Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Title: Nine Perfect Strangers
Author: Liane Moriarty
Page Count: 450
Rating: A
Format: BOTM Hardcover
Genre: Suspense
Keywords: Healing, Suicide, Chaos
Kid Appropriate: No

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Could ten days at a health resort really change you forever? In Liane Moriarty’s latest page-turner, nine perfect strangers are about to find out...

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.

My Review:

This is 100% one of the weirdest books I have ever read in my life. For the first half I was expecting to be mildly disappointed and that my final rating would be somewhere around a C. The book was a bit boring at times but supported by a diverse cast of intriguing individuals that I was kept curious by.

And then a certain event happens half way through that was...absolutely insane and this book goes completely off the rails in a way I did not see coming. With each chapter I found myself slowly increasing my rating until we ended up at a five star/A rating and I am now in a total book hangover.

I went into this book knowing pretty much nothing except what the title told me and the setting. Trust me and go in not knowing anything or expecting anything. If you like books that can somehow make you laugh, cry, and be completely weirded out then go for it.

Now, if you're still not trusting in my opinion of books then I will give you a bit more information. This book is certainly ludicrous. It is outlandish and unrealistic for sure. However, the examination of the characters and the realities of human life that are examined through this insane ordeal are incredibly realistic and I was brought to tears more than once. Each character is unique and

fascinating and we learn about them through their own thoughts, how they interact with the others, and how others see them. I loved the moral vagueness of each character and that it is difficult to hate any of them.

While I loved Big Little Lies by the same author, I do not recommend going into this expecting the same story or even a similar story. This is its own creature and you might feel after it is all said and done that there were similarities but they are incredibly different.

Overall, I loved this weird book so much more than I could have hoped possible. Be warned that suicide, mourning, drug use, family issues, violence, loss of a child/children, and murder are all discussed.