RRR - Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Publisher - Penguin Books (UK)

Source - RealReaders

Blurb from Goodreads

Top ten bestselling author Liane Moriarty returns with another gripping read.

She could hear men and women shouting. Angry hollers crashed through the soft humid salty summer night. It was somehow hurtful for Mrs Ponder to hear, as if all that rage was directed at her . . . then she heard the wail of a siren in the distance, at the same time as a woman still inside the building began to scream and scream . . .

When a harmless quiz night ends with an act of shocking violence, the parents of Pirriwee Public School can't seem to stop their secrets from finally spilling out. Rumours ripple through the small town, as truth and lies blur to muddy the story of what really happened on that fateful night . .


My Review

Set in a small town, three mums bond and have a friendship strengthened over their kids being at the same school/kindergarten, they all have issues within their private lives. Loud mouth, opinionated and just turned 40 Madeline MacKenzie, her ex husband has moved to her town with his wife and child in tow. Jane is a single mum, very protective of her only child Ziggy, she is young and has always kept her little boys fathers identity quiet. Celeste has it all, beautiful, two boys, super rich and successful husband but is all as it seems? Celeste and Madeline were friends when Jane moves to town already and accept Jane into their duo. After a shocking first day Jane's son gets in such trouble that Jane finds herself and Ziggy ousted by a lot of the parents and subject to lots of negative attention. When a trivia night at the school sees all of the tension to a head, a murder follows and secrets are no longer able to stay hidden.

I have read this author before, The Husbands Secret and I really liked it. It was slow to start and this one took a while, for me anyway, to get right into it. You have people being interviewed after the incident, initially, their name and then what they have spoken, then the book goes back to months before that fateful night and the back story and build up begins. Parents behaving shockingly, bad behaviour from a few of the characters and you are left hanging for a long time to actually learn what happened that night.

I loved reading the slow build up, I wasn't sure I was going to like it and felt this way initially about her last book. However it mirrors reality in that you never know much about a person when you initially meet them. You have to chip away and get familiar with each other before you find out who they really are and Moriarty portrays this with her writing.

Initally, things seem a tad mundane, parents, school, the kids, opinions and such however it all works to setting up the scene and why events come to play. The book has some humour, violence, secrets, friendships and family dramas to name but a few of the themes within this story. Once I got into it I couldn't put it down. I really enjoy this authors writing, despite it taking me a bit to get into it so a 4/5 for me this time. Thank you to RealReaders for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is available to buy from the 31st of July, 2014.

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Review - What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Publisher - Penguin

Pages - 487

Blurb from Goodreads


Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child.
So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! She HATES the gym) and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, , she has three kids, and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes. Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over.


My Review

Alice has had an accident in the gym, not that she remembers, she has fallen and hit her head. As she slowly comes back to conscientiousness she thinks about her pregnancy and if thats why her head hurts. Upon examination it becomes clear that Alice has last 10 years, the last thing she remembers is being pregnant with her first child and being 29 years old. Everyone she knows is different, in physical aspects as well as personality. People are cold towards her, she has three children she cannot remember and her husband is abrupt, rude and showing no concern when she speaks to him. What follows is Alice trying to peace together the last ten years of her life and come to terms with everything she learns.

The story kicks off straight away with the accident happening immediately. You can't help but feel frustrated a tad when reading it as you, the reader are in the same boat as Alice in that your relying on others to tell you what you don't know. Her sister has diary entries dotted throughout the book as well as online blog entries from their older fun next door neighbour whom they consider family. From these you get snippets of additional information as well as an insight into who they are.

The story evokes a few responses, my biggest one was thinking back to where I was ten years ago and how would I feel. You also feel sorry for Alice stumbling along, not knowing whats going on but watching her personal growth as she tries to fit back into a life she has no recollection of is interesting to say the least.

I couldn't put this book down, I had to know what was happening, where Alice would end up, what would she found out and does she ever get her memory back. The few last chapters were a little up and down for me but overall I thought it was a great wee read and would pursue this authors other books, 4/5 for me this time.

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ARC - The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days

Publisher - Penguin

Blurb from Goodreads

From the author of the critically acclaimed What Alice Forgot comes a breakout new novel about the secrets husbands and wives keep from each other.

My Darling Cecilia
If you're reading this, then I've died . . .

Imagine your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret - something so terrible it would destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others too. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive . . .

Cecilia Fitzpatrick achieved it all - she's an incredibly successful business woman, a pillar of her small community and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia - or each other - but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband's devastating secret.


My review

This story revolves around three separate characters, we start with Cecilia Fitzpatrick, suburban mum/wife and organizer. She finds a very old letter addressed to her from her husband, to be opened in the event of his death. He passes it off as nothing and Cecilia decides to discard it, however events lead her to change her ,mind and everything about her organized, happy life is about to be turned upside down.

Tess O'Leary has a business with her husband and her cousin who is also her best friend. A revelation is about to rock their world and send waves of hurt and anger through their lives.

Rachel Crowley is an older lady, who years after her teenage daughters murder, is still stuck in the past and wondering who done it and why?

These three ladies will be brought together by the events that have turned their lives upside down whilst working through their own issues. This is a story of betrayal, lies, secrets and repercussions.

The story doesn't really pick up, I felt, until over 100 pages in but it really is worth sticking with. The long lead up takes a while as you are introduced to the back story for all three characters. The chapters are fairly short which is always good, especially if your busy so you can drop in and out of it. The author has a nice way of introducing the authors and luring you into their lives and the drama. The end really picks up and at one point I actually gasped, I hate when this happens in public btw, I honestly didn't see it coming. A really enjoyable tale, if a tad slow to warm up but worth it in the end. I would definitely read this author again, 4 out of 5 for me this time. Thanks to RealReaders for sending me and ARC (available from 29th of August 2013) of this book, and introducing me to a new author.

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