I LOVED this book. Having watched the HBO dramatisation, I couldn't wait to read the original story. Moriarty's plotting is masterful, and her characters are brilliantly rendered. This kept me guessing until the very end. A brilliant mystery with real heart.

I'm afraid this one didn't cut the mustard for me. It didn't live up to the standard of "The Husband's Secret" which was brilliant. This book was too fragmented for me and the characters shallow and false - a group of silly school mums obsessed with their middle-class lives, clothes and activities. They seemed so superficial to me and I know I'd only cope with their mindless chatter in tiny doses. I didn't like any of them. They got on my nerves. It outlines fairly well the effects of DV from the victim, the victim's children and in one case violence that is historically revisited and also a victim-bully situation. I did wonder if it was detailed enough - these are all huge issues passed over carelessly together so became rather unconvincing in context. It was interesting about the theory of secrets and how they can fester often to the point of explosion. I shall post this on Amazon, Facebook and my blog

A great read, gripping until the end. An updated version of a 'whodunnit?' The characters are gripping and engaging, all women with very different backgrounds merging together and ultimately their lives becoming entangled in a devastating end.

I wanted to read this after watching the TV adaptation and I loved it just as much. It is so well written and I literally couldn't put it down. I will definitely look to read other books by Liane Moriarty.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Read this after watching the t.v. series.. it took a long long time for anything to happen. But dull.

This is a lickety-split, explosion of a read. Great characters, perfect for a weekend kicking back with a book. Thrilling, witty, moving; it'll make your heart race, bring a smile to your face, perhaps even have you shedding tears.

An excellent and intelligent thriller. This book has the uniquely addictive quality where it is entertaining, witty yet devastatingly sad all at the same time. The author does an excellent job of making us care about the unlikable characters. The book is far superior to the television show.

I love a good old book-to-tv or book-to-film adaptation as much as the next person, so when I heard that HBO were turning this little wonder into a TV series, I HAD to get my hands on the book and read it first. I am incredibly glad I did.




I’ve read Liane Moriarty before, having read her The Husband’s Secret a few years back and absolutely LOVING it, as well as reading and reviewing Truly, Madly, Guilty last year (but unfortunately not loving it all that much.) Because of this, I was a little bit sceptical as to whether or not I would enjoy it. Because of the hype, I was even more cautious but very willing to be proven wrong.

The story is set around the lives of three women- Madeline, Celeste and Jane – in a small beachside community. They have very different lives: Madeline is a hilarious, sharp and witty character, overwhelmed when her uncaring ex-husband moves into the area and sends his daughter- a daughter whom he fathered the way he ought to have, unlike their own- to the same school as her own young child. Celeste is beautiful, the kind of woman that makes you stop and stare, but harbours a secret that doesn’t bear thinking about. Her twin sons attend the same school, in the same class, as Madeline’s youngest. Jane is a sharp contrast to these beautiful and intelligent mothers – a young girl, clearly unsettled by something that has happened in her past, new to the area.

Someone has died, but we have no idea who.

Who committed the crime? We have no idea on that either.

I was instantly transfixed and pulled into this story because of those two little details. In fact, I was bloody captivated by everything about this book. It read like a book of about 200 pages and I found myself having to physically force myself to put it down for an hour here and there, to savour it for longer, to make it last the day rather than devouring it all in one foul swoop. The characters are incredibly believable and the book was just darn FUNNY. It’s very rare when a book like this one- with MURDER as its main plot line- makes me laugh out loud on the regular. I loved the way that the story alternated between differing perspectives and included witness statements of the main event – an event we don’t find out about until the very end of the tale. Everything comes together and there are absolutely no gaps in the plot; every single thing is accounted for and actually makes sense. I absolutely LOVED Madeline’s character and I’d honestly say that she is everything I aspire to be in life: hilarious, loving, fashionable.

This one of those books where you just want to forget every single aspect of it- just so you can read it and enjoy it all over again. It covers a lot of pretty difficult themes: mental illness, motherhood, single parenthood, rubbish parenting, domestic abuse, murder. You name it, it’s probably included. But that’s what makes the book so great: it’s relatable, it’s dark and it touches on issues that need approaching. It does this in a beautiful and thoughtful way.

I’m officially back on the Liane Moriarty bandwagon.

5/5 (Mate, I’d give it 6/5 if I could.)

