Little Lies

Some of Moriarty's other novels are MUCH better than this one. But there are many good things about this book.

It does take on very important topics (domestic abuse and bullying) and tells the story of a single mother (Jane) who along with her son Ziggy moves to a seaside town supposedly on a whim (though you will learn later that there is more to why she chose that town...a clever plot turn on the author's part). She is very young (24) and has difficulties when she registers her son for kindergarten. The other mothers assume she is a nanny because she is so young.

For years, Jane has refused to identify Ziggy's father or the circumstances around her son's conception. She eventually reveals the ugly and life-altering story to some of her new friends. But about half way through the book I guessed what the outcome would be concerning the father.

I found all the drama at the school and with the very high maintenance mothers of the other children to be a bit tedious. The “camps” seemed to be divided between Jane's friends (who were for the most part rational) and the other mothers (who were mostly caricatures of the over-involved mom....too involved, too quick to judge, too critical. A little more “grey” and not so much black and white would have helped.

I'd much more quickly recommend Moriarty's The Hypnotist's Love Story and The Husband's Secret. Both of those books seem to be more tightly written and were novels I lost myself in right away.