Summary

Chapter 1

Big Little Lies opens with Mrs. Patty Ponder watching television and talking to her cat. She lives right across the street from a school, Pirriwee Public. The school is having some sort of trivia night, and she can hear the sounds of arguing and excessive cursing. She goes to investigate. When she looks out the window, she sees two men getting into a fight. They are quickly separated by some of the other parents. The rest of the chapter consists of different parents giving testimony. Some of them talk about how the fight was sparked because of gender issues. Some even cite an event at kindergarten orientation referred to as “The Mummy Wars.” The chapter ends with a police detective saying they are investigating a murder.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 is set six months before the event at the trivia night. Madeline Martha Mackenzie...