E. B. Davis's Review of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Reading Big Little Lies, compelled me to read three other books by Australian writer Liane Moriarty. There were many reasons I’ve chosen to review Big Little Lies for WWK: Unique structure, clever plot reveal, and subject matter. All of her books have elements of mystery, some involve crime such as fraud. Big Little Lies was the only one that I’ve so far read in which the plot revolved around a murder and because WWK is a mystery blog it is another reason I’ve chosen to review this book.

Ms. Moriarty writes in multiple POVs, a style that holds my interest on the page. I admire the technique because I know how hard it is to write well. This style enables readers to become acquainted with each of the three main characters in more detail and intimacy than from a single POV perspective, which for Ms. Moriarty is crucial for plot reveal. Plot pieces fall into place seamlessly as the reader receives clues from each character.

In most mysteries, the plot involves identifying the killer. We are used to reading the familiar structure of a whodunit. In Big Little Lies, the reader doesn’t know the identity of the victim or the murderer. Both are questions that prod the curiosity of the reader. Because of the complexities and complications of the plot, there are many potential victims and antagonists throughout. Choosing which ones and in what combination confounds the reader.

Ms. Moriarty also adds another element that I’d never encountered—third person statements by minor characters—giving their opinion of what happened. The reader learns, as scenes unfold, that the statements are those made to the police. When I first read these comments they made no sense to me. Some of the characters were unknown, but once introduced within the story, their loyalties are revealed, and the statements become comical and anticipated by the reader.

In Big Little Lies, Ms. Moriarty shows how bullying and abuse start. Cycles of dysfunctional behaviors learned by one generation are passed on to the next. The book could serve as a primer for

Liane Moriarty

Dysfunctional Learning 101. She shows how the cycles can be stopped, the benefits and costs of doing so, and the courage it takes to stop it.

The story focuses on the lives of three very different women who enroll their children in the same kindergarten and how the petty rivalries, overreactions, and preconceived notions of parents can lead to murder. The crime scene: an Australian kindergarten. We don’t think of murder as child’s play, but Ms. Moriarty suggests that the roots of murder may very well start on the playground.