Thoughts

Most people have had to wait over a decade to get this, Liane Moriarty's first ever sequel. But I only read Big Little Lies about a year ago, as part of a marathon of Moriarty's books - I loved them, so it was obvious I would be reading this one as soon as I could.

There's a mystery at the heart of the story that needs unravelling but, for me, the book is actually about coming to terms with getting older and acknowledging the next part of your life. With teenagers and adult children comes a whole new set of problems, along with the ageing body and illnesses that come with it. Madeline, in particular, has to deal with a lot and her brutal honesty throughout is wonderful.

"I am grateful," said Madeline. "Honestly, I am. The whole community is wrapping their arms around us and squeezing really tight. Just maybe a bit too tight. I tried to cram another lasagne in the freezer and it really hurt my shoulder and how can I complain about my shoulder when my husband has cancer?"

We get to see the impact of the big revelation from the last book on the next generation. I thought following Ziggy's progress as he dealt with everything was fascinating: things he learned following the previous events, gossip he ended up hearing in the school halls, questioning if he was displaying any bad traits because of events outside his control.

The author gives an introduction that says you don't have to have read Big Little Lies to enjoy this one, but I think you do need that knowledge to get the full joy out of the sequel. It was also interesting to see Moriarty's take on what impact the TV adaptation had on her writing this second book - some characters, such as Renata, got bigger roles because they were so well received.

I really loved this book - being brought along with these characters in their next stage of life and relating to them with Moriarty's pinpoint accurate writing makes this a 5 out of 5.

Rating: 5 / 5