I've been watching the HBO series and thoroughly enjoying it. So when a friend mentioned that it was adapted from a book by an Australian author (and the setting changed from a ritzy Sydney North Shore suburb to Monterey) I couldn't resist buying it.
WARNING: if you're watching the series and don't want the end spoilered, don't buy the book. The series has followed along pretty faithfully so far, with one or two smallish changes (the theater production isn't an issue in the book, for example).
Big Little Lies is beautifully written, with a rising air of tension throughout the book as we get closer and closer to the murder foreshadowed from the beginning. I won't spoil who the victim is for you, but suffice it to say I was a little surprised. I'd already figured out who the real perpetrator of the playground bullying probably was - it's always nice when you guess SOMETHING right - but there were definitely a few shocks in the last quarter of the book that I didn't see coming. It's an excellent book and well worth reading.
That said, if you haven't watched the HBO series, get on that right away. It's incredible; Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon are compelling as a pair of 'yummy mummies' who on the surface appear to have the perfect life, but beneath the surface things are far from the polished facade they portray. Alexander Skarsgard steals every scene he appears in as the poised, rich, handsome husband with violent tendencies behind closed doors.
Big Little Lies is a compelling story on the screen or on the page. HIGHLY recommended.
