Well, it took me a little longer to get through than badkittyuno took to get through (two days, not one evening) but Big Little Lies has set a high bar for my second Cannonballread.
I had never heard of this book until my sister was returning it to our mutual friend on Sunday before stopping to ask if I wanted to shot at it first. I’m glad I said yes!
At the start of the book there is a murder at a local Elementary school parents’ night but you don’t know who died or who killed them. You’re sent back to the beginning of the year to meet Jane: a young, single mother whose son is accused of being a bully at orientation; Madeline: the mother of a 14-year-old girl from a previous relationship, whose half sister is starting kindergarten with Madeline’s youngest and Celeste: the beautiful mother of twin boys whose super-rich husband supports a lavish lifestyle with a catch. As the night of the murder gets closer the lives of these women get more complicated.
There are also a lot of other fun characters: the blonde bobbed PTA moms, the mother who leads the crusade against Jane’s son, all the men in these ladies lives and the poor teacher dealing with an increasingly antagonist group of parents. There is also a bit of a Greek chorus of other parents, giving there statements to the police, that give the months prior to the murder a bit more insight.
“It had never crossed her mind that sending your child to school would be like going back to school yourself.”
Honestly, you don’t need to know ahead of time there is a murder- the story is engrossing enough without knowing the end- to think this one is a page turner. I tried not to formulate a theory about whodunit or who died but I was 100% satisfied with the ending.
Just read this damn book guys!