Big Little Lies vs Mystic river: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Friendship, Murder, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction
Big Little Lies
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Pirriwee Public is a beautiful little beachside primary school where children are taught that ‘sharing is caring.’ So how has the annual School Trivia Night ended in full-blown riot? Sirens are wailing. People are…
Mystic river
“WHEN SEAN DEVINE and Jimmy Marcus were kids, their fathers worked together at the Coleman Candy plant and carried the stench of warm chocolate back home with them.”
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When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up to their street. One boy got into the car, two did not, and something terrible happened -- something that…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Big Little Lies highest: Big Little Lies 4.5 · Mystic river 4.2.
- Mystic river has the widest readership — 171181 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Big Little Lies | Mystic river | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.2 (171181) |
| Hardcover | 4.5 (2) | 4.1 (184) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (1) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (7847) | 4.5 (687) |
Reception
| Big Little Lies | Mystic river | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 7847 | 171181 |
| Editions | 24 | 53 |
| Citations | 5 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 139549 |
| Reading it now | — | 4943 |
| Written reviews | — | 6742 |
| Wikipedia attention | 5810 | 5175 |
| Pages | 482 | 496 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Big Little Lies or Mystic river?
Big Little Lies has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Big Little Lies 4.5/5, Mystic river 4.2/5).
Which is shorter to read: Big Little Lies or Mystic river?
Big Little Lies is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Big Little Lies (482 pages, ≈ 8 h 56 m); Mystic river (496 pages, ≈ 9 h 11 m).
Which is harder to read: Big Little Lies or Mystic river?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Big Little Lies: Moderate; Mystic river: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
Big Little Lies: 1 film adaptation; Mystic river: 5 film adaptations.