The Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty

The books tells the story of triplets Cat, Lyn and Gemma Kettle and their parents Maxine and Frank. The prologue describes a dinner to celebrate their 34th birthday. One of the triplets  is pregnant and they have a huge row. The story then goes back 3 years and we slowly find out what led to the bust up and which of the three sisters is pregnant.

This is definitely one of Moriarty's better books. It's fast paced with lots of interesting characters, particularly the men each of the sisters is involved with. There are moments you want to cheer and moments you want to cover your eyes. There are short anecdotes between many of the chapters written by people who have seen the three attractive, vivacious sisters out together. The author uses these to show the effect the girls have on other people.The story provides insights into being 'a multiple', being married to a triplet and being the parents of triplets. The girls have very different personalities when they're apart, but when they're together there's a Kettle Triplets persona that they share.

Butterfly by Sonya Hartnett

This is a short book (214 pages) written in 2009. It is set in 1980 and tells the story of 13 year old Plum, a plump teenager who lives with her parents and two older brothers (Justin 24 and Cydar 22). She is taken under the wing of a neighbour, 36 year old stay at home mum, Maureen.

Plum is ordinary, not particularly pretty, smart or virtuous. She is struggling to hold onto friendships. She is surrounded by teenage girls who don't find anything about her to value, other than her two good looking older brothers. The book reveals the immaturity of both Plum and Maureen as they grapple with their unsatisfying lives.

The Hypnotist's Love Story by Lianne Moriarty

This is one of Moriarty's early novels (first published 2011). Her latest ones have noticeably more complicated plots with interweaving storylines. It's a story about serial monogamy, about moving on, about getting stuck in the past, and about the importance of timing. Ellen is a hypnotherapist who has gone through three, three to four year relationships. She is now single and meets Patrick through an internet dating site. Patrick's wife Colleen died about six years earlier and he has an 8 year old son. He has had one serious relationship since Colleen died. This was with Saskia, it ended three years ago, but she has been stalking him ever since.

Unknown to Ellen or Patrick, Saskia becomes one of Ellen's clients. The book provides interesting insights into the world of hypnotherapy. It also explores the mind of a stalker and the impact stalking can have on its victims. Moriarty brings her characters to life with the small details in their actions and thought processes. As Patrick and Ellen get to know each other they shift from that first 'treading on eggshells'  stage to their first argument.

The story has it's climax and a fairly long wrap-up. It doesn't have the plot twits of some of Moriarty's other books, but it's a classic story of finding oneself and emotional growth.