The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty My rating: 3 of 5 stars Ellen O’Farrell is a professional hypnotherapist who works out of the eccentric beachfront home she inherited from her grandparents. It’s a nice life, except for her tumultuous relationship history. She’s stoic about it, but at this point, Ellen wouldn’t mind a lasting one. When she meets Patrick, she’s optimistic. He’s attractive, single, employed, and best of all, he seems to like her back.
Then comes that dreaded moment: He thinks they should have a talk. Braced for the worst, Ellen is pleasantly surprised. It turns out that Patrick’s ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Ellen thinks, Actually, that’s kind of interesting. She’s dating someone worth stalking. She’s intrigued by the woman’s motives. In fact, she’d even love to meet her.
Ellen doesn’t know it, but she already has. With 502 pages my expectations of a good entertaining read were high especially as Big Little Lies was just that. Unfortunately though I ploughed on to the end, nothing much happened. There were so many opportunities to ramp up the pace that weren’t exploited. Because of the lack of pace and excitement it seemed very slow and a bit boring if I’m honest and therefore overly long. 502 pages in a book is commitment for a reader and I just didn’t think it was a great investment of my time. It’s an ok read for a holiday but not a great read. Only 3 stars from me, disappointing and lack lustre.
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
She could hear men and women shouting. Angry hollers crashed through the soft humid salty summer night. It was somehow hurtful for Mrs Ponder to hear, as if all that rage was directed at her . . . then she heard the wail of a siren in the distance, at the same time as a woman still inside the building began to scream and scream . . .
When a harmless quiz night ends with an act of shocking violence, the parents of Pirriwee Public School can't seem to stop their secrets from finally spilling out. Rumours ripple through the small town, as truth and lies blur to muddy the story of what really happened on that fateful night . . . After reading The Husband's Secret last year by Moriarty I couldn't wait for more. I loved her writing style and quickly got carried away in the book. When I was sent a copy of Little Lies, I could not wait to begin it. At almost 500 pages, this is a large book; do not let this put you off though as I found I read it quicker than I thought I would, once I got into it. This is a book I feel you need to give 100% on, I don't think that it would be possible to read alongside another as there are many characters in the book and it is important you know who is who, as they all have a relevant reason for being in the story. I can see that it could become quite confusing if you are juggling two books together. Also I would recommend allowing yourself to be immersed by this book and have a good few hours where you can get into it. For the same reason, at times I was a little confused as to who was who; once I got into it, it was a very smooth read and flowed very well. Jane has moved into the area, she is young and is a single mother to Ziggy. It quickly becomes apparent that Jane is very different to the other women in the area and at the school that Ziggy attends. Very quickly on Jane meets Madeline and forms a firm friendship with her. Things begin to go wrong for Jane after an incident in the school playground with Ziggy and everyone begins to turn on her. This is a story about developing tension, as you make your way through the book, you know something is going to happen but can't quite put your finger on what. Right from the beginning we know that whatever it is that is going to happen will feature around the school Trivia Night and we are just making our way towards it. It is such a cleverly written book, as you know there is something and you are trying to look out for what it could possibly be. Personally I had no idea what was going to happen in the story, we know that a murder has taken place but we don't know who is dead or why. I loved the angle covered with the three main female characters and thought they complimented each other brilliantly. Each one of them has their own story going on and their story lines are well developed, just as the characters are. I loved how Moriarty bought all the characters together and that they seem to have a link in some way. This is a gripping story, it has you hooked from the first few chapters and it engages you all the way to the end. This is a book that you just have to finish. I love the way Moriarty writes and from what I have now read she just seems to be getting better and better. There are many shocking revelations in the book that you will not be expecting and keep you wanting more. I would love to read more of Moriarty; I cannot seem to get enough! This is definitely one to be adding to your reading list this year. I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this in exchange for an honest review. Check out this trailer for the book, if the blurb doesn't make you want to read it, this will!
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty My rating: 5 of 5 stars 'From the author of the critically acclaimed What Alice Forgot comes a breakout new novel about the secrets husbands and wives keep from each other. My Darling Cecilia If you're reading this, then I've died . . . Imagine your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret - something so terrible it would destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others too. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive . . . Cecilia Fitzpatrick achieved it all - she's an incredibly successful business woman, a pillar of her small community and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia - or each other - but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband's devastating secret.' During the book we follow the lives of three different women, to begin with I found this a bit tricky to keep up with as there are many characters introduced within a short period of time. Make sure you don’t give up though as it quickly slips into place and once it does, you will not be able to put it down. Cecilia Fitzpatrick and her husband have been married many years and she thinks she knows him inside and out. When she is in the loft one day looking for part of the Berlin wall (for her daughter) she discovers something she is not sure she was meant to find. It is a letter that is addressed to her in case of her husband’s death. Cecilia knows she shouldn’t open the letter as her husband is very much alive, but she just cannot keep it to herself. But what could it possibly say? Why is it only to be opened in the event of his death? We are left with this to ponder over while we meet Tess, she has a son with her husband, he however has fallen in love with someone else. She cannot take it and flies to stay with her mum in Sydney, along with her son. Finally we meet Rachel, she is a school secretary and is still grieving over the loss of her daughter many years before. She now puts all her energy into her grandson, her son and daughter in law have been offered a job in America and are planning on taking him with them. This is something that Rachel feels would kill her as she would have nothing left. Liane Moriarty is an author who I had not come across before, however on the strength of this book I would read others. The story is written very well and during the novel we begin to find out about Janie Rachel’s daughter, this is the back story that is going on. I found I enjoyed this and found it necessary to understand some of the actions Rachel takes. The Husband’s Secret is a story that takes you on a journey to question how well you know people that you care about and friends. You are also left with the realisation of the consequences keeping secrets can have. I would recommend this book to everyone I know, it took me on a journey with the characters and my feeling for them regularly changed. I found it a quick read but one that will last with you a long time. I loved the ‘who done it’ aspect of the book and the twists and turns in the plot. I would like to thank the publisher for sending me this copy to review.
The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty
