In Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, a woman’s injuries at her husband’s hands are detailed through the eyes of a young man who loves her. And they are an illustrious bunch: Jodi Picoult covered spouse abuse in Picture Perfect Cara Hoffman wrote about sexual violence in the military in Be Safe I Love You Chris Bohjalian’s Secrets of Eden tells the tale of a wife who keeps things too quiet. Moriarty may or may not be playing a deliberate hand in writing tough material, but doing so definitely places her in the company of her contemporaries who do. While Moriarty’s signature humor does bubble up occasionally (what elementary-school parent will not recognize the “blonde bobs,” those well-coiffed types who dominate PTA meetings?) she doesn’t shy away from describing a husband’s cold-blooded beating of his wife, a callous hotel date rape, or casual, vicious sniping that excludes a lonely young mother from a community. It’s a multiple-perspective novel about schoolyard bullying, malicious gossip, and domestic violence. That gentleman may be even more cross with Big Little Lies. “He seemed quite cross with me for trying something different.” “I had one gentleman ask me when I was going to go back to writing my funny books,” she says. Not all of her readers were pleased with the author’s more serious tone. But with The Husband’s Secret, Moriarty explores more serious issues, including hit-and-run deaths, marital miscommunication, and a parent’s grief.

Big little lies books in order