Three Wishes, by Liane Moriarty

It can be problematic looking up the back catalogue of an author at the height of their success – expectations are almost certain to be unrealistically high. Three Wishes was Moriarty’s first published novel and inevitably fails to measure up to Big Little Lies. The bones of success are there and it’s clear that she was always good at depicting relationships, which ring very true, but a rather meandering storyline lacks direction. The story revolves around triplets – uptight perfectionist Lyn, brash rule-breaker Cat and daffy dreamer Gemma. To some extent all three are playing out their assigned roles and are trapped by them, especially Gemma and Lyn, who have secrets they keep from everyone. Short vignettes that give an outside view of the triplets over the years by independent observers punctuate the narrative. This intrusion of other viewpoints doesn’t quite work; it is often unnecessary, and sometimes creepy. It is a strength that Moriarty’s characters are less than perfect, making them more identifiable, but in Three Wishes the flaws are possibly taken a bit too far. While all three sisters engender huge sympathy they are not very likeable, especially Cat.