The first episode of Big Little Lies, a limited television series based on the novel by Liane Moriarty, premiered Sunday on HBO. This dark comedy/drama stars Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgård, Laura Dern, Adam Scott and Zoë Kravitz in a murder mystery with an unusual unknown: the identity of the victim. Episode one introduces Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Witherspoon), Celeste Wright (Kidman) and Jane Chapman (Woodley), mothers with marital and child troubles being interrogated by police after trivia night at a public school ends in homicide. Who the victim is, how the personal lives of these women and their families intersect, and who killed the dead mystery man, will be revealed over the next six episodes.
Big Little Lies (2014) is the fifth novel by Australian writer Liane Moriarty. She is also the author of The Husband's Secret (2013) and, most recently, Truly Madly Guilty (2016). Big Little Lies combines light "chick-lit" humor with powerful, disturbing insights on abusive relationships and domestic violence. The novel was a #1 New York Times bestseller and has sold more than 1.7 million copies. A tie-in version was published by Berkley on February 7 ($9.99, 9780399587207). --Tobias Mutter