The ultimate beach read. Initially I found this book to be a little slow, but boy once it took a hold of me it had me in a vice like grip.

The book is based in a lucrative Australian Community. As with all communities there are the haves the have nots living side by side with all of the jealousy and one up man ship that this brings. The story centres around the Pirriwee Public School. The new kindergarten class are due to start school and parental rivalry begins. You will find small town gossip, domestic violence, abuse and murder. Sounds a bit heavy? well it really isn't because mixed within there is a large dose of humanity and humour.

I'm a sucker for good characters and this book is full of them. I could picture Madeline, strutting around grasping the attention of all and plain Jane hiding her personality. Then there is the perfect Celeste who is not so perfect, if you look behind the curtain at the reality of her life. Moriarty has an absolute ability to hook you and draw you into her characters and an ability to change the story in a heartbeat so you get what you least expect.

This is a fun book which pulls you along and then reels you in. It really is the perfect beach read.

I'm so glad I read this book before watching the TV series. I think I had underestimated the story a little (after all, it's about parents living on Sydney's northern beaches) but all the elements are there for it to transfer well to the screen: excellent structure; tension that builds to a great intensity; strong characters that jump off the page. I'm blessed with the inability to predict endings so I was really surprised by it, but perhaps other people saw it coming. Either way, a juicy read, perfect for the beach this summer.

Great book, more detail and nuance as you would expect when compared to the TV series. Worth reading to get deeper.

I had a few goes at getting into this book as the beginning just felt like a zany humour genre book which is really not my thing. I only persisted as I'd read Truly Madly Deeply by the same author which I'd really enjoyed.

The whole first chapter is Mrs Patty Ponder talking to Marie Antoinette (a cat) about events at Pirriwee Public (a school). I found the dialogue ludicrous and grating. The chapter finished with vignettes from thirteen characters we hadn't heard from yet giving their thoughts about whatever had happened at the school. These vignettes were after each chapter and it was only towards the end that I realised they were part of statements given to the police after a murder.

The remainder of the book is long and drawn out with chapters moving on in the time towards the school Trivia Night when the murder takes place. I didn’t relate to any of the characters. They were either thoroughly unpleasant (especially the wife beater) but at times just felt like gossiping parents at the school gates.

The reader doesn't find out who was murdered until 90% of the way through the book and the remaining 10% was interesting but rushed. It felt like a long boring read to get that far with many clichéd characters.

I'm a bit late to the party with this book. I remember my friends raving about it when it first came out, and I kept meaning to read it but somehow never got around to it. Then I saw the TV series advertised on Sky and thought I'd watch that instead - and had to give up after one episode because I found it so boring! Yet my friends had loved the book! So when I had another chance to download it, this time I said 'Yes, please!' I'm so glad I did!

The story is about a group of women who live in an Australian beach town called Pirriwee (in the TV series it was set in America). They have young children who have started at the local school. Despite their apparent 'perfect' lives, they all have very real problems. Madeline is struggling with her relationship with her teenage daughter. To tell you Celeste's secret would be a bit of a spoiler, but you'll work it out for yourself. Jane's reason for constantly moving house comes out a bit later.

The story starts with a death on school Trivia Night. Was it murder? The police think so, and each chapter ends with a statement from one of the characters about what they think has happened and who they think is guilty. The reader doesn't find out anything until the end, not even the name of the victim, but to be honest I didn't care who was murdered or why! I was having far too much fun reading about the lives of these fascinating women!

The strength of the book is in the horribly realistic characters. I recognised myself, my friends, the mothers at my children's school... All the rivalries, misunderstandings, petty jealousies... The way a small, insignificant incident can be twisted and blown out of proportion. In some ways the mothers behaved more like children than their offspring! By turns hilariously funny and desperately sad, the dialogue is full of classic one-liners - but the real skill of the author is her ability to observe and recreate everyday life, and yet make it so relatable and entertaining. I am in awe.

In theory, I should have hated Big Little Lies. I prefer escapism in the books I read and tend to avoid anything with a domestic setting or serious issues. So it just goes to show, you should always try reading something out of your comfort zone!

One of my favourite books this year!

