Book Review: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Title: Nine Perfect Strangers
Author: Liane Moriarty
Publisher: Macmillan Australia 
Publication date: 18th September 2018
RRP: $32.99
Pages: 512
Format Read: Trade paperback
Source: Uncorrected proof from publisher

From the no. 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Husband's Secret and Big Little Lies.
The retreat at health and wellness resort Tranquillum House promises total transformation. Nine stressed city dwellers are keen to drop their literal and mental baggage, and absorb the meditative ambience while enjoying their hot stone massages.
Watching over them is the resort's director, a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies.
These nine perfect strangers have no idea what is about to hit them.
With her wit, compassion and uncanny understanding of human behaviour, Liane Moriarty explores the depth of connection that can be formed when people are thrown together in... unconventional circumstances.

I absolutely devoured Big Little Lies! I love how Liane Moriarty starts a story all sweet with likeable characters, then slowly a foreboding veil comes across the story and people’s dark side begins to emerge changing a good story into a compelling story.

Nine people book into a health resort, Tranquillum House, ready to be transformed into a better, thinner, healthier version of their former self.

A washed up romance novelist, a family broken by tragedy, a has-been football star, a young couple whose marriage is faltering, the wife who has been left for a newer model and the lawyer who has  commitment issues. Nine perfect strangers all broken in their own way looking for a make-over, a rejuvenation.

Then there is Maria (Masha) Dmitrichenko, a Russian immigrant. Masha, the director of Tranquillum House, is a transformation zealot – enlightenment for all. These nine guests are to be the first to start her new regime. Their destinies are in her hands. She is going to change these people, not just temporarily, but forever.

I wasn’t sure where this story was going to go. But.....the way it went was never in my wildest dreams what I imagined.

Moriarty’s ability to bring out the small idiosyncrasies in each person is extraordinary. She slowly dissects each character, their thoughts, fears and hopes are revealed through her writing. It was easy to see something of yourself in these everyday people.

Moriarty has written a novel that delves into the human mind and the way we think and connect with each other, showing an intricate observation of human failings and frailties.

The story had my emotions reeling. I could feel empathy for the characters and sadness over their different circumstances. But a sudden shift in the story had my anger rising, which shows how real the characters and the story felt to me. With Moriarty you never know what could possibly happen next.

Nine Perfect Strangers is a roller coaster of a read with beautifully developed characters full of insecurities, false bravado and completely relatable. Once you start reading this book it will be hard to put down!

My rating 4/5     🌟🌟🌟🌟

Content: infrequent coarse language.

Photo courtesy of Macmillan AUS

Liane Moriarty is the Australian author of seven internationally bestselling novels, including the no. 1 NYT bestsellers The Husband's Secret, Big Little Lies and Truly Madly Guilty. Her books have sold over fourteen million copies worldwide, including two million in Australia and New Zealand. The Husband's Secret was a no.1 UK bestseller, an Amazon Best Book of 2013 and has been translated into over 40 languages. Big Little Lies and Truly Madly Guilty reached no.1 on the NYT bestseller list in their first week of publication - the first time this has been achieved by an Australian. Liane is also the author of the Space Brigade series for children.