Book Review: Nine Perfect Strangers

Nine Perfect Strangers and a Strange Luxury Retreat

We’re big fans of Liane Moriarty. So there was no doubt about whether we’d like Nine Perfect Strangers. We enjoyed it very much!

As the title suggests, this story is about the meeting of nine strangers who come together at a luxury health retreat. That premise alone is enough to be interesting. But given Liane Moriarty’s characters tend to harbor secrets that are often quite juicy, this scenario is perfectly enthralling. I mean, who wouldn’t be entertained by nine strangers during ten days together at a health spa? Why are they all there? What are the issues they are dealing with? What will happen when their issues and personalities ultimately collide?

 Oh and they do!

Nine Perfect Strangers Story is Funny and Cringe-Worthy

Then, of course, because Liane Moriarty has a way of sending plots off in unexpected directions, these nine strangers—plus the staff that run the spa—go through a weird experience that is quite cringe-worthy, possibly illegal, definitely immoral, and maybe even deadly.

It was a fun read, to say the least.

Hulu is adapting Nine Perfect Strangers into a limited television series starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy, due to be released in 2021.

Be sure to read the novel before the show comes out.

Nine Perfect Strangers 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.

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.

Author Bio:

Liane Moriarty is the Australian author of eight internationally best-selling novels: Three Wishes, The Last Anniversary, What Alice Forgot, The Hypnotist’s Love Story, Nine Perfect Strangers, and the number-one New York Times bestsellers: The Husband’s Secret, Big Little Lies, and Truly Madly Guilty. Her books have been translated into over forty languages and sold more than 20 million copies.

Big Little Lies and Truly Madly Guilty both debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list – the first time this was ever achieved by an Australian author. Big Little Lies was adapted into a multiple-award-winning HBO series with a star-studded cast, including Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. Hulu is adapting Nine Perfect Strangers into a limited series starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy for release in 2021.

Her new novel, Apples Never Fall, will be released in September 2021.

Liane lives in Sydney, Australia, together with her husband, son and daughter.

Nine Perfect Strangers FAQ

The cover image of this feature is by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash

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