Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty

Another day, another mystery.  I've heard a lot of good things about this book, but I had originally started it last year and quickly lost interest.  I picked it up again on a whim at the library, and I can understand why it's so popular.

Big Little Lies was very artfully structured and the characters really decently depicted - it managed to have them be bigger than life without being caricatures, which surprised me.  I don't have kids but it really seemed to nail schoolyard politics and the dynamics between parents, class and all the crossovers.

The centre mystery is really about three separate questions:  Who died and why, what is the trauma/parentage of one little boy, and which kid is bullying which?  They sound trite (I suppose the murder isn't) but all are equally important and the climax of the book brings them all together.

In the end, the solve isn't important and that is what makes it a successful novel - you care more about the story than the payoff at the end (I guess like good sex, haha).  Anyway, four mysterious bruises out of five.