book review for nine perfect strangers

• NONFICTION BOOKS
• BEST NONFICTION 2023
• BEST NONFICTION 2024
• Historical Biographies
• The Best Memoirs and Autobiographies
• Philosophical Biographies
• World War 2
• World History
• American History
• British History
• Chinese History
• Russian History
• Ancient History (up to 500)
• Medieval History (500-1400)
• Military History
• Art History
• Travel Books
• Ancient Philosophy
• Contemporary Philosophy
• Ethics & Moral Philosophy
• Great Philosophers
• Social & Political Philosophy
• Classical Studies
• New Science Books
• Maths & Statistics
• Popular Science
• Physics Books
• Climate Change Books
• How to Write
• English Grammar & Usage
• Books for Learning Languages
• Linguistics
• Political Ideologies
• Foreign Policy & International Relations
• American Politics
• British Politics
• Religious History Books
• Mental Health
• Neuroscience
• Child Psychology
• Film & Cinema
• Opera & Classical Music
• Behavioural Economics
• Development Economics
• Economic History
• Financial Crisis
• World Economies
• Investing Books
• Artificial Intelligence/AI Books
• Data Science Books
• Sex & Sexuality
• Death & Dying
• Food & Cooking
• Sports, Games & Hobbies
• FICTION BOOKS
• BEST NOVELS 2024
• BEST FICTION 2023
• New Literary Fiction
• World Literature
• Literary Criticism
• Literary Figures
• Classic English Literature
• American Literature
• Comics & Graphic Novels
• Fairy Tales & Mythology
• Historical Fiction
• Crime Novels
• Science Fiction
• Short Stories
• South Africa
• United States
• Arctic & Antarctica
• Afghanistan
• Myanmar (Formerly Burma)
• Netherlands
• Kids Recommend Books for Kids
• High School Teachers Recommendations
• Prizewinning Kids' Books
• Popular Series Books for Kids
• BEST BOOKS FOR KIDS (ALL AGES)
• Ages Baby-2
• Books for Teens and Young Adults
• THE BEST SCIENCE BOOKS FOR KIDS
• BEST KIDS' BOOKS OF 2023
• BEST BOOKS FOR TEENS OF 2023
• Best Audiobooks for Kids
• Environment
• Best Books for Teens of 2023
• Best Kids' Books of 2023
• Political Novels
• New History Books
• New Historical Fiction
• New Biography
• New Memoirs
• New World Literature
• New Economics Books
• New Climate Books
• New Math Books
• New Philosophy Books
• New Psychology Books
• New Physics Books
• THE BEST AUDIOBOOKS
• Actors Read Great Books
• Books Narrated by Their Authors
• Best Audiobook Thrillers
• Best History Audiobooks
• Nobel Literature Prize
• Booker Prize (fiction)
• Baillie Gifford Prize (nonfiction)
• Financial Times (nonfiction)
• Wolfson Prize (history)
• Royal Society (science)
• Pushkin House Prize (Russia)
• Walter Scott Prize (historical fiction)
• Arthur C Clarke Prize (sci fi)
• The Hugos (sci fi & fantasy)
• Audie Awards (audiobooks)

Book Reviews on...

Nine perfect strangers, by liane moriarty, recommendations from our site.

“She’s crafted a very engaging story, that is very much a page turner. All the shimmering attractions of the modern wellness industry are there—infinity pools, super-smoothies, personal wellness advisors—but so too are all the anxieties. The plot clearly veers towards an image of the wellness industry as something malevolent, even cultish, a set of practices that verge on brainwashing and which raise difficult questions about consent.” Read more...

The best books on Wellness

James Riley , Literary Scholar

Our most recommended books

War and peace by leo tolstoy, on liberty by john stuart mill, middlemarch by george eliot, nineteen eighty-four by george orwell, republic by plato, the odyssey by homer and translated by emily wilson.

Support Five Books

Five Books interviews are expensive to produce, please support us by donating a small amount .

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

Five Books participates in the Amazon Associate program and earns money from qualifying purchases.

© Five Books 2024

A Well-Read Tart

A Food and Book Lover’s Blog

• BOOK REVIEWS
• BOOK-INSPIRED RECIPES
• Novel Writing
• Travel Diaries
• Messages from CJ
• Podcast: Dark Side of the Word

Book Review of NINE PERFECT STRANGERS

Well. I’m never visiting a health resort. EVER.

I’m just going to start this review by saying that Nine Perfect Strangers did not go at all where I thought it would. A lot of people said they had a hard time getting through this entire book, and I didn’t quite understand what they meant until about halfway through — which is about halfway through the titular “nine perfect strangers'” experience at a luxury spa and health resort called Tranquillum House.

For the first half of this book, I drank the proverbial Kool-Aid — or, smoothie, in this particular case. Tranquillum House seems like the perfect place to relax, detox, and transform your life, and the results of the owner’s strict no tech/no talking/no sugar/no caffeine/no carbs policy seems to yield amazing results. Weight loss? You betcha. A sense of inner peace? Sign me up. Lessened anxiety? I’ll take two! Any health regimen that leaves me feeling physically, emotionally, and mentally refreshed, and a few pounds lighter sounds like a winner in my book.

I’ve read all of Moriarty’s previous novels, so I’m familiar enough with her works to know that she’s excellent at building a backstory. She takes her time in fleshing out the characters and setting the scene. Most of her books deal with the pressure to keep up appearances, and the eventual reveal of the chaos writhing beneath calm, carefully presented façades. Because of the author’s tendency to draw out the set-up, I did start to get antsy for The Twist I knew was coming. I didn’t know what exactly would be coming, but I knew something would. But, that’s part of the art of Moriarty. She takes her sweet time in getting there, and the build up is done so well that when The Twist does come, it’s simply devastating.

As usual, Moriarty does a great job in Nine Perfect Strangers of concealing the monsters that dwell within all of us — the hidden rage, the self-doubt, the pettiness, and the resentfulness we feel towards ourselves or our loved ones. Everyone at Tranquillum House has his/her own personal drama, but these problems are all hidden under carefully constructed facades. Each guest shows only what they want others to see, and it’s only as you read that the layers begin to peel back and you realize that, hey, not everyone has their shit together as much as you think.

