I hadn’t heard of this novel till the HBO series came out- but the trailer for the TV series was so promising that I knew that I wanted to read the book at some point. Now that I’ve read it, I’ve started watching the TV series.

I started enjoying the book on its very first page.

‘That doesn’t sound like a school trivia night,’ said Mrs Patty Ponder to Marie Antoinette. ‘That sounds like a riot.’ The cat didn’t respond. She was dozing on the couch, and found school trivia nights to be trivial.

Any novel that begins like that, is tipping its hat to Cranford. An elderly lading talking to her cat about the events of a school trivia night is such an artful way of beginning a story. The name Patty Ponder, reminds one of Dickens. And how amazing is it for a secondary character to have a cat named Marie Antoinette? Big Little Lies is written by someone who has not only an aptitude for social observation, but also a sense of humour.

This is a story of a young single Mum, Jane, moving into an area of town full of yummy mummies. But it turns out that even the most perfectly groomed women have their secrets… When Jane’s son is accused of bullying, fractions begin to form at the school and the tension becomes palpable… Still, who has ever heard of a school trivia night ending in a murder?

I was impressed by Liane Moriarty’s knowledge of character and skill in plotting. I read the whole book in two days –and it left me craving for more. I definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a good summer read.