Finish Big Little Lies’ second season?
We turned to some of our favorite writers of suspense to pick the page-turning books that make for perfect post-Big Little Lies reading. Get ready for murder mysteries, epic family sagas, and much more.
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Whisper Network, by Chandler Baker
Says Hollie Overton, author of the forthcoming The Runaway: “Readers who loved the female friendships at the heart of Big Little Lies will want to read Whisper Network by Chandler Baker. This timely feminist thriller explores the devastating consequences that occur when four very different women rise up against their boss.”
The Mother-in-Law, by Sally Hepworth
Says Andrea Dunlop, author of We Came Here to Forget: “With the addition of Meryl Streep to this season as Celeste’s bereaved and suspicious mother-in-law, The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth is the perfect read to follow it up, with plenty of family secrets and intricate tensions.”
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Her Daughter’s Mother, by Daniela Petrova
Says Andrea Bartz, author of The Lost Night: “It’s about a 38-year-old woman who befriends her egg donor, and then realizes she may have been the last person to see her before the egg donor goes missing. It’s a fun, unputdownable thriller that, like season 2 of Big Little Lies, examines what it means to be a mother and how far women will go to protect their own secrets. The premise is so clever and original, and Petrova totally delivers with juicy twists and characters with real emotional depth. It’s the kind of quick, smart read you’ll devour poolside.”
Pretty Guilty Women, by Gina LaManna
Says Kristina McMorris, author of Sold on a Monday: “Readers will absolutely devour Gina LaManna’s suspenseful tale of four women who confess to the same murder. Best enjoyed on the beach with a glass of summer wine!”
Stolen Things, by R.H. Herron
Says Eric Jerome Dickey, author of Before We Were Wicked: “Like Big Little Lies, R. H. Herron’s debut is a very timely thriller that hits on important societal issues and is also completely unputdownable. Stolen Things is a relevant page-turner that moves from the first chapter to the last.”
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Such a Perfect Wife, by Kate White
Says Kimberly Belle, author of Dear Wife: “A beautiful and seemingly happy wife and mother who disappears on a routine morning run, and an idyllic lake town filled with gossipy locals. What’s not to love in Kate White’s latest? When a woman goes missing during a jog near her home in Lake George, New York, all eyes shift to those around her. A bitter sister, an unfaithful brother-in-law, an evasive deacon, and a creepy motel owner. Such A Perfect Wife is deep and dark and twisty, and packed with a delicious array of questionable characters, each harboring their own secrets.”
The Most Fun We Ever Had, by Claire Lombardo
Says Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers: “What would each member of your family tell us if we got them alone? What confessions of dirt and resentment and unbearable love? In The Most Fun We Ever Had, Claire Lombardo gives us a deliciously panoptic view of an American family that, as if to update Tolstoy, is both unhappy and happy in its own unique way. Don’t let the length of the book deter you; just get your tea ready and pull up a chair.”
Conviction, by Denise Mina
Little, Brown and Company
Says Allison Winn Scotch, author of Between You and Me: “The writing is blistering, the format (a podcast within a book!) is unique, and the twists and turns in this whodunit don’t stop. With a #MeToo angle, a menacing undercurrent of danger, and a death that doesn’t quite add up, fans of Big Little Lies will inhale Conviction in one sitting, just like I did. (My five-hour plane ride was over before I could complain about the GoGo wifi. It was that good.)”
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The Last House Guest, by Megan Miranda
Says Christina McDonald, author of the forthcoming Behind Every Lie: “The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda revels in the dark secrets of the people closest to us and explores the danger of keeping secrets. It’s a delightfully complex and character-driven murder mystery that takes us on a journey of family secrets, messy friendships, and intricate plots, peeling back each layer and exposing dark and difficult issues that lie just beneath the surface. One of my favorite summer reads so far!”
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I Know Everything, by Matthew Farrell
Says Jennifer Hillier, author of Jar of Hearts: “I Know Everything by Matthew Farrell is my favorite kind of story — unpredictable and full of secrets, like Big Little Lies, but set in a dark world where the lines between good and bad are often blurred. Every time I thought I knew what was happening, there was another twist that kept me guessing. I was riveted from the first page to the last.”
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Because You’re Mine, by Rea Frey
Says David Bell, author of Layover: “Rea Frey’s Because You’re Mine is about a single mother who will do anything to protect her child and the perfectly ordered life they’ve made. But when her child’s tutor becomes an even bigger part of their lives, a boatload of dark and twisting secrets are revealed. A number of lives intersect in this thriller that will have the reader guessing until the final pages.”
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A Stranger on the Beach, by Michele Campbell
Says Wendy Walker, author of The Night Before: “When a wealthy Hamptons socialite has a revenge fling with the local bartender, life quickly [spirals] into a nightmare after her husband goes missing. A he said/she said twisty tale also reminiscent of YOU and Dirty John, A Stranger on the Beach is the perfect summer escape.”
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