Things start to go a little bonkers in the second half of the book. I sometimes feel like Moriarty’s twists are a little fantastical (see  The Husband’s Secret  and  The Hypnotist’s Love Story ) , but what happens at Tranquillum House really goes off the rails. I usually think of Moriarty’s books as “chick lit” because even though they touch upon very serious subjects (abusive relationships, husbands who secretly murder people and cover it up, adultery, depression and suicide), Moriarty portrays everything in a remarkably entertaining and somehow light-hearted way. You’re moved by the drama, but never to the point where you have to put down the book and walk away for a bit.

Until now. I feel  Nine Perfect Strangers firmly deviates from “women’s fiction” and swerves chaotically into thriller territory. Some of the situations got a little too intense for me, and I wasn’t a huge fan of the second part of the book. That’s not to say it’s not good …because it is. I just wasn’t expecting such intensity in a story that starts off at someplace (ironically) named Tranquillum House, and I was taken a little aback. The action escalates into what I could confidently call a “nightmare scenario” — or, several scenarios, actually, since they seem to snowball into each other — and that’s not quite what I was expecting with this novel.

With that in mind, though, everything that happens is a little…ridiculous? It’s not that what transpires in Nine Perfect Strangers   couldn’t happen in real life. Because, unfortunately, people be crazy. I could totally see the events happening under the right circumstances. But, as my old therapist used to counsel me, “It’s possible…but is it probable? ”

No…no, it’s not, not really. But, just in case, I think I’ll stay away from any health resorts that require me to give up my phone and access to the outside world. Just to be safe.

Nine Perfect Strangers is not my favorite Moriarty book (that place is still held by The Last Anniversary ), but it’s still a fast-paced, enjoyable, and exciting read. It keeps you guessing, and I really enjoyed the cast of characters in the book. Their backstories are compelling, and you become really engrossed in what brings each of them to the resort. Their pull on you is what keeps you reading when you’re ready to walk away because you’ve had it up to HERE with the crap going on at Tranquillum House (just like the characters!).

If you’re a Moriarty fan, I think you should read this one. It’s quintessentially the author we love, with a little bit more of an intense twist than perhaps we longtime fans are used to.

Have you read  Nine Perfect Strangers ? What about other Liane Moriarty books? Share below! And, be sure to come back for my book-inspired recipe: Citrus Quinoa Salad !

Share this:

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Related Posts

Book Review of THE JINN DAUGHTER

• May 28, 2024

Book Review of WHEN WE WERE SILENT

• May 25, 2024

Book Review of THE VASTER WILDS

• May 14, 2024

Book Review of RELATIVE STRANGERS

• April 30, 2024

Book Review of FORGOTTEN SISTERS

• April 16, 2024

Book Review of MORNING IN THIS BROKEN WORLD

• April 2, 2024

Book Review of ONCE PERSUADED, TWICE SHY

• March 19, 2024

Book Review of SEX ROMP GONE WRONG

• March 15, 2024

Book Review of A BAKERY IN PARIS

• March 5, 2024

Book Review of THE CLOISTERS

• February 20, 2024

Book Review of SPARE

• February 6, 2024

Book Review of THE ECHO WIFE

• January 30, 2024

Book Review of THE TRUTH PROJECT

• January 23, 2024

Book Review of THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP

• January 16, 2024

Book Review of THE FURY

• January 12, 2024

Book Review of THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE

• January 9, 2024

Book Review of HAPPY JOBS: Doing What You Love for a Living

• January 2, 2024

Book Review of DECODING THE STARS: A Modern Astrology Guide to Discover Your Life’s Purpose

• December 12, 2023

Book Review of HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

• November 28, 2023

Book Review of HAMNET

• November 14, 2023

Book Review of THE HACIENDA

• October 31, 2023

Book Review of A TRUE ACCOUNT: HANNAH MASURY’S SOJOURN AMONGST THE PYRATES, WRITTEN BY HERSELF

• October 24, 2023

Book Review of GREENWICH PARK

• October 10, 2023

Book Review of GAD’S HALL and THE HAUNTING OF GAD’S HALL

• September 26, 2023

Book Review of OLD COUNTRY

• September 12, 2023

Book Review of A STORM OF INFINITE BEAUTY

• September 5, 2023

Book Review of THE SPARROW SISTERS

• August 22, 2023

Book Review of BEST SERVED HOT

• August 8, 2023

Book Review of MY MAGNOLIA SUMMER (DNF review)

• August 1, 2023

Book Review of A NOVEL OBSESSION

• July 18, 2023

Book Review of THE RESERVOIR

• July 11, 2023

Book Review of LOCKDOWN ON LONDON LANE

• June 13, 2023

Book Review of THE HOLLOW PLACES

• May 30, 2023

Book Review of THE WINTER SEA

• May 2, 2023

Book Review of CHICK MAGNET

• January 24, 2023

Book Review of CHRISTMAS CHARMS (A Cozy Holiday Romance)

• December 13, 2022

Book Review of AUNT DIMITY’S CHRISTMAS (A Cozy Mystery)

