Three Little Lies ★★

Laura Marshall, Sphere, R295

The title is in the spirit of the trendy thriller popularised by Liane Moriarty’s

Big Little Lies, which was made into the spectacular TV series with Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. It’s interesting enough at first: Ellen searches for her friend Sasha, who has gone missing. They’ve been BFFs since they were teenagers when the golden Sasha and her bohemian family, the Monktons, moved into Ellen’s suburban London neighbourhood. It opens with a rape trial — that of Daniel Monkton. It’s a she said, she said, she said and even though Marshall’s characters say the right thing about believing the victim, the story does not have the depth to explore such a weighty theme.