Nine Perfect Strangers

Nine Perfect Strangers truly deserves its status as a best seller. The author's simple yet engaging writing style makes it accessible to readers of all levels. The storyline effortlessly combines intrigue and grip, making it a compelling read. The author's talent shines through, earning this book a solid 5-star rating. I'm eagerly anticipating diving into the author's other works after being thoroughly impressed by this one.

Nine Perfect Strangers was one of the top contenders in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2018 - Fiction Category. The premise of the book seemed interesting and so, I decided to pick it up. As the title says, it is a story of nine strangers, each with a different background and backstory looking to transform their lives. Their lives get intertwined in ways only the author, Liane Moriarty, could have eloquently narrated through this book. Plot: Tranquillum House, headed by Masha, is a popular health and wellness centre among those looking for recreation and relaxation. It promises to transform the lives of residents within a period of just 10 days. Each of the nine protagonists has a reason of his/her own to check-in to Tranquillum House. Masha was busy living a corporate life that nearly cost her her life. A Near-Death Experience (NDE) forced her to deliberate her life choices. Tranquillum House was Masha’s attempt to bring her life back on course. Along with Yao and Delilah, Masha aims to turn the lives of all her guests around, just like she did for herself, by understanding and customizing the treatment course for each of its residents. Among its current nine residents are Francis - an author with an existential crisis, nursing a bad back and a broken heart; Ben and Jessica - a young, seemingly rich couple who could really use couple’s therapy; Napolean, his wife Heather and their young daughter Zoe - yes, an entire family who seemed healthy but were consumed with grief; Caramel - a single mom of four with self-doubt and confidence issues; Tony - a former sports-star, and Lars - a hotshot divorce lawyer. With each chapter in the book, you discover important information pertaining to their Pre-Tranquillum House lives. Their experience at the Tranquillum House starts on a quiet note (quite literally), and as each day unfolds, they are taken through a set of group and individual recreational activities. Each resident even has a customized meal plan! It all seems to be going well until one day, when one of Masha’s particularly unconventional group activity goes south and turns the entire group of nine against her. Masha tries her best to deal with the aftermath. After the 10 day ‘cleansing’ program, could the nine residents truly say that their lives had changed? Was it for better or for worse? That is something you’ll have to read the book to figure out. Verdict: Nine Perfect Strangers is an engaging read. The pace of the book is just right and the author beautifully describes the stories of each one of the characters. The plot twists will awaken your curiosity and keep you glued till the end of the book. I personally enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a well-written story.

This is not the best work of Moriarty. It's a bit of a stretch and all has been tied up into a forced happy ending. On the plus side I have always loved her writing style of putting everyday people into wierd situations and also how she presents the point of view of every character.

Was delivered late but good book

This is a witty book, the storyline is interesting - it is a bit slow in the beginning but picks up pace midway. While you may start guessing where this is heading but the plot will twist. I wouldn’t say this is a must read but a good light read nonetheless.

Yet to finish, going good

A story set in historic home restored as a Health Resort called Tranquillum House. . Nine people, Nine broken stories... . An author with a declining career... . A Young Rich Couple, with a stroke of luck with money which has strained their relationship... . A Heartbroken Family of three,each grieving their dead son, while two of them have secrets not yet unveiled ... . A past Ivy League football player with a broken sense of purpose... . A low esteemed Mother of four whose husband left her for a young woman, came here to transform her body or maybe everything about herself ... . A Divorce Lawyer with a strained past, unwilling to compromise for his partner, fearing he'll lose love of his life... . These nine people come to this Healthcare Resort... With the hope of healing themselves, come across unconventional methods, 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 provided by health resort's director Masha... . Masha, a woman of true mystery, woman of charm, a woman from a tragic past who believes no one truly has been through realities of life... And she's determined to give guests of resort 𝐴 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 of 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝐹𝑒𝑎𝑟... . These nine broken people have no idea what awaits them... They are stuck in a nightmare brought together by eerily unconventional methods to "𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑇𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑠𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠" . How will they get out of this nightmare? . Read to know what happens to these nine lives, and whether this dreadful experience will heal them. . A truly Page - Turner Crime Thriller by one the most talented women in literature... She grabs you right from page one and keeps you wondering about the climax. . I have always always enjoyed Liane Moriarty's books, it gives a thrill, you'll even feel chills running in your veins, you'll relate to all her stories as if you know them. She emotionally binds us with the characters so skillfully, breaking the barrier between fiction and reality!!! I Highly recommend this book to Crime lovers, anyone who are on journey to find themselves! With her books one by one being brought to TV /Theaters... Surely you don't want to miss her wonderful books filled with Suspense, Thriller, Emotions, Stories to which you'll relate easily, a narrative which will make you part of story...

While I enjoy most of Liane Moriarty’s works, this one left me feeling a bit meh. Don’t get me wrong, it is an entertaining one time read. It has a unique premise involving nine strangers who arrive at a glamorous health retreat, ‘Tranquillum House’, hoping to change their lives for the better. Everyone is facing their own battles - old age, menopause, divorce, death of loved ones, family troubles, money troubles etc. Masha, the charismatic director of the retreat ensures them that they will leave the retreat as completely different people with a new outlook on life. What these nine individuals don’t yet know is that Masha’s methods are a tad … unconventional. With no means to communicate to the outside world, they find themselves entirely at the mercy of Masha’s dark agenda. Needless to say, the story is very character centric with elements of suspense thrown into the mix. The multiple POVs provide us with deep insights into each of the characters as well as their changing perspectives of one another over the course of 10 days. The characters are all from diverse backgrounds with unique voices and come across as genuine people. The author’s trademark humor and suspense is what keeps you hooked till the end. So, what was lacking then? Well, some of the characters were just not that interesting. The book was tedious to get though in parts especially when we deep dive into the depressing back stories of some of these bland characters. All I could think of was ‘Who cares?’. With all the dark foreshadowing, I also expected a lot more to the plot. While the first half is character driven, the second half has the façade of a thriller with an ending that borders on farcical. All in all, it all boiled down to one question for me. Was it enjoyable enough that I might reread it in the future? The answer is, no. Rating: 3 stars