• December 6, 2022

Book Review of GHOSTS: A NOVEL

• November 22, 2022

Book Review of HOUR OF THE WITCH

• November 8, 2022

Dual Book Review: THE COTTAGE ON PUMPKIN AND VINE and THE BAKESHOP AT PUMPKIN AND SPICE

• October 25, 2022

Book Review of THE DROWNING KIND

• October 11, 2022

Book Review of RECIPE FOR A PERFECT WIFE

• September 27, 2022

Book Review of GHOSTER

• September 13, 2022

Book Review of LOVE LIKE THAT

• August 30, 2022

Book Review of THE LOST VILLAGE

• August 16, 2022

Book Review of SURVIVING SAVANNAH

• August 2, 2022

Book Review of ON WRITING: A MEMOIR OF THE CRAFT

• July 19, 2022

Book Review of WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

• July 5, 2022

Book Review of A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES

• June 28, 2022

Book Review of THE NEWCOMER

• June 7, 2022

Book Review of WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING

• May 24, 2022
• 10 Comments

Book Review of HIDDEN PICTURES

• May 13, 2022

Book Review of THE CANDID LIFE OF MEENA DAVE

• May 10, 2022

Book Review of A (NOT SO) LONELY PLANET: ITALY

• April 26, 2022

Book Review of THE PULL OF THE STARS

• April 12, 2022

Book Review of SUNRISE BY THE SEA

• March 29, 2022

Book Review of THE BONE HOUSES

• March 15, 2022

Book Review of THE PLOT

• March 1, 2022

Book Review of FRIENDS AND STRANGERS

• February 15, 2022

Book Review of THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LA RUE

• February 1, 2022

Book Review of THE BABYSITTER

• January 28, 2022

Book Review of A HOUSE AT THE BOTTOM OF A LAKE

• January 25, 2022

Book Review of THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS

• January 21, 2022

Book Review of HOMEGOING

• January 18, 2022

Book Review of THE GIRL WHO DIED

• January 14, 2022

Book Review of APPLES NEVER FALL

• January 11, 2022

Book Review of RAVEN BLACK

• January 7, 2022

Book Review of THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY

• January 4, 2022

Book Review of CHRISTMAS JOY

• December 7, 2021

Book Review of THE WINTER’S CHILD

• December 3, 2021

Book Review of N0S4A2

• November 23, 2021

Book Review of THE LAST COMMANDMENT

• November 12, 2021

Book Review of THE OTHER BENNET SISTER

• November 9, 2021

Book Review of DAISY JONES & THE SIX

• October 26, 2021

Book Review of THE VOICES

• October 22, 2021

Book Review of MY DARK VANESSA

• October 12, 2021

Book Review of MEXICAN GOTHIC

• October 1, 2021

Book Review of THE GOWN

• September 28, 2021

Book Review of PARTY OF TWO

• September 14, 2021

Book Review of MIDNIGHT AT THE BLACKBIRD CAFE

• August 31, 2021

Book Review of THE COOKBOOK CLUB

• August 17, 2021

Book Review of A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW

• August 13, 2021

Book Review of THE LOST APOTHECARY

• August 3, 2021

Book Review of MUSICAL CHAIRS

• July 20, 2021

Book Review of BUNNY

• July 9, 2021

Book Review of THE SUPREME MACARONI COMPANY

• July 6, 2021

Book Review of THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB’S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES

• June 22, 2021

Book Review of THE MAIDENS

• June 8, 2021

Book Review of IN FIVE YEARS

• May 25, 2021

Book Review of THE DEAD GIRLS CLUB

• May 11, 2021

Book Review of MEG and JO

• April 27, 2021

Book Review of RED, WHITE, AND ROYAL BLUE

• April 23, 2021

Book Review of A SINGLE THREAD

• April 13, 2021

Book Review of WOW, NO THANK YOU

• March 30, 2021

Book Review of THE HEIR AFFAIR

• March 26, 2021

Book Review of ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE

• March 16, 2021

Book Review of THE HAUNTING OF BRYNN WILDER

• March 2, 2021

Book Review of RHAPSODY

• February 26, 2021

Book Review of COSY: THE BRITISH ART OF COMFORT

• February 16, 2021

Book Review of THE FLATSHARE

• February 2, 2021

Book Review of AN IRISH COUNTRY FAMILY

• December 18, 2020

Book Review of CHRISTMAS SHOPAHOLIC

• December 8, 2020

Book Review of THE MERRIEST MAGNOLIA

• November 24, 2020

Book Review of WINTER SOLSTICE

• November 10, 2020

Book Review of HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS

• October 30, 2020

Book Review of THEME MUSIC

• October 27, 2020

Book Review of THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR

• October 16, 2020

Book Review of THE BOOK OF LONGINGS

• October 13, 2020

Book Review of THE WHISPER MAN

• October 6, 2020

Book Review of BLANKY

• October 2, 2020

Book Review of THE GRAVEYARD APARTMENT

• September 22, 2020

Book Review of JERUSALEM MAIDEN

• September 8, 2020

Book Review of RODHAM

• September 1, 2020

Book Review of THE EXILES

• August 25, 2020

Book Review of THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE

• August 11, 2020

Book Review of THE FINISHING TOUCHES

• July 28, 2020

Book Review of THE TURN OF THE KEY

• July 24, 2020

Book Review of LOCK EVERY DOOR

• July 7, 2020

Book Review of AMERICAN ROYALS

• June 30, 2020

Book Review of AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE

• June 26, 2020

Book Review of HELLO, SUMMER

• June 16, 2020

Book Review of I CAN’T DATE JESUS

• June 9, 2020

Book Review of THE SUN DOWN MOTEL

• June 2, 2020

Book Review of THE PRINTED LETTER BOOKSHOP

• May 19, 2020

Book Review of SUMMER RENTAL

• May 5, 2020

Book Review of MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE

• April 21, 2020

Quick Look Books: Historical Fiction (April 2020)

• April 7, 2020

Book Review of LITTLE DARLINGS

• March 24, 2020

Book Review of CATHERINE HOUSE

• March 13, 2020

Book Review of AUNT DIMITY AND THE KING’S RANSOM

• March 3, 2020

Book Review of THE JANE AUSTEN DIET

• February 18, 2020

Quick Look Books: Modern Love Stories (February 2020)

• February 14, 2020

Book Review of SAINT X

• February 7, 2020

Book Review of FINDING THE GIFT

• February 4, 2020

Book Review of AND THEN WE GREW UP

• December 17, 2019

Quick Look Books: Cookbooks (December 2019)

