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Liane Moriarty

Australian author of darkly comic domestic suspense — funny, sharp, and increasingly sinister with every chapter.

Domestic Suspense Mystery Women's Fiction

About Liane Moriarty

Liane Moriarty is one of Australia's most successful novelists, with eight books translated into dozens of languages. She came to international attention when Reese Witherspoon adapted Big Little Lies into an HBO series (2017) and Nine Perfect Strangers into a Hulu series (2021). Both cast Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman and brought Moriarty's back catalogue onto global bestseller lists.

Moriarty's genius is the blend of genuine wit — her characters are funny and fully realized — with the slow revelation of real darkness. She's often described as writing "domestic noir" but that undersells the comedy. Think book club read with a genuine thriller engine underneath.

Australian Fiction Domestic Noir TV Adaptations Ensemble Cast

All Novels

Three Wishes cover
Novel — Debut
Three Wishes
2003
Triplet sisters — Lyn, Cat, and Gemma — and one disastrous birthday dinner that spills all their secrets. A warm, funny debut that establishes Moriarty's strengths: women, sisters, families, and the secrets they keep.
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The Last Anniversary cover
Novel
The Last Anniversary
2004
Sophie inherits a house on Scribbly Gum Island from her ex-boyfriend's aunt — along with the island's famous mystery: two babies found in a house decades ago, parents vanished. Charming and twisty, set in a quirky Australian community.
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What Alice Forgot cover
Novel
What Alice Forgot
2009
Alice falls at the gym and wakes up thinking it's 1998 — she's lost ten years of memory. She doesn't know she's getting divorced, she has three kids, or that she's become someone she wouldn't have recognised. Sharp, clever, and surprisingly moving.
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The Husband's Secret cover
Novel — Breakout Book
The Husband's Secret
2013
Cecelia Fitzpatrick finds a letter from her husband — "To be opened only in the event of my death." He's still alive. Three women's lives intersect around a secret buried in the past. This was Moriarty's first major international bestseller — the book that got Hollywood calling.
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Big Little Lies cover
Novel — Best to Start Here
Big Little Lies
2014
Three women at a school trivia night — and someone is dead. The novel unspools what happened through interview snippets, sharp satire of suburban parenthood, and three distinct female perspectives. Moriarty at her best: funny, dark, and driven by real emotional stakes. HBO series with Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman.
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Truly Madly Guilty cover
Novel
Truly Madly Guilty
2016
Something happened at a backyard barbecue between three couples — the novel circles around the event for 400 pages before finally revealing it. Slower than Big Little Lies, but the social dynamics and character work are some of Moriarty's sharpest.
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Nine Perfect Strangers cover
Novel
Nine Perfect Strangers
2018
Nine guests arrive at an exclusive wellness retreat run by the enigmatic Masha. What follows gets increasingly strange and unsettling. A skewering of wellness culture with a thriller edge. Adapted for Hulu with Nicole Kidman as Masha.
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Apples Never Fall cover
Novel
Apples Never Fall
2021
Stan and Joy Delaney have retired from running a tennis academy — then Joy disappears. Their four adult children point fingers at each other and at their father. A family drama disguised as a mystery, exploring what happens when perfect marriages crack.
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Reading Guide

Where to start

Start with Big Little Lies — it's her best book and the one that shows everything she does well in perfect balance. If you've seen the HBO series, the book is still worth reading (and the ending is different).

The Husband's Secret and What Alice Forgot are both excellent second reads. Skip to publication order from there — her craft steadily improves.

All books are standalone. No need to read in any particular order.