Stereotyping is a problem with other characters as well. The book’s single gay character stops on his way to the spa to buy a case of really good wine and dreams of having a child who's a mini-me. The book’s only minority character is relegated to the thankless role of boss-worshiping flunkey. There is also nonstop gratuitous bashing of women who have body image issues (she really doesn’t need to lose weight! she just thinks she does), women who choose to have plastic surgery, and women who devote time to social media. The brief validation these characters get at the novel’s conclusion in no way compensates for the repeated scolding they weather throughout the rest of the book. Not to mention the fact that these aren’t solely women’s issues.

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. On his third day out he meets a middle-age woman who had fallen out of a chair. Obviously a heavy smoker - some overworked bigwig - who paid little attention to her personal health. Masha was soon having a full blown cardiac arrest. As I was making my way through the last half of the book, I was thinking, "Oh my God. I'm going to have to go on Goodreads and give Liane Moriarty a 3-star rating. Oh my God." This remote health resort called Tranquillum House is located in Sydney- Australia, built in 1800s and renovated into a secluded place providing extra pampering, luxury, mindfulness, medication, soul healing etc.Frances was my FAVORITE guest and she is hilarious. She is also a down and out romance writer. She can't decide if Masha is mad, crazy, nuts and unhinged or perhaps shes a "genius" and really odd, alternative, intense, excessively tall and exotic. No one can seem to figure her out! There’s an epilogue, which I ordinarily find to be unnecessary but in this case I appreciated it. There are transformations, although not necessarily the ones the guests expected. UPDATE June 2019: They ARE making this into a TV series (or maybe a movie?)! No date given yet, but Nicole Kidman is cast as the spa director. Hot dog! I had high hopes for Nine Perfect Strangers given how much I enjoyed some of Liane Moriarty's previous books, including Big Little Lies and The Husband's Secret. But this one never took off for me; in fact, the pacing was so slow it felt like I was reading it for 10 days, as long as these characters were planning to be at the health resort!

I absolutely loved the way that this novel made me feel and yup in the end it gave me that warmth and satisfying afterglow that I seek in my books. Your skin is gorgeous!’ Frances gesticulated wildly, probably because she was trying not to look at Zoe’s pimple.”

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My first Liane Moriarty novel - I was intrigued by this one after the hype surrounding Big Little Lies. This may not be indicative of the quality of her other novels, but I found this to be cliched, predictable and ridiculous. Perhaps the novel’s biggest problem is that the thriller aspect is really nothing but a ridiculous framing device, and doesn’t actually cause that much conflict to be brought to life. This is not fixed by the pacing issues — the beginning of the novel is far too long, and while the payoff for all her setup is fantastic, I thought Moriarty could have streamlined the middle by integrating character development into the plot with far more care. The novel’s tenth and eleventh character, Marsha & Yao, both get good development, but their role in the narrative itself is somewhat overextended at times. Of course, I had my favorite characters, and Frances, the menopausal romance novelist was the one I was immediately drawn to in this story. I love snarky wit and she was hilarious. But it’s not all laughs, as some guests are dealing with serious issues, many of them heartbreaking.

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. The gate opens easily when Ben enters the ‘correct’ button code. “Just needed a man’s touch”, he says. Ha! I hate when you've been waiting for an author you like to come out with a new book and it disappoints. The good news for me is, there are still some of Moriarty's earlier books I haven't read, so I look forward to those. And who knows? You may enjoy this one more than I did.

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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 people book into a health resort, Tranquillum House, ready to be transformed into a better, thinner, healthier version of their former self. I hope they make the book into a movie; I would love to see this on the screen. Hm…I need to think about what to tell the director about casting, lol, once I make my choices. Maybe they will make it into a movie since Big Little Lies transferred to the scene so well. (btw, I can’t wait to see Season 2, coming up in 2019, with queen Meryl Streep!) Liane Moriarty's latest offering is a hugely enjoyable psychological thriller that is pure fun and entertainment whilst incorporating a look beneath the issues of a wide cast of characters and the moving stories that lie behind the facade of their everyday lives. Set in Australia, Tranquillem House is a health and wellness resort that many clients claim transformed their lives for the better. The latest batch of arrivals are 9 strangers that get considerably more than they bargained for with their 10 day cleansing programme of diet, light exercise, therapy and spa treatments. It is run by the Russian Masha, a ruthlessly ambitious former company executive whose near death experience led to a complete change in her life direction. Masha had a dark and hidden agenda for her latest customers, driven by the best of intentions, supported by her primary staff members, Yao, and Delilah.