Australian author Liane Moriarty has published Big Little Truths, her first sequel novel to Big Little Lies. Published by Crown, the hardcover carries a list price of $34, marked down to $22.10, alongside Audible and Kindle releases.
Executive producers Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and creator David E. Kelley received an advance copy. Moriarty told E! News the team reacted positively, stating, "They said nice things."
The book serves as source material for season three of the HBO drama Big Little Lies, which is in active development. "I am absolutely sure there will be huge changes," Moriarty said.
The upcoming season catches up a decade later with Monterey Five mothers Madeline Mackenzie (Witherspoon), Celeste Wright (Kidman), Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley), Bonnie Carlson (Zoë Kravitz), and Renata Klein (Laura Dern), alongside Meryl Streep as Mary-Louise Wright. Moriarty noted cast schedules remain a factor, adding, "Hopefully, hopefully they will start filming sooner rather than later."
Origins of the Sequel
Over a decade after introducing the Monterey mothers, Moriarty created her first sequel. When Witherspoon originally asked if a follow-up was possible, Moriarty recalled answering, "No, absolutely not."
"Because I've never written a sequel before, and because you create this whole drama for your characters, and then I don't want to think, 'Well, now I've got to give them a whole new set of dramas,' so I said no," Moriarty explained. That hesitation made Big Little Truths the sequel she said she would never write.
Moriarty began writing a high school story inspired by a high-profile news event. As interest in season three grew, she adapted the story for the Monterey teenagers, recalling, "You know what, I could actually give that story to the teenagers of Big Little Lies."
Influence of the Television Series
Returning to the world presented challenges because the HBO show had taken on its own identity. Moriarty previously wrote an internal novella for season two, introducing Streep's character, Mary-Louise.
In Big Little Truths, Moriarty restored book characters cut from the show, including Madeline's son Fred Mackenzie, while retaining screen-expanded roles like Renata Klein. Although Renata was a minor character in the original book who moved abroad, Dern's performance altered Moriarty's plans.
"Renata in the book was a very minor character, but then Laura Dern obviously took on that role in such a magnificent way and was so iconic that there was absolutely no way that I could write the next book without her," Moriarty said, adding, "I suspect I probably wouldn't have had Renata at all."
Acknowledging readers sometimes dislike large casts, Moriarty said, "they would never forgive me if I didn't have Renata, and I had such fun with her."
Writing Process and Future Plans
Moriarty, whose novels Apples Never Fall and Nine Perfect Strangers were also adapted into television series, said she does not write for television. However, the existing show influenced her writing.
"I still was having internal monologues and things like that, so I didn't change that way of writing; it was still me," she said. "And there are lots of things that I know they wouldn't be able to use. It was just there."
Moriarty visualized Dern and Streep for Renata and Mary-Louise, but saw hybrids of her book character and Witherspoon for Madeline. She avoided describing Madeline's hair, which was dark in the original book, to prevent confusing readers.
Watching friends become grandparents, Moriarty expressed interest in exploring adult children and daughters-in-law in a potential third book, saying, "Now I will say, 'Maybe I will!'"
In Big Little Truths, the mothers navigate parenting teenagers as old secrets resurface when someone inquires about the past.
Summer Book Releases
Big Little Truths joins several summer book releases across multiple genres.
Avon released The Ballad of Falling Dragons by Sarah A. Parker on May 19. The second Moonfall novel, following When The Moon Hatched, tracks assassin Raeve and Kaan as past ghosts and an impending moonfall threaten their future.
Crown published Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It by Brooke Averick on May 26. Moving from TikTok pop culture commentary to BookTok romance, Averick follows 29-year-old teacher Phoebe Berman as she faces dating anxiety with three men before turning 30.
Berkley released The Open Era by Edward Schmit on June 2. The debut sports romance centers on tennis player Austin Hardy, the first openly gay man in a Grand Slam at the US Open, and world number two Diego Cruz.
Harper published Whistler by Ann Patchett on June 2. The literary novel follows Daphne and her husband visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where encountering her former stepfather Eddie prompts reflection on his divorce from her mother.
June and July Novels
Berkley released The Summer Girlfriend by Kristina Forest on June 9. In a New Jersey beach town, bridesmaid-for-hire Noelle Lewis poses as Jeremiah Smith's girlfriend at his family beach home after his grandfather's death to earn college tuition.
Grand Central Publishing published The Missed Connection by Tia Williams on June 9. Casting director Sasha Cruz forgets a man's name on a flight to Paris and hires private detective Wes to find him, sparking feelings between them.
Berkley released The Someday Garden by Ashley Poston on June 16. Head gardener Sophie moves to Lilymoor House in coastal Maine and teams up with a trapped man inside a shifting secret garden door and the owner's nephew.
Tiny Reparations Books published Names Have Been Changed by Yu-Mei Balasingamchow on June 23. International thief Ophir launches an anonymous podcast detailing her global crimes and life on the run.
St. Martin's Press released Crash Into Me by Robinne Lee on July 7. The author of The Idea of You follows Cecelia Chen, a middle-aged Jamaican Chinese woman in America reckoning with family and career after reuniting with a woman from her past.
July and August Titles
Random House published Country People by Daniel Mason on July 7. The Pulitzer Prize-shortlisted author of North Woods follows Miles and wife Kate in Vermont after local folktales begin affecting their reality.
Scribner released Helpless by Jessica Knoll on July 7. Returning to her college town for a funeral, producer Faye Heron is kidnapped to a remote cabin by ex-boyfriend Henry Spalding to address past secrets.
Del Rey published The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia on July 14. The author of Mexican Gothic depicts a 1940s Mexico con artist who teams up with a mark's niece to plan an escape.
Dutton released The Unknown by Riley Sager on August 4. Actress Marin Keene stars in a movie on a remote island where women vanished a century ago, only for people to go missing again.
Avon published The Magic We Made by Meg Cabot on August 11. The Witches of West Harbor romance follows therapist Frankie and magic user Ash investigating disappearing witches.