• December 10, 2019

Book Review of THE LOST FOR WORDS BOOKSHOP

• November 26, 2019

Book Review of ONE DAY IN DECEMBER

• November 12, 2019

Book Review of THE INVITED

• October 29, 2019

Book Review of THE CITY BAKER’S GUIDE TO COUNTRY LIVING

• October 15, 2019

Book Review of THE HOCUS POCUS MAGIC SHOP

• October 11, 2019

Book Review of THE SILENT COMPANIONS

• October 1, 2019

Book Review of THE BOOKSHOP ON THE SHORE

• September 27, 2019

Book Review of THE FRIENDS WE KEEP

• September 24, 2019

Book Review of BEAUTIFUL BAD

• September 17, 2019

Book Review of I OWE YOU ONE

• September 3, 2019

Book Review of CIRCE

• August 20, 2019

Book Review of DEATH IN THE COVENANT

• August 13, 2019

Book Review of THE MOTHER-IN-LAW

• August 6, 2019

Book Review of DESPERATE GIRLS

• July 23, 2019

Book Review of SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES

• July 9, 2019

Book Review of THE UNHONEYMOONERS

• July 2, 2019

Quick Look Books: Vacation Destination Reads (June 2019)

• June 18, 2019

Book Review of THE KISS QUOTIENT

• June 4, 2019

Book Review of THE THINGS SHE’S SEEN

• May 13, 2019

Book Review of AN UNWANTED GUEST

• May 7, 2019

Book Review of HOW TO BLOG FOR PROFIT (WITHOUT SELLING YOUR SOUL)

• April 30, 2019

Book Review of THE LAST ROMANTICS

• April 26, 2019

Book Review of AN IRISH COUNTRY COTTAGE

• April 16, 2019

Book Review of THE ENDLESS BEACH

• April 9, 2019

Book Review of NO ONE TELLS YOU THIS

• April 2, 2019

Quick Look Books: Thrillers (March 2019)

• March 26, 2019

Book Review of GLORY ROAD

• March 19, 2019

Book Review of THE PERFECT NANNY

• January 18, 2019

Quick Look Books: Hygge Books (January 2019)

• January 15, 2019

Book Review of RUSH

• January 8, 2019

Book Review of HUNT THEM DOWN

• January 4, 2019

Book Review of UNSHELTERED

• December 20, 2018

Book Review of MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM

• December 18, 2018

Book Review of THE WITCH ELM

• December 13, 2018

Book Review of FROM THE KITCHEN OF HALF TRUTH

• December 11, 2018

Book Review of MELMOTH

• December 6, 2018

Quick Look Books: Christmas Books (December 2018)

• December 4, 2018
• 12 Comments

Book Review of TWO STEPS FORWARD

• November 27, 2018

Quick Look Books: Food in Fiction (November 2018)

• November 20, 2018

Book Review of THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO

• November 13, 2018

Book Review of ALL WE EVER WANTED

• November 6, 2018

Book Review of HORRORSTOR

• October 30, 2018

Book Review of DAUGHTERS OF THE LAKE

• October 25, 2018

Book Review of THE CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD

• October 23, 2018

Book Review of LYING IN WAIT

• October 16, 2018

Quick Look Books: Supernatural Horror for Adults (October 2018)

• October 12, 2018

Quick Look Books: YA Supernatural Horror (October 2018)

• October 9, 2018

Book Review of THE IMMORTALISTS

• October 2, 2018

Book Review of THE EVER AFTER

• September 25, 2018

Book Review of THE DARK DESCENT OF ELIZABETH FRANKENSTEIN

• September 24, 2018

Quick Look Books: Powerhouse Books (September 2018)

• September 18, 2018

Book Review of THE ROAD TO LITTLE DRIBBLING: ADVENTURES OF AN AMERICAN IN BRITAIN

• September 11, 2018

Book Review of UNBURY CAROL

• August 28, 2018

Quick Look Books: Chick Lit (August 2018)

• August 21, 2018

Book Review of YOU THINK IT, I’LL SAY IT

• August 14, 2018

Book Review of IN A COTTAGE IN A WOOD

• July 31, 2018

Book Review of THE HIGH TIDE CLUB

• July 24, 2018

Book Review of FLORET FARM’S CUT FLOWER GARDEN

• July 17, 2018

Book Review of STRAY CITY

• July 10, 2018

Book Review of THE BROKEN GIRLS

• July 3, 2018

Book Review of THE HIDEAWAY

• June 19, 2018

Book Review of THE BIRD EATER

• June 12, 2018

8 thoughts on “ Book Review of NINE PERFECT STRANGERS ”

Great Review, C.J.! I am in the minority and am not a fan of Liane Moriarty. But always like reading your reviews. 😀

Thanks, Claire! I find her novels to be lots of fun, but some are definitely easier to get into than others.

Great review! This was my least favorite Moriarty title as well. Have you read Celeste Eng? Not as “light” but you may enjoy her work.

I haven’t read anything by her yet, but she’s on my list. I’ve heard good things about Little Fires Everywhere. Thanks for the recommendation!

I have read a handful of Liane’s books. This one took a turn that I did not expect! I love her character development, you feel like you know the characters well. My favorite of hers is also The Last Anniversary. I have loved watching the TV series made from Big Little Lies.

Yay, another Last Anniversary fan! Such a great novel. And I also love the Big Little Lies TV show. I think this new season took a darker turn, but it was still really well done and entertaining.

I’m struggling to read Nine Perfect Strangers. Have read no other of her books. It is getting to the point as I near the end that I don’t much care what happens to them. I have this feeling Masha will become this maniacal Hitler but who knows?

Hi, M.J.! Unfortunately, this is not a good Liane Moriarity book to start out with, in my opinion. While a lot of her novels contain a little bit of suspense, this one goes a little over the edge! I recommend WHAT ALICE FORGOT if you want something sweet; THE LAST ANNIVERSARY for bittersweet; and BIG LITTLE LIES for a tinge of suspense!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Review: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

• Post published: November 6, 2022
• Post last modified: November 6, 2022

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning that if you buy something, I might earn a small commission from that sale at no cost to you. As always, my links support indie bookstores. Read my full disclosure  here .   Thank you for your support.

Content warnings for  Nine Perfect Strangers  provided at the bottom of this post, for those who would find them useful. You can find  further details on content warnings here .

I’ve also reviewed Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty. You can find that review here.

Nine Perfect strangers by Liane Moriarty summary

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.

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty Review

I read Apples Never Fall before Nine Perfect Strangers — I know, I know, the wrong order when considering the popularity of Liane Moriarty titles. Nine Perfect Strangers was only vaguely on my list of books to read (a kind of I’ll-get-around-to-it title), but was bumped up to the front when the Hulu adaptation popped up on my screen, begging to be clicked.

