How Do Big Little Lies And Truly Madly Guilty Fit In Liane Moriarty’S Reading Order?

I'm just sitting here nodding along. This thread is giving me such a good TBR list. I loved 'Big Little Lies' and have been meaning to dive into her other stuff. Leaning toward 'The Husband's Secret' based on the consensus, but 'What Alice Forgot' sounds fascinating too. Decisions, decisions.

Everyone always says 'The Husband's Secret', but I actually think 'Truly Madly Guilty' is the closer match. It’s got that same structure of a disastrous social event that you keep flashing back to, with the tension slowly building toward revealing what actually went wrong. The focus is on friendships and domestic life under strain, and it explores how a single afternoon can shatter the illusion of control people think they have over their lives. Moriarty excels at showing the quiet desperation behind picket fences, and this one delivers that in spades, even if the central incident is less overtly criminal.

Has anyone else found that the ‘less popular’ ones randomly become their favorite? Everyone raves about 'Big Little Lies', but 'Three Wishes', her first, is so raw and funny about sister dynamics. It doesn’t have the tightest plot, but the heart is huge. Sometimes reading an author’s debut last lets you appreciate their growth. Sometimes reading it first lets you fall for their potential. There’s no wrong path, only different kinds of appreciation. I’d almost recommend leaving one of the mega-hits for the middle, as a palate cleanser between the deeper cuts.

Okay, but real talk: which 'Big Little Lies' character did you identify with most? I was a Madeline, trying to be a Celeste, but probably came off as a Jane on the first day of school. That's the magic—her characters are types we all recognize, including in ourselves.

The audiobook narrator, Caroline Lee, adds so much. If you're going in order, you'll hear her narration grow more confident alongside the writing. It's a cool synergy. By 'Big Little Lies', she's performing the heck out of those courtroom interludes and kid dialogues. A unique way to experience the chronology.

Don’t stress too much about a strict order, honestly. They’re all standalone, so you can jump in anywhere. But if you’re a completionist, the publication sequence is: 'Three Wishes', 'The Last Anniversary', 'What Alice Forgot', 'The Hypnotist’s Love Story', 'Big Little Lies', 'Truly Madly Guilty', 'Nine Perfect Strangers', 'Apples Never Fall', and 'The Last Resort'. I’d argue starting with 'Big Little Lies' isn’t a bad idea—it’s the gateway drug for most of us. You can always circle back to the earlier ones later.

My friend made a spreadsheet ranking them by 'spiciness' of the secret, which is hilarious but kinda useful. 'The Husband's Secret' is obviously a 10/10 on the secret scale. 'What Alice Forgot' is more like a 6—the secret is from the protagonist herself. Choose your desired level of scandal.

Why not mix it up? I read 'Big Little Lies' first because of the show, then jumped to her debut 'Three Wishes'. The contrast was startling but cool. It made me appreciate how far she'd come. After that, I just read whatever was available at my local used bookstore. I ended up with 'The Hypnotist's Love Story' before 'The Husband's Secret'. It was a non-linear journey, but it worked because each book is its own complete world. I enjoyed spotting her recurring themes—motherhood, friendship, betrayal—appearing in different configurations. There's no test at the end, so just enjoy the ride.

I got pulled into 'Truly Madly Guilty' like you stumble into someone else's backyard party and suddenly remember every awkward social rule you’ve ever broken. The book hits a weird sweet spot for me: it’s domestic and small-scale, but the emotional stakes feel enormous. Compared with 'Big Little Lies', which crackles with an edge-of-your-seat tension and a clear inciting catastrophe, 'Truly Madly Guilty' is more about the slow burn of regret and the way a single event refracts through several lives. Moriarty’s comedic touch is still there, but it’s tempered by a deeper, muddier sense of responsibility. What I love is how the novel’s structure — shuffled timelines and multiple perspectives — forces you to hold contradictory truths at once. Whereas 'What Alice Forgot' plays with memory and reinvention, and 'The Husband’s Secret' frames moral dilemmas like puzzles, this one lingers in the messy aftermath: guilt that’s almost banal and also corrosive. It’s less theatrical than 'Nine Perfect Strangers', which leans into satire and spectacle, and more intimate, like eavesdropping on a few people who can’t quite forgive themselves. Reading it felt like sitting on a bench while rain starts: oddly cleansing and a little uncomfortable. I walked away thinking about the small choices we pretend don’t matter, and that stayed with me for days.

If you're someone who likes to see an author's craft improve, go chronological. 'Three Wishes' (2003) is good, but you can tell she's finding her feet. By the time you get to 'Big Little Lies' (2014), the plotting is incredibly tight, and the social observations are razor-sharp. The journey is part of the fun. You watch her move from more straightforward chick-lit adjacent stories to these intricate, multi-POV societal dissections. It’s a masterclass in career development. Just be prepared that the first couple are lighter—not worse, just different in scope and ambition.