The New York Times Book Review - Lisa Scottoline
One of the most satisfying aspects of Nine Perfect Strangers is that it is thought-provoking but never pedantic. The novel raises fascinating questions about our relentless quest for self-improvement, why we seek out others to transform us and whether external change causes internal change, or vice versa. Does social media make followers of us all? When does a group become a cult, and why? Moriarty doesn't supply the answers, but trusts her readers to come up with their own, which is just as it should be.
Publishers Weekly
★ 09/24/2018
Send a motley crew of hurting but comfortably heeled Aussies to a secluded resort for a pricey 10-day “Mind and Body Total Transformation Retreat” and what happens? In this cannily plotted, continually surprising, and frequently funny page-turner from bestseller Moriarty (Big Little Lies), nothing like the restorative reset they’re anticipating. The nine guests at Tranquillum House include middle-aged romance writer Frances Welty, her normal spunkiness shaken by recent personal and professional setbacks, and 20-year-old Zoe Marconi, there with her parents on the anniversary of the family tragedy that shattered their lives. What they haven’t reckoned on is Tanquillum House’s messianic but precariously stable director, whose secret agenda could be dangerous to their health. It would be unsporting to disclose more about Moriarty’s largely endearing cast, since her progressive revelations about them contribute so much toward making this such a deeply satisfying thriller. Moriarty delivers yet another surefire winner. Author tour. Agent: Faye Bender, Faye Bender Literary. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
"The bestselling author of Big Little Lies is back with another twisty, turny, and smart piece of fiction." - BookRiot
"[Narrator] Caroline Lee's animated performance...is especially memorable. Listeners will be hooked as the retreat begins to unravel." -AudioFile
"The interwoven stories of a group of guests at a health resort in Southeast Australia are delightfully narrated by Melbourne performer Caroline Lee, who never falters in her characterizations of this varied cast of characters and who works in concert with the author to imbue them with vivid personalities and intriguing interactions." — SoundCommentary
Library Journal - Audio
★ 02/01/2019
Despite a frustrating check-in experience leading to doubts over whether to stay at Tranquillum House or return home, romance writer Frances Welty is intrigued enough by the remote Australian health resort's owner, staff, and eight fellow guests to stay. Frances ruminates upon the reason(s) the guests, owner, and staff have for attending (and holding) the ten-day retreat. The person who intrigues her the most is the strange and charismatic owner of the resort, but Frances isn't sure whether to put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer, or run while she still can? The book is long, but Moriarty (Big Little Lies) effectively places the listener in Frances's mind. Caroline Lee's nicely paced, clear, distinct speech and British accent suits this Australia-set novel. Lee does an admirable job of differentiating among all characters' voices—particularly male voices and the owner's Russian accent. VERDICT Loaded with suspenseful psychological thrills, comedy, and dark humor, this genre-crossing work will appeal to a wide range of listeners as it is a little bit Maeve Binchy, Dean Koontz, and Lisa Scottoline. ["The story drags a bit in the middle, but the last third is on fire, with intense issues and a roller-coaster plot that will leave readers breathless": LJ 11/15/18 review of the Flatiron: Macmillan hc.]—Laurie Selwyn, formerly with Grayson Cty. Law Lib., Sherman, TX
DECEMBER 2018 - AudioFile
Nine people seeking escape gather at a health resort for a ten-day retreat, but the fanatical resort director's devotion to "transformation" leads to some surprising turns. Narrator Caroline Lee’s animated performance brings listeners along as the story changes perspective; all the guests, plus the resort’s three staff members, have point-of-view chapters. Lee is especially memorable as Frances Welty, a cheerful, snarky romance novelist; Masha, the mysterious resort owner; and Jessica Chandler, a young, image-obsessed lottery winner with the habit of ending most of her sentences with a question. Lee uses her full vocal range—multiple accents and a variety of pitches and tones—even going so far as to let her voice crack and break. Listeners will be hooked as the retreat begins to unravel. E.C. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2018-11-15
Nine people gather at a luxurious health resort in the Australian bushland. Will they have sex, fall in love, get killed, or maybe just lose weight?
Moriarty (Truly Madly Guilty, 2014, etc.) is known for darkly humorous novels set in the suburbs of Sydney—though her most famous book, Big Little Lies (2014), has been transported to Monterey, California, by Reese Witherspoon's HBO series. Her new novel moves away from the lives of prosperous parents to introduce a more eclectic group of people who've signed up for a 10-day retreat at Tranquillium House, a remote spa run by the messianic Masha, "an extraordinary-looking woman. A supermodel. An Olympic athlete. At least six feet tall, with corpse-like white skin and green eyes so striking and huge they were almost alien-like." This was the moment when the guests should probably have fled, but they all decided to stay (perhaps because their hefty payments were nonrefundable?). The book's title is slightly misleading, since not all the guests are strangers to each other. There are two family groups: Ben and Jessica Chandler, a young couple whose relationship broke down after they won the lottery, and the Marconis, Napolean and Heather and their 20-year-old daughter, Zoe, who are trying to recover after the death of Zoe's twin brother, Zach. Carmel Schneider is a divorced housewife who wants to get her mojo back, Lars Lee is an abnormally handsome divorce lawyer who's addicted to spas, and Tony Hogburn is a former professional footballer who wants to get back into shape. Though all these people have their own chapters, the main character is Frances Welty, a romance writer who needs a pick-me-up after having had her latest novel rejected and having been taken in by an internet scam—she fell in love with a man she met on Facebook and sent money to help his (nonexistent) son, who'd been in a (nonexistent) car accident. How humiliating for a writer to fall for a fictional person, Frances thinks, in her characteristically wry way. When the guests arrive, they're given blood tests (why?) and told they're going to start off with a five-day "noble silence" in which they're not even supposed to make eye contact with each other. As you can imagine, something fishy is going on, and while Moriarty displays her usual humor and Frances in particular is an appealing character, it's all a bit ridiculous.
Fun to read, as always with Moriarty's books, but try not to think about it or it will stop making sense.