But, being the master of self-restraint that I am, I forced myself to read the book first. It only took a day.

I really enjoyed Apples Never Fall , but Nine Perfect Strangers blew it out of the water. I hate to say that, because it always bums me out when an author’s subsequent works aren’t as good, but I can’t lie.

Moriarty is a master of the ensemble cast. I knew this from the first read, but the characters in Nine Perfect Strangers were so vivid. There were a couple that felt a little less fleshed-out than others, but all were intriguing nonetheless. There was no character that made me groan when switching to their POV, which is quite a feat.

Recently we’ve had a lot of books that seem to get a little autobiographical in that they have a main character involved in the publishing industry or living the life of an author that isn’t all that dissimilar to the actual writer. (*Ahem* Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You . ) Fortunately, this wasn’t unbearable. Frances, the romance writer taking on the “main” character role, has hit a rough patch in her career. It felt like a much more honest picture of the author life, not some glamorous fairytale that, in reality, exists for few in the profession. She was also funny and relatable in a way that doesn’t come off as overdone.

It’s a good read, and I’m eager to update this post with my thoughts on the Hulu series, as well.

CW: Mental illness, suicide, abuse (physical, mental, emotional, verbal, sexual), death or dying, kidnapping and other events that might be consider traumatic, pregnancy, self-harm and eating disorders

Share this:

You might also like, reading superlatives 2018.

Review: Animal by Lisa Taddeo

Explaining Remainder Marks — and Why You Should Know What They Mean

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

(I will not sell your data.)

• Biggest New Books
• Non-Fiction
• All Categories
• First Readers Club Daily Giveaway
• How It Works

Get the Book Marks Bulletin

Email address:

• Categories Fiction Fantasy Graphic Novels Historical Horror Literary Literature in Translation Mystery, Crime, & Thriller Poetry Romance Speculative Story Collections Non-Fiction Art Biography Criticism Culture Essays Film & TV Graphic Nonfiction Health History Investigative Journalism Memoir Music Nature Politics Religion Science Social Sciences Sports Technology Travel True Crime

June 3 – 7, 2024

• Climate scientists are examining nineteenth century whaling logbooks
• Feisal G. Mohamed looks at the history of Palestinian solidarity
• On San Francisco's AutoErotica, the last bookstore of its kind

• Bookreporter
• ReadingGroupGuides
• AuthorsOnTheWeb

The Book Report Network

Sign up for our newsletters!

Regular Features

Author spotlights, "bookreporter talks to" videos & podcasts, "bookaccino live: a lively talk about books", favorite monthly lists & picks, seasonal features, book festivals, sports features, bookshelves.

• Coming Soon

Newsletters

• Weekly Update
• On Sale This Week
• Summer Reading
• Spring Preview
• Winter Reading
• Holiday Cheer
• Fall Preview

Word of Mouth

Submitting a book for review, write the editor, you are here:, nine perfect strangers.

NINE PERFECT STRANGERS has everything fans of Liane Moriarty will love: witty, smart writing that’s full of humor, intrigue and surprises.

In this out-of-the-gate bestseller, Moriarty puts together a cast of strangers (nine, to be perfectly exact) at a 10-day retreat at Tranquillum House. Each has a different motivation for attending, and each has her/his own expectations of the retreat format and its outcomes. Bound by an uncertainty in this new experience --- full of meditations, mindfulness activities, uncustomary protocols, and kicked off with a five-day noble silence --- the guests begin to diffuse their resistances and learn about themselves in novel ways. The imposed restrictions unite these strangers in an unexpected manner until they are all wondering and asking themselves the same question.

"NINE PERFECT STRANGERS has everything fans of Liane Moriarty will love: witty, smart writing that’s full of humor, intrigue and surprises."

Imagine a place where you sign up and pay to be stripped of the very things you rely on daily, like Google searches, phones and even speech. Every one of the retreat-goers feels some level of insecurity or discomfort with the rules and policies of the resort --- well, except perhaps Napoleon, who is a rule-follower extraordinaire. Yet everyone relinquishes some control and surrenders themselves to the instructions of the director, Masha, no matter how unusual, and Frances observes, “How quickly people adapted to strange rules and regulations!” What makes people do that? Politeness? Fear of standing out? Curiosity? Desire for the promised transformation?

Through the characters and their variety of needs and situations, Moriarty reveals truths of human nature and norms of our modern culture. For example: Who of us wouldn’t feel at least a little like Jessica, who “felt like she’d had something amputated”? I dare you not to see a bit of yourself somewhere in one of these nine strangers (or perhaps the Tranquillum House staff).

I laughed so often, especially with the lead character, Frances, a middle-aged, once-popular romance writer. Moriarty has some fun poking at the real-world publishing culture as Frances reads a male author’s serious work of literary fiction with internal commentary before tossing it across the room. It’s such a treat to discover the hidden Easter eggs.

Whether you’re a Liane Moriarty fan or new to her writing, you’re in for a fantastic read with NINE PERFECT STRANGERS. I recommend opening the pages of this book and entering Tranquillum House knowing very little, which is why I’m sharing very little. Join these nine perfect strangers with an open mind, ready to be surprised.

Reviewed by Leah DeCesare (www.leahdecesare.com) on November 20, 2018

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

• Publication Date: November 6, 2018
• Genres: Fiction , Women's Fiction
• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Flatiron Books
• ISBN-10: 1250069823
• ISBN-13: 9781250069825

Like many people, my favourite Liane Moriarty book has always been Big Little Lies . A super popular bestseller even before it became a super popular TV show, Big Little Lies was the book responsible for propelling me into a feverish phase during which I devoured Moriarty’s entire back catalogue. Nine Perfect Strangers may well be my new favourite Liane Moriarty book, or at least tied for first place with Big Little Lies . I don’t know. Trying to rank these books is mentally exhausting – but suffice to say it’s a very close call. With Nine Perfect Strangers , Moriarty has moved slightly away from the “domestic noir” genre. Sort of. This book thrums with suspense. It contains that same thrilling sense of mystery and discovery that I have come to associate with with this author – but at this same time it feels different from her previous novels. Maybe simply because this time the setting is not suburban? Or perhaps it’s the number of characters that Moriarty is juggling this time?

