Jane hasn’t lived anywhere 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 seaside town of Pirriwee has pulled her to its shores and Jane finally feels like she belongs. She has friends in the feisty Madeline and the incredibly beautiful Celeste – two women with seemingly perfect lives . . . and their own secrets behind closed doors.
But then a small incident involving the children of all three women occurs in the playground causing a rift between them and the other parents of the school. Minor at first but escalating fast, until whispers and rumours become vicious and spiteful. It was always going to end in tears, but no one thought it would end in murder . . .
What’s it about?
I just love Liane Moriarty’s work and her novels always have me on edge, they’re full of suspense leaving you hanging every step of the way, Lianes writing is the most un-predictable and I’ve yet to encounter a novel written by her that is predictable. I’ve never been able to guess where the plot is leading and that to me is the making of a perfectly written novel.
Little Lies had a surprising start to me, from the outset we are aware that something terrible has happened at a school fundraising event. We know enough to believe that somebody is definitely dead, who they are or what has happened is left completely open through to the very end and you’re not going to know any sooner than when you reach the point in the book where it actually tells you. Guessing what happened is nigh-on impossible!
Once the initial drama of the school fundraiser is over the novel follows a selection of middle-class mums and the everyday life of being a competitive mother, attending school fundraisers and having the smartest children in the school matters. Set in the small coastal town of Piriwee we follow Jane who has just moved to the area with her son, Jane is younger than all the other mothers and doesn’t have a fancy house with a wealthy husband like they do, however Jane soon finds herself being taken under the wings of some lovely ladies and attempting to fit it. It doesn’t take long for things to turn ugly when her son is accused of bullying and the drama begins.
My Thoughts
I know I said in my review of Lianes last novel that it was utterly brilliant and topped her previous works and I hate to repeat myself but I think Little Lies might even stand to top both The Husbands Secret AND What Alice Forgot. I can’t decide, they’re all brilliant and all written to such a high standard. I can’t say either of them is less enjoyable than another but it just feels like with every new novel comes another level to Lianes writing, I feel myself becoming lost when enveloped in one of her books and thats just what I want, reading is supposed to take you away from reality and leave you absorbed in another world entirely.
Little Lies is another breathtaking novel from Liane Moriarty combining elements of murder and crime with Romance, written in such a way that you won’t want to put it down. With each chapter comes a small insight into what happened that night at the school but just enough to keep your interest and leave you guessing, I would highly recommend it.