I've read a few of Liane Moriarty's books now and loved them, and this was no exception. Written in a slightly different style than her other books. It flips back and forth but also there are inserted into the story the viewpoint of witnesses perception of what they think happened on "the trivia night". This really adds to the tension of what on earth did happen that night.
The book counts down from six months before the night up until the night itself and then the present day. Through this time we get to know each of the characters and find out more than their so called friends do about them and their lives.
Liane paints such a realistic picture of the small community and how the parents all interact at the school. I found the Blonde bombs parents as they are nicknamed hilarious and I am sure true to life. The small minded busy bodies who begin with other parents to make life very uncomfortable for one of the parents after a playground incident - but did it really happen the way it seems to have done?
Although you know from the outset that there has been a murder I kept wondering who it was that was dead, and I never worked it out. A few twists some nice, some not so nice and it was a pleasant change not to have been able to see them coming.
I'm giving this book four out of five stars. Only because I felt it was a little long for my taste.
My thanks go to Netgalley for a free copy of the book to review.

I've had a copy of this book for quite a while - over two years at least - because I remember when I opened the book post as it came with a daisy chain head band too. The copy I have even has the original title - Little lies. So quite a while. I've only recently gotten around to reading it to coincide with the TV series starting, as I prefer to read a story before watching an adaption. I am particularly glad I read the story first in this case because, once again as with The Girl On The Train, the setting is completely different! Usually that would really bug me, but since I was fortunate enough to holiday in Monterey last Summer I have seen fit to forgive as it meant I could reminisce and point at the screen and exclaim wildly that "I'd been there!".

The story follows the families of Pirriwee. There are three main families focused on throughout the novel primarily featuring the mothers in each family - Jane, Madeline and Celeste. Jane is a single mother to her son Ziggy, making the move to Pirriwee to give him a better life. Celeste is mum to twin boys and wife to the gorgeous, and on the outside seemingly perfect, Perry. Madeline is mother to three children and wife to Ed. Each of the women have completely different family circumstances yet their friendship bond is incredibly strong.

Madeline was the most prominent of the three main characters for me. She is the centre of most dramas, either accidentally or on purpose and she enjoys meddling in her friends life - although there is a fine line between meddling and helping which Madeleine rarely recognises and always crosses. Celeste is an ethereal beauty who never seems tethered to the story throughout. Her storyline is perhaps the most disturbing and turbulent. Her strength of character really develops as the story goes on and I found myself coming to admire her. Jane's backstory unfolds throughout and features heavily in the twists throughout the novel.

The novel is told in chronological order leading up to the incident which isn't fully disclosed until near the end of the story. Interspersed between chapters are extracts from witness statements giving glimpses into incidents leading up to the main event, opinions of characters and a slight, only very slight, insight into what might have actually happened. Your interested will be piqued from the very beginning of this story and the way that Moriarty has spun the story it will keep you guessing right until the very end.

I'm definitely glad I read the book before watching the series as there were many things that were changed or completely unique from the book that it would have annoyed me if I'd gone back and read the book at a later date. I'm definitely looking forward to reading Truly, Madly, Guilty and again will do so before the adaption.

I've never read anything by Liane Moriarty, and I'll be honest, I probably never would have, if it weren't the HBO series. I don't venture into women's fiction often, but as a bookworm, if I hear a TV show or movie is based on a book, I don't care what genre it's in, you bet your ass imma read that (that is how I discovered Harry Potter, at the tender age of 12).

Big Little Lies takes place in the perfectly perfect Australian suburban town of Pirriwee, where rich, beautiful, and self-absorbed moms take Kindergarten far too seriously. When single mom Jane moves to Pirriwee with her young son Ziggy, and befriends fellow moms Madeline and Celeste, their lives begin to unravel, secrets come to light, and a Parent Trivia Night ends tragically. But who is dead? How did it happen? And who is responsible?

The mystery element in Big Little Lies is really what piqued my interest, and what a mystery it is. Not only do we not know who the culprit is, we also don't know who the victim is... Or even if there is a culprit! Is this a murder? A tragic accident? Who? What? Where??

But while I may have come for the mystery, I stayed for the characters. It took quite a few chapters for me to warm up to these women, who come across annoyingly superficial at first. Moriarty does a brilliant job of peeling back the layers of each woman, breaking through the stereotypes she sets up, to the flawed, insecure moms underneath, and creating real characters whose relationships you become invested in. At first glance, all we see is the glossy 'mommy wars' and the over parenting, but as we delve deeper, we're faced with issues of bullying, abuse, and tragic pasts, and we see how these issues have shaped these three women. I think it's hard not to care for them, and the more I read, the more anxious I became that one of them was dead.