Either way, Nine Perfect Strangers achieved a rare and wondrous miracle for me. It felt fresh and new and totally surprising, while still delivering the same exact ‘Moriarty magic’ that I both wanted and expected. Set in a remote health and wellness retreat, presided over by a very intriguing and charismatic guru figure, Nine Perfect Strangers introduces us to nine different characters with very little in common.

Each has a compelling reason for coming to the retreat. Some seek healing while others wish to be transformed. Some have utterly heartbreaking backstories while others are running from embarrassments, mistakes, failures and fears. These characters are to die for. Lovable, idiosyncratic and larger than life – I laughed and cried and wished and hoped and grieved alongside each and every one of them. As per usual, when it comes to Liane Moriarty’s keenly insightful writing, the characters are so well-crafted, nuanced and endearing that I felt a wrench of sorrow to part with them at the end of the book. And the plot! Obviously it’s hard to discuss without giving away spoilers (which I promise I will not do!) but the plot of Nine Perfect Strangers takes some very interesting and unpredictable turns.

This book is quite outrageous and totally unexpected in the best possible way. It’s a wild ride, outright hilarious at times, deeply poignant at others, and delightfully clever throughout. There’s really nothing I like more than a story which gathers together an unlikely group of misfits who start out as strangers and end up forming unexpected bonds. This book does exactly that, with such amazing style and grace that I’m already looking forward to my first re-read.

Property News: Why this mobile home in a caravan park has a $5 million price tag.

'I felt attacked': Why Jo Beth Taylor walked away from TV

Two-step trick removes condensation and stops it coming back

'So grateful': Singer's message to millions after major show

• Tickets & Showtimes
• Trending on RT

9 Things To Know About Nine Perfect Strangers

Stars nicole kidman, bobby cannavale, melissa mccarthy, and others break down what you need to know about the series based on liane moriarty's book..

TAGGED AS: Hulu , streaming

Nine Perfect Strangers , Hulu’s star-studded adaptation of Liane Moriarty ’s novel, follows a group of people from various backgrounds who visit a wellness center called Tranquillum House for what they believe to be a 10-day restorative retreat.

But this is not a vacation they will soon forget. Run by mysterious and ethereal Masha Dmitrichenko ( Nicole Kidman ) and her minions including Yao ( Manny Jacinto ) and Delilah ( Tiffany Boone ), the resort offers the promise of restoration and healing. But at what cost?

As the characters and the audience begin to question Masha’s motives, the situation becomes complicated, and it grows harder for guests to leave Tranquillum House before check-out.

Rotten Tomatoes spoke to the series cast and rounded up nine things you need to know about Nine Perfect Strangers before it premieres August 18.

1. It’s Not a Horror Series

(Photo by Hulu)

Despite the premise set up with that logline — “All is not well” — series director Jonathan Levine  said this is a show that “really transcends genre.”

“I certainly thought about horror and certainly thought about thrillers,” he said during the show’s Television Critics Association summer press tour panel. “But at the end of the day, even though we’re playing with those tropes, I think, for me, it was about character and about these beautiful people that you kind of empathize with and fall in love with.”

Still, he said, “We certainly were playing with the audience’s expectations and using genre as a vehicle to tell this story and to keep it compelling.”

2. But It Is  a Show About Pain

(Photo by Vince Valitutti/Hulu)

The series discusses pain, but the emotional not what you’d find in a slasher flick. Regina Hall ’s (pictured) Carmel Schneider is a divorcee who hopes things like losing weight will help her issues. Melissa McCarthy ’s Frances Welty is a novelist experiencing setbacks in her career and personal life.

“Doing the show made you think a lot about what you do to cover up your problems,” McCarthy said at TCA, adding that “at some point, you have to get it out. So it’s like you’re already in the midst of being miserable and suffering, so make a change. And that’s so much what I think this show is about.”

3. The Guests Aren’t All Strangers to Each Other

Michael Shannon (above right) and Asher Keddie (above center) play husband-and-wife Napoleon and Heather Marconi, who are at the wellness center with their daughter Zoe ( Grace Van Patten ) after experiencing a loss. Melvin Gregg (above left) and Samara Weaving play married couple Ben and Jessica Chandler, who have mastered the façade of perfection.

Both families are experiencing emotional strains in their relationships. At one point, during a trust exercise, Heather’s grief consumes her so much that she considers diving off a cliff.

“That was really poignant for me, actually, for the character, because it really spoke to the bigger question in the show,” Keddie told Rotten Tomatoes. “And that moment, when she is quite literally on the precipice, I think she has reached a point in her life where she actually just doesn’t know how to connect anymore.”

Van Patten added that “when you see Zoe, she has really pushed down a lot of her emotion and trauma and has been living in her parents’ trauma more than her own.”

When Zoe encounters Masha at Tranquillum, her instinct is to run, but there’s nowhere to go.

4. Fleeting Fame Is Also a Theme

In addition to Gregg and Weaving’s social media celebrities and McCarthy’s novelist, Bobby Cannavale ’s former athlete Tony Hogburn has reached that stage in his career where people feel like the recognize him — but they don’t know why.

In this case, Tony would rather you don’t know who he is.

“Part of that is the wardrobe,” Cannavale told Rotten Tomatoes. “I think this guy has physically transformed himself. He’s gained all this weight. And he does not want to be recognized.”

Cannavale describes the character as “pretty aggressive,” but “it’s behavior coming out of desperation.”

“Whether he realizes it or not, I think he’s trying to wake himself up,” Cannavale said. “I think he’s so numbed by these drugs and by how his entire life and those relationships have been clouded over by that, I think any kind of provocation will stimulate him in the right way.”

5. The Show Plays with Social Media’s Perceptions of Perfection

Weaving’s Jessica is beautiful but also lacks self-esteem and confidence. She is addicted to her phone, which she (like everyone else) must relinquish upon check-in. It pains her that she can’t Instagram a beautiful breakfast spread at the retreat.

Weaving told Rotten Tomatoes that she herself has “always had terrible anxiety” that she has managed through medication and therapy.

