Nine Perfect Strangers

Yet again, Liane Moriarty has made it onto my list of favorite reads for the year. From page one, I fell under its spell. 

Nine individuals meet at a secluded health resort for various reasons like weight loss and life rejuvenation. Amidst luxury and self-care, they anticipate challenges ahead, but they don’t expect the New Age equivalent to a Dominatrix, who seems to enjoy shaming their weaknesses and dishing out torturous discipline.

Here we discover a disparate bunch of characters, some of whom are bigger than life, that, in the wrong hands could quite easily descend into caricatures. But as… show more.

Nine Perfect Strangers, with an Agatha Christie twist, finds these characters holed up at an exclusive spa with a looney-tune leader, and they are more or less held captive while the truth unfolds.

I chose this book because Frances, the failing writer, struck such a note of humor, I almost fell out of my chair reading of her mental state and ambivalence toward a doofus she meets at the spa. While she laments her shortcomings, she is irresistibly drawn to this guy. (Do I empathize?)

Moriarty has a facile ability to draw distinct features in her characters and pull… show more.