The format is also quite interesting, with the main action leading up to the disastrous Trivia Night broken up by little gossipy snippets from after said Trivia Night, offering clues to what really went down. I didn't like these at first, because I had no clue who these people were, and it was all confusing as heck, but as the novel progressed, they grew on me, and I can appreciate them for the clever little suspense device they are.

With so little information to go on, I didn't figure out all the answers to the big mystery until very late on, which was fun. The twists involving Jane and Celeste weren't that elusive, but even though I knew what was coming, they still played out nicely.

I didn't think I'd enjoy Big Little Lies as much as I did, but after a shaky start, I couldn't put it down. If you've yet to watch the series, I recommend you read this first, because let's be honest, the book is always better. And if you've never read anything by Liane Moriarty before, this may be a good place to start.

This book was every bit as good as expectations led me to believe! After the hype this has been getting, due to the TV adaptation starring Nicole Kidman, I was intrigued and yet hesitant to start this. Upon reading it I could see how this would translate well to screen, due to the thrilling nature of the plot and the innovative physical lay-out of the narrative.

Single mother Jane, and son Ziggy, are escaping a troubled past. They find themselves in a new state, with a new home, and each with their own new group of friends. Whilst Ziggy has his own school-yard disturbances, it also remains to be seen if the ferocious band of mothers that Jane has aligned herself with will be her saviours or if their behaviour will draw her back to the past she struggles to separate herself from.

On the surface, this reads like an episode of Desperate Housewives. There is a focus on the societal pecking order of the kindergarten mothers and the angsty feuds and bitchy clique wars that ensue in the playground. There is, however, an emerging darker side to the narrative that is both fuelled by and often hidden by the more obvious surrounding drama.

This is not a short book, and yet it reads like one due to both the compelling nature of the story and the clever composition of the novel. Multiple POV chapters are interspersed with, what appear to be, press statements from other side-characters, made after some climatic event has occurred. These both flavour the story, as well as adding additional insights into perspectives not otherwise known to the reader. Much of these involved reading between the lines to garner the true meaning, and the often ridiculous and petty focus added much needed hilarity to an otherwise tense tale.

As the drama is heightened and the characters' secrets are slowly revealed, the final scene sees every layer of intrigue brought to a climatic closure, with an unguessable and tragic result that had me open-mouthed long after turning the final page.

tl:dr - I really enjoyed this and recommend it!

Madeline, Celeste and Jane are the three female protagonists who take centre stage in a plethora of characters who make up this mysterious, intriguing and often very entertaining story about ex-husbands, school yard cliques, mothers, their children and so many lies.

As the story opens we learn that someone has died, we don't know who or how or why and this intrigue is what propels the reader forward as the narrative winds back in time to allow the events of the story to be revealed and all the history tied into it. The narrative toggles in third person narrative between the viewpoint of the afore three mentioned women. School yard gossip and hearsay from after the death of the character is littered between the viewpoints of the past to leave subtle clues and nuggets of information for the reader.

Big, Little, Lies is a slow build in terms of the mystery element, but I must say it entertained me from the start with the engaging fast paced style of the narrative, the banter between the characters, their dialogue and the present day gossip interspersed between the telling. I have not yet watched the TV show but from the novel I imagine it would be brilliant viewing given the distinctive personality of the three women at the heart of this story. I persuaded my local book club to make this our book for May and I'm happy to report that the consensus was that BIG,LITTLE,LIES is a thoroughly entertaining, great read!

Jane hasn't lived anywhere for longer than six months since her son was born five years ago. She keeps moving in an attempt to escape her past. Now the idyllic coastal town of Pirriwee has pulled her to its shores and Jane feels as if she finally belongs. She finds friends in the feisty Madeline and the incredibly beautiful Celeste, two women with seemingly perfect lives - and their own secrets.
Okay I confess I succumbed to the hype surrounding this novel and the subsequent tv system. I didn’t watch the tv version, instead wanted to read the book ‘cold’ as it were. And what a book! The style of writing draws you in. I loved the little vignettes from those people at the scene of the murder. I loved the hidden problems in the three women’s lives. I loved not knowing who had been killed and who the murderer was. In fact, you guessed it, I loved the whole thing! A great novel that I hated having to put down, when life got in the way of my reading!