The Marvellous Ms Moriarty

With the release of her eighth novel, a second series of Big Little Lies and seven upcoming screen adaptations, Liane Moriarty is at the top of her game. Which is why she’s worried it’ll all fall down.

- Lauren Sams

LIANE MORIARTY CELEBRATES having a bestselling book with champagne. “I’m not fussy. I’ll have anything, really. Just the real stuff, the French stuff.”

Given that Moriarty has sold, to date, in the ballpark of 14 million books, given that she is the only Australian author ever to debut at number one on The New York Times bestseller list (where the book in question, Big Little Lies, stayed for 35 weeks), given that she had two books in the top 10 bestsellers in Australia last year (a year in which she did not release a new book)… given all that, well… Liane Moriarty must drink a lot of champagne.

The numbers are compelling, even more so because it’s never been harder to sell books. Against the odds, Moriarty has tapped into something deep within the psyche of women. Her books are dark and deftly funny, observant and satirical, witty but knowing. Her skill is taking seemingly ordinary characters – a trio of sisters, a group of suburban mothers, a pair of childhood best friends – and digging beneath their surface to uncover secrets, fears, anxieties and guilt. Her stories make you go, “Oh my God. I know someone like that.” Sometimes, that person is you.