If you like to read about bitchy women, you’ll love Australian author Liane Moriarty’s new book, Big Little Lies. Even if you don’t like to read about bitchy women there are lots of other things to appeal to you in this story such as, love, adultery, murder, mystery, domestic abuse and the complicated job of raising children in today’s world. And there’s a scene in the book where one of the characters describes erotic asphyxiation that prompted me to think about what the accusers of Jian Ghomeshi might have experienced. While this may sound like a downer, the book is actually quite engrossing. I found it hard to put down until I knew how all the pieces of the plot fit together.

Having read Moriarty’s earlier book, The Husband’s Secret a couple of years ago, I was confident I would enjoy her latest work.  The author clearly understands what she’s dealing with when describing life in the coastal town of Pirriwee, a microcosm of any neighbourhood we are probably all familiar with. The book opens with mothers preparing their children to start Kindergarten amidst the swirl of mommy cliques, economic disparity and complicated family issues. Modern women will relate to many of the scenarios described in the book and the author approaches her subjects with intelligence and empathy.

Moriarty’s books are not serious literature but Big Little Lies is a fun read and I got through it fairly quickly. It reinforced my own belief that living a life of truth is ultimately the better way. I have always found lies to be contemptible and require a trail of further lies to sustain the narrative, which rarely has a positive outcome. But you’ll have to read the book to discover the truth.