It's a bit disturbing seeing this book classified as chick-lit. Who else should read a book about family abuse, rape, bullying other than (not-particularly-bright?) women? 
 Men read thrillers or poignant writers like Roth or Pyncheon. Educated women read classics or Jodie Piccolut. 
 None of them would come near to a fast-paced, brilliant comedy, written more like a witty newspaper's column than as a novel, which narrates the misfortune of a group of kindergarten moms. Which is a pity because, despite the light tone Big Little Lies deals with very serious matters in an effective way, so that finding it in the same category of, let's say, "I love Shopping", can be definitely misleading. 
 For sure Liane Moriarty is neither Margaret Atwood nor Virginia Woolf, her style is colloquial, her vocabulary a bit limited, her ability for psychological analysis fluctuating. However the characters and the dynamics between them manage to overcome the stereotyping and become realistic figures (I could actually recognize in them colleagues or old schoolmates) with very realistic issues. And what is more realistic than a kindergarten party bringing out the worst in every participating adult? While making fun of parents' obsessive and competitive behavior, Moriarty imagines the catastrophic consequences it may have when combined with the different personal dramas each adult is experiencing. 
 Her pragmatic attitude deals with each problematic event examining every side of it, choosing situations that are not only black and white and exposing them without superficiality, getting at the core of the problem. 
 Admittedly the book is quite funny, thanks to its fast-paced tone, the author's witty remarks and the choice of concluding each chapter with imaginary interviews of all the parents that attended the infamous event with its tragic epilogue. Tragic, yes, because this is a book about murder, as clearly stated in the first chapter even if we don't get to know who's murder by whom until the last page and even if the light, gossipy tone of the involved parties may lead you to forget it. 
 What you never forget is the seriousness of the issues that really move the plot along, from the witch hunt started by over-zealous parents to get rid of an alleged five-year-old bully, to the domestic violence that threats the life of one of the protagonists. 
 In the end Big Little Lies enthralls, amuses and captivates and, if it weren't for the fairy-tale ending, definitely too good to be true, I would have given five stars.