Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty

The sequel to Big Little Lies, which was made into a TV series, returns with the same friends now parenting teenagers. Each is traumatised, in different ways, by the death of Celeste’s husband ten years earlier, but they are attempting to get on with their suburban lives.

Celeste is haunted by her dead husband while trying her best to raise her boys, but her mother-in-law begins to act oddly, demanding up her attention.

Madeline is planning her 50^th birthday party, but is alarmed when the perfect boyfriend of her too-young daughter makes a very public proposal, and she fears her daughter is making a big mistake.

Jane is upset that, as her son becomes a teenager, her husband, Tom, wants her to have another child, and she doesn’t know if she can do it, making their marriage increasingly tense.

Bonnie is beside herself when her serene daughter begins to act out, making her feel rejected. But her anxieties and trauma from Celeste’s dead husband have ongoing ramifications.

Meanwhile, the death of Renata’s mother brings up difficult memories, and she

But then a severed finger is sent to the local high school, and everything begins to fall apart spectacularly, especially when a man in a green Volvo starts lurking around teenagers, causing the entire community to be on edge.

Big Little Truths is a slow-burn book that is exceptionally good by the end. Liane Moriarty is brilliant at shining a light on seemingly ordinary women and their complicated lives. This novel is written with care, compassion and insight.

Reviewer: Karen McMillan

Pan Macmillan