BOOK REVIEW: Big, Little Lies

This is a book review for Big, Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. Big, Little Lies follows three women at a crossroads. There is Madeline, whose ex husband and his new wife recently moved to the same area. To top it off, her youngest child is in the same kindergarten class as her ex's. There is Celeste, who appears to have the perfect family and perfect marriage, but is struggling with the physical abuse of her husband. Then there is Jane, a single mom new to the neighborhood and so young that she is mistaken for the nanny and also harboring some secret doubts about her husband. None of the mothers know how the arrival of Jane and her son will affect all of their lives.

I have been wanting to read this book for a long time because of all the buzz. I keep waiting to read a book that everyone loves but I hate. Some books are just not worth the hype. Luckily this one was. This book starts at a trivia night held at the school where a crime is committed. It isn't long before the big reveal: someone died that night. The book goes back and forth between statements made by the parents to the police and the time period of six months prior to the trivia night. The statements given to the police don't really let you know what happens or who died. All of the witnesses start giving their statements of events starting six months before because that is when school started and everyone met Jane and her son.

Just like the title suggests, this book is about the lies, both big and little, that we all tell everyday. Every single character (even the children) have lies they are keeping from people. I am not sure if moms are really like this, but all the politics and cliques made me laugh out loud. This book covered a lot of issues: bullying, domestic violence, co-parenting, single parenting, adultery, self esteem, friendships, class differences, and probably some others I am not mentioning here.

At first I thought the book was a bit confusing with the bouncing around between witness statements and events leading up to the trivia night. But I quickly became engrossed with this mystery. I was so engrossed that I got annoyed with my husband for daring to speak to me just at the point when they were revealing who died and what happened that night. But he just laughed and left me alone. He married a reader; he gets it. I will not give away any spoilers, but I will say that the ending was a complete surprise. There are other surprised beyond just the identity of the murder victim. I am pretty sure my mouth was hanging open.

Such a great book. I can't wait to read her other stuff. I give the book a 4/5.