Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty

Genre: Fiction/Something A Bit Different

★★★★

Synopsis:  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.


*** 

Review: I loved this book. No, it's not perfect, but yes, it's hilarious. It's quite tongue in cheek, I think, and anyone going into it expecting a serious thriller is going to be confused and disappointed. I already knew people dropped the book over the unusual turn of events, and what those events were, when I picked it up, so I guess I was better prepared for something a bit zany. This is one of those books where, you'll probably get on better with it if you know the zany bit in advance, but knowing does also kind of spoil the experience. So, I try to hit a middle ground here by saying - this is something a bit different, expect it to go a bit outside what you might expect in this kind of story. Keep an open mind. And remember the whole thing is tongue in cheek - I feel like Moriarty intended quite a bit of black humor here which, in my opinion, other reviewers completely missed out on.

I really liked the characters, there was definitely some heart in there with the Marconi family, and while some characters could have been better developed, most held their own well enough. I absolutely loved the zany sections - there were some genuine laugh out loud moments and how anyone couldn't get a giggle out of it is beyond me. I also loved the way the final few chapters were written. Yes the plot is a bit ridiculous, but it's meant to be a fun book, and honestly anyone who can't take it for what it is is missing out on some very entertaining writing. Four stars!

Rating: 4/5