Little Liar

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of rape and sexual violence.

As the second book in the series, Little Liar continues the story begun in Little Stranger, the first book in the Web of Silence duology, escalating the stakes and deepening the exploration of its central characters. Little Liar focuses particularly on Malachi’s perspective to give psychological depth to a morally gray antihero, whereas Little Stranger is told mainly from Olivia’s point of view. Though the two books cover some of the same time period, the shift in first-person narrator allows for additional layering of both plot and theme, as insight is given into both characters’ perspectives. 

In Little Stranger, Malachi takes many extreme actions, such as kidnapping Olivia as a masked stranger, chaining her in his cabin in the woods, and even sexually torturing her with a screwdriver. Although Olivia returns to Malachi at the end of the novel, leaving Xander at the altar, the novel ends without exploring how the couple will reunite with their family, if at all. In addition, unlike Little Liar, the first book offers very little insight into Malachi’s history—most importantly, his traumatic childhood. With Little Liar’s reveal of the full circumstances of Malachi’s upbringing and adoption, his behavior and violence aren’t excused, but the novel does offer the possibility for healing and redemption.

The characters of Jennifer and Jamieson, Olivia and Malachi’s parents, are further developed in the second novel as well. While Jamieson is a more unsympathetic figure in the first book, in Little Liar, he emerges as an ally who grows to understand and support Malachi. On the other hand, Jennifer emerges as a fully antagonistic figure, even arranging for Olivia to be kidnapped to fulfill her agenda. Little Liar also wraps up some of the longer story arcs that are established in Little Stranger, including focusing on a happy resolution not just for Malachi and Olivia but also for the larger Vize family unit. The text establishes bonds between Jamieson, Malachi, and Isaac, as well as Olivia, Malachi, and Molly, bringing Olivia and Malachi back to the folds of family and community. The novel also links with the Edge of Darkness series by Leigh Rivers through characters like Kade Mitchell.