Book Review: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: November 6, 2018
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.
Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can?
It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.
Combining all of the hallmarks that have made her writing a go-to for anyone looking for wickedly smart, page-turning fiction that will make you laugh and gasp, Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers once again shows why she is a master of her craft.
As you know, Liane Moriarty is one of my favorite authors. I waited very impatiently for Nine Perfect Strangers. I even tried to order it from Amazon Australia because it came out in October there. No dice.
I am happy to report that it was worth the wait! Nine Perfect Strangers is about nine very different people who are thrown together for a week long retreat at Tranquillum House, a health spa run by the somewhat out there Masha. The longer the week goes on, the weirder Masha and what she wants the spa guests to do get.
Every person at the spa has a secret that is the reason behind why they came to the spa. Moriarty uses her standard method of beginning in the middle of the story. The book starts as the guests are arriving on the first day and she goes back and forth, slowly revealing what the guests’ backgrounds are and what they are hiding.
I don’t mind that most of Moriarty’s books follow the same basic structure because she does it so well. She is excellent at building suspense and adding twists. My only quibble with this book is that the ending felt a bit rushed. Everything is wrapped up nicely though, with no loose ends, which I appreciated.
I’m so glad that Liane Moriarty consistently releases books every year or two so I won’t have to wait eons for her next one. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to the second season of Big Little Lies, which is supposed to premiere sometime this summer.
Other Liane Moriarty books I’ve reviewed:
The Last Anniversary
What Alice Forgot
The Husband’s Secret
Big Little Lies
Truly Madly Guilty
