Big Little Lies
by Liane Moriarty
Contents
Chapter 83
Overview
The final chapter presents brief interviews that show Pirriwee trying to return to normal after Perry’s death and the police investigation. The community has absorbed the scandal through gossip, caution, and exaggerated politeness, while several relationships and traditions have changed permanently. Detective-Sergeant Quinlan’s admission that he suspected Celeste underscores how close the truth came to being misunderstood, and the ending restores the novel’s satirical social tone.
Summary
The chapter closes with a sequence of post-investigation comments from Pirriwee parents, school figures, and Detective-Sergeant Adrian Quinlan. Samantha says the community seems back to normal, though parents are now conspicuously kind to one another after the ordeal.
Several parents describe the changed social landscape. Gabrielle says the spring ball has been canceled in favor of safer cake stalls, while Thea reports that Renata is moving to London and that Renata’s marriage is over. Harper says she will visit Renata eventually and is giving Graeme another chance despite his affair with the nanny.
Other interviewees turn the aftermath into gossip and jokes. Stu and Jonathan joke about the French nanny, Miss Barnes says the petition disappeared after trivia night, and Jackie hopes the children can now simply learn without adult interference. Mrs. Lipmann frames the experience as a lesson in kindness and meticulous documentation.
Carol reveals that Madeline’s supposed erotic fiction book club had been a joke, but the idea has led Carol to a real Christian Erotic Fiction Club. Finally, Detective-Sergeant Adrian Quinlan admits he had suspected Perry’s wife, showing that even his instincts misled him. As the interview ends, Quinlan begins awkwardly asking the interviewer for a drink, closing the story on a comic, unresolved social note.
Who Appears
- SamanthaComments that Pirriwee has returned to normal with exaggerated parental kindness.
- GabrielleNotes the spring ball is canceled and jokes about stress-related weight gain.
- TheaReports Renata’s move to London and judges Renata’s failed marriage.
- HarperSays she will visit Renata and is giving Graeme another chance.
- StuJokes about why the French nanny never pursued him.
- JonathanClaims off the record that the French nanny did pursue him.
- Miss BarnesSays the petition vanished and plans a conflict-resolution unit.
- JackieHopes the children can be left alone to focus on schoolwork.
- Mrs. LipmannFrames the crisis as a lesson in kindness and documentation.
- CarolDiscovers Madeline’s book club joke and joins a real erotic fiction club.
- Detective-Sergeant Adrian QuinlanAdmits he wrongly suspected Perry’s wife and begins asking the interviewer out.