Liane Moriarty is an author from Australia. She was born in Sydney, Australia in 1966.
Moriarty doesn’t recall her first story, but she recalls her first publishing contract. For one dollar, her father had commissioned her to create a novel. She had to write a three-volume epic titled The Mystery of the Dead Island.
Liane began her work in marketing and advertising after completing school. She left her job as a marketing manager for a publishing company to start her own company, The Little Ad Agency.
Liane worked as a freelance ad copywriter during this time. She would write anything from TV ads to websites. Moriarty authored short stories and initial chapters of books that were never finished. Moriarty’s issue was that she believed that genuine people did not write novels. Her younger sister contacted her one day to inform her that her novel will be published. Moriarty ran to her computer with sibling jealousy and wrote The Animal Olympics. It was a children’s book that was rejected by every publisher in Australia.
She regained her composure and enrolled at Macquarie University to get her master’s degree. During this time, Moriarty wrote Three Wishes, her first book accepted by a publishing house. The novel became popular, motivating the author to produce 5 more adult novels since then, including such bestsellers as Hypnotists Love Story, Big Little Lies, and The Husband’s Secret.
Liane Moriarty Books in order
Nicola Berry
- Nicola Berry and the Petrifying Problem with Princess Petronella / Earthling Ambassador (2007)
- Nicola Berry and the Shocking Trouble on the Planet of Shobble / The Shobble Secret (2009)
- Nicola Berry and the Wicked War on the Planet of Whimsy / War on Whimsy (2009)
Standalone Novel Novels
- Three Wishes (2003)
- The Last Anniversary (2005)
- What Alice Forgot (2009)
- The Hypnotist’s Love Story (2011)
- The Husband’s Secret (2013)
- Big Little Lies (2014)
- Truly Madly Guilty (2016)
- Nine Perfect Strangers (2018)
- Apples Never Fall (2021)
Similar authors
- Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl revolves around Nick and Amy Dunne’s tumultuous marriage. Nick gets fired from his job. He decides to move from New York to his hometown due to his financial situation.
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins follows a divorced woman. She becomes involved in a missing person investigation that will have repercussions throughout her life.
See also: Robert Galbraith Books in Order.
Most recommended books:
- Big Little Lies (4.29 Goodreads score)
- What Alice Forgot (4.08 Goodreads score)
- The Husband’s Secret (3.95 Goodreads score)
- Apples Never Fall (3.83 Goodreads score)
- The Last Anniversary (3.79 Goodreads score)
Latest releases
Moriarty’s latest book is called Apples Never Fall, published in 2019.
Movies based on the novels
HBO made two seasons based on her book “Big Little Lies.” The series was nominated for many Emmys and Golden Globes. Her book “Nine Perfect Strangers” was recently made into a Hulu series. “Apples Never Fall” is Moriarty’s most recent novel to be adapted for the big screen.
Book summaries
Nicola Berry and the Petrifying Problem with Princess Petronella / Earthling Ambassador (2007)
Nicola Berry’s life is turned upside down the day a man from another planet comes to Earth on a strange mission. He’s looking for somebody to travel back to his home planet and convince their stuck-up princess not to turn Earth into her planet’s giant garbage dump. When Nicola is chosen as the Earthling Ambassador, she’s not sure that she’s up to the task. Can Nicola and her friends save the planet in time? Or will the nasty Princess Petronella cover Earth in a galactic ton of garbage?
Nicola Berry and the Shocking Trouble on the Planet of Shobble / The Shobble Secret (2009)
Nicola Berry and her friends have barely caught their breath from their last trip to space when they are called on another intergalactic adventure! This time, they’re on their way to Shobble, a beautiful snowy rainbow planet where nothing bad ever happens–or so they say. It turns out there is trouble brewing beneath this glittery exterior, and Nicola is put in a tough position. Should she risk defying the planet’s dangerous commander-in-chief to help the people of Shobble? Leading the Space Brigade is no easy task!
Nicola Berry and the Wicked War on the Planet of Whimsy / War on Whimsy (2009)
Nicola and her friends’ whirlwind tour of the galaxy isn’t about to stop! The Space Brigade’s third adventure takes them to a strange pair of planets that couldn’t be more different. On one side is a planet covered in volcanoes. On the other side, a beautiful place full of daydreamy poets. Nicola and the Space Brigade find themselves caught in the middle of a war between the two, and must find a way to make peace before it’s too late!
