Big Little Lies

3.5 stars I enjoyed this book. I originally wasn’t sure how I felt about it. For me the pacing was very slow, but I enjoyed the characters. I ended up having to switch to the audio, because there wasn’t enough going on for me to focus with my short attention span. I enjoyed the reveal and felt satisfied by the ending. I think the reason I wasn’t obsessed with this storyline was because I hated the school moms. They were so gossipy and petty. It reminded me of high school and drama just gives me anxiety.

I may end up reading another one of Liane Moriarty’s books, I haven’t decided yet.

Liane Moriarty has done it again. I absolutely loved The Husband's Secret and Big Little Lies ranks right up there with it.

From the book premise:
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 intertwines the fate of three women: Madeline, Celeste, and Jane, at pivotal footing in their lives. The relationship of one woman to next creates the backdrop for a murder no one predicted.

Madeline is loud and cocky and loyal with a pension for grudges and a passion for drama. She is struggling to get a handle on her ex-husband turned new and loving father and mate to Bonnie and their daughter Skye. In the midst of this, Abigail (her daughter with the ex) wants to move into the fairy tale land it seems her father now has. It's a crushing blow to Madeline, a hurt she wasn't ready to deal with.

Celeste is Madeline's best friend, but she's keeping a deep secret from her. Her beauty shines only for others to see, but behind closed doors she struggles with the ugly truth of an abusive relationship. She's trying to decide how to protect her twin boys from her berating husband when he's always so good to them. The juxtaposition of good father/bad partner creates a conflict central to Celeste's developing character throughout the novel.

And finally, there is Jane. Simple, plain Jane. She's the new mom to the bunch. Young and bitter, but willing to try again; and definitely hiding a secret. She loves her boy Ziggy beyond words, but who his father is remains a mystery.

When Ziggy is accused of bullying at Kindergarten orientation, a series of events kicks off that will leave no stone unturned; not for these women or any other parent of Pirriwee Primary School. Trivia night for this group of parents will definitely leave questions that don't fit neatly into any category.

This book is a must read - a tearjerker at times, a roving mystery at others, and example of friendship with all its ups and downs. Once started, the pages will turn themselves.

What a way to start the new year. This book is so amazing!!! It is scary because it is so real!!!

"Oh, calamity!" On the surface, Big Little Lies is a murder mystery, but it is also follows the lives of three women (friends Jane, Madeline, and Celeste) and tackles a lot of heavy topics (domestic violence, divorce, bullying, etc.), which is a hearty challenge for any author. However, Liane Moriarty does a great job discussing them with a balanced mix of finesse, humor, realism, and hope. Even though the book felt very front heavy, with lots of pages dedicated to back stories and character development, the author kept the suspense of the murder mystery by having every chapter end in character interviews/interrogations. Each interview dropped hints about the victim, the murder, and the murderer. My only gripe was the amount of gossip and unnecessary drama; it made certain parts drone on. In the end, the author managed to artfully weave all the characters and back stories together to achieve a satisfying ending.

Ohhh, what a juicy little book! Ok, it was a big book but it was such a quick, fast read that it seemed like a little book. This book has all the elements that make up the "mom" social circle hierarchy. It had gossipy, catty, over the top moms, moms with secrets, moms who lie. But behind the silly social lives of these women, lies a more sinister evil, one we don't talk about or choose not to see, the things behind closed doors that affect us in our day to day lives and interactions with others. The story follows the lives of several women who are all connected in the end. (Reminded me of that movie "Crash" but played out over several months instead of one day.) I thought the characters were so well thought out and believable. I didn't like all of them but they were realistic. There were many twists that kept me reading. Made me think about the pressures on kids today, the pressure society puts on women, especially women over 40. "It's because a women's entire self worth rests on her look. We live in a beauty obsessed society..." We don't want people to see our flaws or insecurities. "If she packaged the perfect Facebook life, maybe she would start to believe it herself." It definitely had all the school politics-the characteristics, emotions and feelings of all the characters was so spot on. "It had never crossed her mind that sending her child to school would be like going back to school yourself." I will definitely be reading more by this author. :)