes to “from book to screen” stories. After watching it and then reading it, I preferred the book. The way it all comes together for the characters and their intertwining stories, it was a very satisfying ending.
The plot gets better and better throughout. Took me about a day to read, I couldn’t put it down
Didn’t want it to end!
I had a very hard time putting this book down. From the moment I read the first page, I was hooked.
Meh. Overrated.