Three Wishes (2003)
Lyn, Cat, and Gemma Kettle, beautiful thirty-three-year-old triplets, seem to attract attention everywhere they go. Together, laughter, drama, and mayhem follow them, but apart, each is dealing with her own share of ups and downs. Lyn has organized her life into one big checklist, Cat has just learned a startling secret about her marriage, and Gemma, who bolts every time a relationship hits the six-month mark, holds out hope for lasting love. In this wise, witty, and hilarious novel, we follow the Kettle sisters through their tumultuous thirty-third year as they deal with sibling rivalry and secrets, revelations and relationships, unfaithful husbands and unthinkable decisions, and the fabulous, frustrating life of forever being part of a trio.
The Last Anniversary (2005)
Sophie Honeywell always wondered if Thomas Gordon was the one who got away. He was the perfect boyfriend, but on the day he was going to propose, she broke his heart. A year later he married his travel agent, while Sophie has been mortifyingly single ever since. Now Thomas is back in her life because Sophie has unexpectedly inherited his aunt Connie’s house on Scribbly Gum Island—home of the famously unsolved Munro Baby mystery.Sophie moves onto the island and begins a new life as part of an unconventional family, where it seems everyone has a secret. Grace, a beautiful young mother, is feverishly planning a shocking escape from her perfect life. Margie, a frumpy housewife, has made a pact with a stranger, while dreamy Aunt Rose wonders if maybe it’s about time she started making her own decisions.As Sophie’s life becomes increasingly complicated, she discovers that sometimes you have to stop waiting around—and come up with your own fairy-tale ending.
What Alice Forgot (2009)
Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child.So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, she has three kids and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes.Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over.
The Hypnotist’s Love Story (2011)
Ellen O’Farrell is a professional hypnotherapist who works out of the eccentric beachfront home she inherited from her grandparents. It’s a nice life, except for her tumultuous relationship history. She’s stoic about it, but at this point, Ellen wouldn’t mind a lasting one. When she meets Patrick, she’s optimistic. He’s attractive, single, employed, and best of all, he seems to like her back. Then comes that dreaded moment: He thinks they should have a talk.Braced for the worst, Ellen is pleasantly surprised. It turns out that Patrick’s ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Ellen thinks, Actually, that’s kind of interesting. She’s dating someone worth stalking. She’s intrigued by the woman’s motives. In fact, she’d even love to meet her.Ellen doesn’t know it, but she already has.
The Husband’s Secret (2013)
My darling Cecilia,If you’re reading this, then I’ve died… Imagine your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not only the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. And then imagine that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive… Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. But that letter is about to change everything—and not just for her. There are other women who barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they, too, are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.
Big Little Lies (2014)
A murder…A tragic accident…Or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead. Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny, biting, and passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare but she is paying a price for the illusion of perfection. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for a nanny. She comes with a mysterious past and a sadness beyond her years. These three women are at different crossroads, but they will all wind up in the same shocking place.Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the little lies that can turn lethal.
Truly Madly Guilty (2016)
Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One small dog. It’s just a normal weekend. What could possibly go wrong?In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty turns her unique, razor-sharp eye towards three seemingly happy families.Sam and Clementine have a wonderful, albeit, busy life: they have two little girls, Sam has just started a new dream job and Clementine, a cellist, is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime. If there’s anything they can count on, it’s each other.Clementine and Erika are each other’s oldest friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don’t hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid’s larger than life personalities there will be a welcome respite.Two months later, it won’t stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can’t stop asking themselves the question: What if we hadn’t gone?
Nine Perfect Strangers (2018)
Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can?It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.
Apples Never Fall (2021)
The Delaney family love one another dearly—it’s just that sometimes they want to murder each other . . .If your mother was missing, would you tell the police? Even if the most obvious suspect was your father?This is the dilemma facing the four grown Delaney siblings.The Delaneys are fixtures in their community. The parents, Stan and Joy, are the envy of all of their friends. They’re killers on the tennis court, and off it their chemistry is palpable. But after fifty years of marriage, they’ve finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. So why are Stan and Joy so miserable?The four Delaney children—Amy, Logan, Troy, and Brooke—were tennis stars in their own right, yet as their father will tell you, none of them had what it took to go all the way. But that’s okay, now that they’re all successful grown-ups and there is the wonderful possibility of grandchildren on the horizon.One night a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy’s door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to give her the small kindness she sorely needs. If only that was all she wanted.Later, when Joy goes missing, and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the police question the one person who remains: Stan. But for someone who claims to be innocent, he, like many spouses, seems to have a lot to hide. Two of the Delaney children think their father is innocent, two are not so sure—but as the two sides square off against each other in perhaps their biggest match ever, all of the Delaneys will start to reexamine their shared family history in a very new light.