Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The retreat at health-and-wellness resort Tranquillum House promises total transformation.

Nine stressed city dwellers are keen to drop their literal and mental baggage, and absorb the meditative ambience while enjoying their hot stone massages.

Miles from anywhere, without cars or phones, they have no way to reach the outside world. Just time to think about themselves, and get to know each other.

Watching over them is the resort's director, a woman on a mission. But quite a different one from any the guests might have imagined.

For behind the retreat's glamorous facade lies a dark agenda.

These nine perfect strangers have no idea what's about to hit them . . .

I really enjoyed this unusual story about 9 strangers who all end up booking into a health and wellness resort for different reasons and who all end up getting far more than they bargained for.

With a wide cast of characters with their own reasons for wanting to transform their lives (a claim that Tranquillem House offers) they embark on a journey that they hadn't anticipated during which they endure 10 cleansing programmes, daily smoothies, spa and therapy treatments along with personal exercise classes and five days of compulsory silence, this is shaping up to be a little more than most of the 'guests' expected.

Good likeable relatable characters with generous helpings of humour keep this novel ticking along nicely. We learn about all nine characters and their reasons for choosing the retreat and what they expect to get from it. Tranquillem House (set in Australia) is situated miles from anywhere and having had to surrender all electronic devices when they entered, our nine guests find themselves cut off from the outside world. The resort is run by a Russian called Marsha who turns out to be a ruthless woman who's own near death experience has led her to change her life and who believes she has the power to change others' lives (whether they like it or not).

While the calming programme seems innocent enough Marsha has a sinister agenda to which her unassuming guests will be subjected to.

Lovely characterisation of all of the nine participants make this a really realistic and enjoyable story and as it progresses the lives of these characters come to the fore. Good doses of humour and wit in this tale along with the madness of Marsha force these people together where unexpected bonds are made and dramatic transformations occur.

Loved the idea and the novel, well written and insightful with steady pace that makes it an easy read. I will never look at health spas and wellness centres quite the same again! Well worth 5 stars