Book Reviews : Liane Moriarty's Novels

If you are anything like me you are missing the television series Big Little Lies. Since there has been no official confirmation there will be a season three of the ground breaking show, I have found the best way to get my fix of drama…binge reading Liane Moriarty’s other books. When I walked into my local bookstore and I picked up the following three books the lovely girl at the check out said “Looks like you sure did love Big Little Lies.” I sure did and it will always be one of my most favourite books. For a review of Big Little Lies have a read of my pervious blog post but if you want to know if Liane Moritary can keep up the excellent plot twists in all her novels read below…. Spoiler, she can. 

1. The Husband’s Secret

If you’re looking for something similar to Big Little Lies filled with drama and twists then this should be your next read. It follows the stories of three women in Sydney, Australia who are all connected to the same Catholic primary school. 

Celia is a mum of three young girls; she is one of the best Tupperware salespeople in the country and throws elaborately themed children’s parties. One day while looking through a box Celia finds a letter addressed to her from her husband John-Paul. From the yellow appearance of the envelope it appears to be written years ago. The instructions on the envelope say to only be open upon John-Paul’s death. Celia is tempted to open it. She knows all her friend’s would tell her to open it. Celia doesn’t want to disrespect her husband by going against his wishes but soon her imagination takes over. What is her husband’s secret?

Tess has returned to Sydney with her young son to move in with her mother. Her husband has delivered a devastating secret to her and she has left him behind in Melbourne. Tess was always the busy career woman running her own business to great success and not putting up with any non-sense from annoying customers. Now she has the first chance to take a break from work and to spend time with her mother and her son. Tess soon starts a romance with an old flame, her son’s new P.E teacher Connor Whitby, but does he also have a secret that could hurt Tess?

Rachel O’Leary is the elderly school receptionist at the Catholic school that Celia’s daughters and Tess’s son attend. Rachel’s teenage daughter was tragically murdered many years before. The beautiful Janie was found in a park clutching rosary beads. Now as she watches women like Tess and Celia every day with their young children, knowing her daughter would have been of a similar age now. Her heart continues to hurt, as it always has. At the end of this novel we learn another heart breaking secret from Rachel’s husband, who passed away many years before without knowing why his lovely daughter was taken from this world. 

While this book has some questionable messages in regards to violence against women. Knowing Moriarty and her history of covering such a difficult topic, it is reasonable to come to the conclusion that this was a deliberate provocative comment on how society views women. Just as Big Little Lies did, this novel showed that women aren’t just mothers, daughters or wives; their importance is not in conjunction to the men who surround them. Women have many depths and even when they seem stereotypical, there is always more that meets the eye because we all have secrets. 

2. What Alice Forgot

Alice Love is waking from a lovely dream with a terrible headache. It feels like someone has hit her over her head. Her main concern is for her unborn baby. She is delirious. Alice has woken up to find herself all sweaty and in a gym. A GYM OF ALL PLACES! Alice doesn’t do gyms. She apparently was doing some type of ridiculous step class when she fell and hit her head. Soon paramedics, one that looks remarkably like George Clooney, were wheeling her out on a stretcher to the hospital. Wait till her husband Nick hears about her crazy day. Alice Love has lost her memory of the past 10 years of her life. She is in the middle of a messy divorce and has three children. Alice is even dating the principal of her children’s school. Alice has to learn how be a parent and she is determined to win her husband back.  

Elisabeth is Alice’s sister. Over the years Elisabeth and Alice have grown apart but Elisabeth knows she must now be there for Alice. Elisabeth is going through fertility treatment and has tragically gone through many miscarriages. 

Grandma Frannie is Alice and Elizabeth’s self-appointed grandmother. She was their neighbour when they were little girls and took over the role of grandmother. Grandma Frannie keeps a popular blog to document her daily life, which often gives glimpses into the family dynamics. 

I found Elisabeth’s journey had the biggest impact on me. I found myself wishing with my entire heart that Elisabeth would be okay no matter what her ending would be. I also loved the format of blog posts to follow along with Grandma Frannie’s perspective. I strangely realised that family could be even more complicated than I ever imagined. That family isn’t only the people you are related to by blood and that you can make your own family when you let people in and look after the people you care about. That life is complicated but always interesting. 

3. Nine Perfect Strangers

The book is best described as Survivor for yogis. Nine people attend a health retreat to drink green smoothies and relax. Soon all nine find themselves fighting for their lives but will they all survive? A holiday that was supposed to restore and recharge soon turns into an endurance test of survival. 

Frances is the main protagonist and she is a best selling romance novelist who attends Tranquillian House to help with her back pain. She soon meets some unlikely characters – Two parents Napoleon and Heather and their twenty something daughter Zoe, a middle age man who seems real blokey Tony, a young woman Jessica who has had lots of plastic surgery and her car obsessed husband Ben, a woman struggling with self-esteem issues in the face of her divorce named Carmel and a handsome lawyer Lars. 

I think my favourite part of this novel was the pace. The pace felt like taking the scenic route through the countryside, it was slow but I found it perfect. The ending was so action pack I found myself taking note of the emergency exits at my own yoga studio. This book is the perfect example that not everyone gets their happy ending and villains are much more complex than they seem. Though I am still somewhat disappointed I am now too scared to go to a health retreat because I am not the best in self-defence. 

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Liane Moriarty takes characters that may seem cliché but are truly complex. Each one of her novels are the prefect blend of drama, heartfelt moments, complicated family dynamics and true friendship. Thankfully I have only read half of the novels written by Moriarty so I look forward to completing her collection in the year 2020, stay tuned for more reviews.