Violence, deceit, cover-ups, accusations, betrayal, and a lot of little toxic lies….all on the kindergarten playground where parents drop their kids off for school! Small town suspicions, accusations, and grudges get majorly and deliciously out of hand in a small seaside community in Australia.
The story begins at a parent orientation day, where one child bullies another but no one has actually witnessed the incident. One child is identified as the culprit but something seems wrong with the assumption made. From this, a series of events are set in motion that will culminate in several injuries and a death at the school trivia night some months later.
In this unusual whodunit we don’t know who the murderer is yet of course, but we also don’t know who the victim is! Moriarty writes with tongue in cheek humour about suburbia and parents behaving badly. She cleverly crafts a story that keeps us guessing right to the end. Aside from being compelling and entertaining, the novel also deals very sensitively with issues around domestic abuse.
Other books of Moriarty’s that I have enjoyed are The Husband’s Secret and What Alice Forgot.
PS I find book cover art so interesting…this one is an exploding lollipop!
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