Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Big Little Lies

by Liane Moriarty

DON’T MISS SEASON 2 OF THE GOLDEN GLOBE AND EMMY AWARD-WINNING HBO® SERIES 
STARRING REESE WITHERSPOON, NICOLE KIDMAN, SHAILENE WOODLEY, LAURA DERN, ZOË KRAVITZ, AND MERYL STREEP

From the author of Nine Perfect StrangersTruly Madly Guilty, and The Husband’s Secret comes the #1 New York Times bestselling novel about the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

A murder...A tragic accident...Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

5 of 5 stars

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This was a book with a LOT of hype last year. Well, I am here to tell you -- believe the hype. This is a story of three women. Three very different women who are all experiencing some sort of turmoil in their lives. We spend the book learning more and more about each woman and what secrets and lies are consuming their lives. BUT there is a twist, in the beginning of the book, we learn that a tragedy had occurred at the school trivia night and someone has died. While we are learning about each of these women and how their lives were playing out in the months leading up to the trivia night, we are also getting pieces of the police interviews.

This book made me nuts!!! I was lamenting to my daughter about how I liked the three main characters so much, and worried that one of them is dead. Each block of interviews leaves you with a small hint of who had died, but the hint would be vague enough to apply to any of the women. AAARRRGHHHHH! I could not get to the end fast enough so that I could grieve one of my new friends properly.

This book sort of had it all -- funny, witty, sad, scary, mysterious. It was about bullying, domestic abuse, single moms, fractured families, adultery, name it, it was in there. And amazingly, it all worked well together. The story was great, but for me, I thought the characters were top notch. They had layers to them and I loved peeling them off and learning more and more. Also, I felt as though most people would be able to identify with one of more of the characters. I felt a special attachment to Jane as a fellow single mom, but also related to Madeline, and her time as a single mom and her troubles with her daughter once her ex-husband asserts his parental rights.

Great book. I am glad I was not scared off by the hype.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 10 January, 2015: Finished reading
  • 10 January, 2015: Reviewed