“Anxiety is such a mental state,” she said of playing Jessica. So she tried “to see how that could manifest physically. So I gave her a scratch and some ticks and rapid eye movements and things like that.”

She also “did a lot of research and talked to a lot of people who suffer from body dysmorphia.”

6. Tranquillum Seeks Out People Who Feel Like They’ve Exhausted All Other Options

Why would Jessica and Ben, who roll up in a fancy sports car, go here when they could just try couples therapy? Or when they could spend their time relaxing at a Hawaiian luxury hotel with Wi-Fi?

“I think they’ve done all of this stuff,” Gregg told Rotten Tomatoes. “Their life is a vacation and they tried couples therapy, but nothing is working … but she feels like the problem is bigger. So we need you need to take more extreme options.”

Jacinto added, “There comes a point in all our lives where you just reach this point of desperation where you need help. You can’t find it in your spouse or in your family. So you need someone to tell you that everything’s gonna be OK. And, when someone is that vulnerable, there can be abuses of power and abuses of trust.”

7. The Show Explores Wealth Inequality

Much like HBO’s The White Lotus , Nine Perfect Strangers  examines the excesses and expectations of wealthy people and how some lose sight of the humanity of the staff members catering to their whims.

“Diving into it more and maybe thinking about it after the project, you can’t help but sit back and think: How much money do these people have to spend? ” Jacinto tells Rotten Tomatoes. “But, I mean, I’m sitting there judging them when, at the end of the day, I am such a sucker for self-improvement and for wanting to be better.”

Both series embed lower-income characters into the facilities’ guest lists, and those characters express a degree of imposter syndrome, in which they openly remark on their worthiness to be guests. And while The White Lotus draws strict lines around its predominantly white guests and ethnically diverse staff, Nine Perfect Strangers offers more of a mix on both sides of the equation.

8. Jacinto Is Here For Your The Good Place Comparisons

The actor, who rose to fame playing the delightful simpleton Jason Mendoza on The Good Place is aware that this is yet another series where a bunch of unsuspecting individuals arrive at a utopia lorded over by a character played by a tall acting icon (in the NBC comedy, it was Ted Danson). But in this version, Jacinto’s Yao is in on it all. How do you play someone who knows all the secrets but can’t tell anyone?

“I think it’s finding an anchor in regards to what my character wants,” he told Rotten Tomatoes. “With Yao, all he wants to do is serve and help people. As long as he serves that purpose, he’s not going to reveal the possible risks that that purpose might entail.”

9. Kidman Stayed in Character the Whole Time

“I sort of found the accent due to putting together her whole life story and made it a Russian-American mix,” Kidman told reporters during the TCA panel. “The first scene we shot was the scene where I come in in the room and say, ‘I am Masha. Welcome to Tranquillum.’ And then, I was able to stay in that place.”

She adds that “I wanted a very calm healing energy to emanate all the time. So, I remember going over to people and sort of putting my hand on their heart or holding their hand.”

She also said she wouldn’t respond when people called her “Nicole,” and she’d have people run scenes with her in her rooms, but “I would create a different space for them. So it was a really weird place to exist.

“It was the only way I could actually relate to people was that way,” she said, “because I felt like, otherwise, I would be doing a performance, and I didn’t want to feel that way.”

Nine Perfect Strangers premieres August 18 on Hulu .

On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News.

Related News

Star Wars TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer

Netflix’s 100 Best Movies Right Now (June 2024)

Renewed and Cancelled TV Shows 2024

House of the Dragon : Season 2 First Reviews: Gorgeous and Expertly Crafted, with Epic Dragon Fights

The Acolyte First Reviews: A Familiar but New Vision of Star Wars , Packed with Stunning Action

Movie & TV News

Featured on rt.

Glen Powell Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

June 7, 2024

Vote For the Best Movie of 1999 – Round 4

Top Headlines

• Glen Powell Movies Ranked by Tomatometer –
• Star Wars TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer –
• Netflix’s 100 Best Movies Right Now (June 2024) –
• The Bad Boys Movies Ranked by Tomatometer –
• All 73 Disney Animated Movies Ranked –
• 30 Most Popular Movies Right Now: What to Watch In Theaters and Streaming –

Theresa Smith Writes

Delighting in all things bookish, new release book review: nine perfect strangers by liane moriarty, nine perfect strangers…, about the book:.

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.

Watching over them is the resort’s director, a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies.

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

With her wit, compassion and uncanny understanding of human behaviour, Liane Moriarty explores the depth of connection that can be formed when people are thrown together in unconventional circumstances.

My Thoughts:

Nine Perfect Strangers is one novel where the anticipation more than lives up to the experience itself. For me, this is Liane Moriarty’s best novel yet. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you much about it, because even a hint of spoilers will quite simply ruin the reading experience for you and I don’t want to be that person! I can however tell you why I think it’s her best and give you a few impressions, which will hopefully be enough of an enticement for you to pick it up and judge for yourself.

Nine Perfect Strangers lacks the ambiguity of Liane’s previous release, Truly, Madly, Guilty , which for me, was a huge bonus. Instead of a constant back and forth alluding to ‘something huge’ – such as in Big Little Lies – Nine Perfect Strangers unfolds chronologically and in the moment. Yes, there is some reflection on past events, but overall it’s styled very different to previous novels by Liane. There is no ‘something huge’, so to speak, more of an experience that is being shared by nine people that is so unbelievably out of the box that it’s this that bonds them, the experience as well as their reactions and connectivity over what they go through. I have to say, Liane blew me away with what she did to her characters in Nine Perfect Strangers . What begins as a stay at a pretty weird health retreat morphs into a truly bizarre scenario that was so violating to these characters – I was horrified. Such a clever storyline, and totally unexpected! There was an element to this novel that I like to call ‘Fargoesque’, and if you’ve seen the original movie Fargo , you’ll know what I mean. That dark humour that borders on inappropriate yet is utterly hilarious while at the same time completely unbelievable. When done well, as it was in this case, it’s priceless.

