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TRIGGER WARNING: drug use, addiction, suicide

A retreat to reset your life. What makes a person attend one? Lots of different reasons! Frances is a formerly succesful writer but her latest book has been rejected. Napoleon, Heather and Zoe are mourning the loss of their son and brother. Carmel feels drab after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. Ben and Jessica’s relationship is in crisis after winning the lottery. Lars and Tony both feel unfulfilled and lost. And finally Masha is the owner of the retreat: can she genuinely change lives?

Nine Perfect Strangers is a psychological thriller with plenty of drama. It has been made into a TV show but I have not seen it (yet!)

There are some BIG issues covered in this book. Masha is a workaholic an she suffers a heart attack. This leads to an out of body experience and the determination to change her life and share her revelation with others. A diverse group of people arrive at her retreat but her methods are more unusual and extreme than they have been previously.

I found an emotional pull to most of the characters. Ben is haunted by his sister’s addiction and has not found happiness with his huge lottery win. Jessica is unhappy with her appearance but the more plastic surgery she has the more it drives a wedge between her and her husband. Frances and Carmel are older women who feel that they are on the scrapheap after personal and professional rejections. I felt the most emotion about Napoleon, Heather and Zoe’s back story as they struggle to cope with Zac’s suicide. Each of them feels guilty but are trying to stay strong for the others.

The book is a slow burn for the first half of the book as we are introduced to the characters and their back stories. Masha’s methods are unorthodox but gradually become more extreme and dangerous. The final chapters of the book show the changes that have happened in the characters lives and there are more twists here!

I am getting addicted to audiobooks and I liked the use of the accent to distinguish Masha’s voice which didn’t feel like a caricature.

Nine Perfect Strangers is a dramatic, engaging and emotional psychological thriller.

Book blurb

Could ten days at a health resort really change you forever?

These 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 Liane Moriarty’s writing a go-to for anyone looking for wickedly smart, page-turning fiction that will make you laugh and gasp, Nine Perfect Strangers once again shows why she is a master of her craft.