The characterisation in Nine Perfect Strangers was second to none. Each person had a unique presence, a distinctive voice, and while some characters had more air time than others, they all had a valid space to occupy. I particularly loved Frances, with her novelist’s eye and overactive imagination, but then the Marconi family’s story was one that particularly affected me deeply. I could empathise with Carmen, I liked Tony and Lars, and I had a great deal of understanding for Ben and Jessica. I liked them all, I became invested in each of them, and I enjoyed each person’s journey equally. It’s quite a feat, to craft a batch of characters like this, make them distinctive and authentic, yet not have any of them too annoying. And then there’s Masha. Perhaps one of Liane’s best characters yet. At first she was simply intense, narrow focused, a little zealous maybe. But as the retreat wore on, Masha was revealed in all her diabolical, narcissistic, sociopathic glory. She was, to put it simply, unbelievable. Along with Yao, who worshipped her, and was a stunning example of how a normal person with a modicum of intelligence can be taken in by the manipulations of a charismatic leader, Liane has created quite the cast for Nine Perfect Strangers .

Filled to the brim with snark and sarcasm, dark humour and witticisms, Nine Perfect Strangers touches on some serious issues, a few that really hit me hard. The burden of guilt, the roles we assume and then never let go of, the human tendency to keep doing what we’re already doing, even if it’s killing us. There’s plenty of food for thought in these pages. To a certain degree, you need to check your reality at the door with this novel, particularly throughout the second half and the ending, but I honestly liked that about it. It was entertaining, thoroughly funny; a marvellous way to spend a weekend. Nine Perfect Strangers comes with my highest recommendation, and if you’re in a book club, this is definitely one you’ll want to add to your reading list.

Thanks is extended to Pan Macmillan Australia for providing me with a copy of Nine Perfect Strangers for review.

About the Author:

Liane Moriarty is the Australian author of seven internationally bestselling novels, including the no. 1 NYT bestsellers The Husband’s Secret, Big Little Lies and Truly Madly Guilty. Her books have sold over fourteen million copies worldwide, including two million in Australia and New Zealand. The Husband’s Secret was a no.1 UK bestseller, an Amazon Best Book of 2013 and has been translated into over 40 languages. Big Little Lies and Truly Madly Guilty reached no.1 on the NYT bestseller list in their first week of publication – the first time this has been achieved by an Australian. Liane is also the author of the Space Brigade series for children.

Nine Perfect Strangers Published by Pan Macmillan Australia Released on the 18th September 2018

Share this:

14 thoughts on “ new release book review: nine perfect strangers by liane moriarty ”.

adding to my TBR,sounds interesting!

Like Liked by 1 person

I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks very much Theresa. I’ve enjoyed Liane Moriarty’s other books but this one sounds like a cracker!

She’s definitely raised the bar with this one Fiona!

I have three of Liane’s books on my TBR so I’ll add another. Looks like I’ll have to get on to them sooner rather than later. Thanks for your review.

I hope you get time to start one of them soon. I would recommend beginning with this one!

I might just do that. Thanks for your suggestion.

I heard the interview with the author this morning on RN, and she said that Masha the character was given that name because a Russian woman won her competition to have a character named after her. (Clever publicity strategy, eh?) And she said she hoped the real Masha wouldn’t mind her character being a person who does evil things!

That is a good publicity strategy! Very notorious character to have named after you but at least she’s memorable. I think that Liane’s being doing a few interviews in recent days but I haven’t caught even one. A lady at work saw one on TV yesterday and was asking about the book today at work. I think this one novel that will have people talking for some time.

Pingback: Bookish Wrap-Up - The Bibliofile

Pingback: Crime Fiction and True Crime: Round Up Five 2018 | Australian Women Writers Challenge Blog

Pingback: My Reading Life: #aww2018 Challenge Checkpoint 5 | Theresa Smith Writes

Pingback: 2019 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) longlist | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog

Pingback: 2019 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) winners | ANZ LitLovers LitBlog

Leave a comment Cancel reply

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

Type to search

• Privacy Policy

Book Review: Nine Perfect Strangers

4.5 Out of 5 Stars

Nine Perfect Strangers and a Strange Luxury Retreat

We’re big fans of Liane Moriarty. So there was no doubt about whether we’d like Nine Perfect Strangers. We enjoyed it very much!

As the title suggests, this story is about the meeting of nine strangers who come together at a luxury health retreat. That premise alone is enough to be interesting. But given Liane Moriarty’s characters tend to harbor secrets that are often quite juicy, this scenario is perfectly enthralling. I mean, who wouldn’t be entertained by nine strangers during ten days together at a health spa? Why are they all there? What are the issues they are dealing with? What will happen when their issues and personalities ultimately collide?

 Oh and they do!

“As she did in  Big Little Lies , Liane Moriarty writes compelling, realistic characters. Readers will devour  Nine Perfect Strangers .” ― Real Simple

Nine Perfect Strangers Story is Funny and Cringe-Worthy

Then, of course, because Liane Moriarty has a way of sending plots off in unexpected directions, these nine strangers—plus the staff that run the spa—go through a weird experience that is quite cringe-worthy, possibly illegal, definitely immoral, and maybe even deadly.

It was a fun read, to say the least.

Hulu is adapting Nine Perfect Strangers into a limited television series starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy, due to be released in 2021.

Be sure to read the novel before the show comes out.

Nine Perfect Strangers Synopsis:

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

Author Bio:

Liane Moriarty is the Australian author of eight internationally best-selling novels: Three Wishes, The Last Anniversary, What Alice Forgot, The Hypnotist’s Love Story, Nine Perfect Strangers, and the number-one New York Times bestsellers: The Husband’s Secret, Big Little Lies, and Truly Madly Guilty. Her books have been translated into over forty languages and sold more than 20 million copies.

Big Little Lies and Truly Madly Guilty both debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list – the first time this was ever achieved by an Australian author. Big Little Lies was adapted into a multiple-award-winning HBO series with a star-studded cast, including Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. Hulu is adapting Nine Perfect Strangers into a limited series starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy for release in 2021.

Her new novel, Apples Never Fall, will be released in September 2021.

Liane lives in Sydney, Australia, together with her husband, son and daughter.

Nine Perfect Strangers FAQ

The print book is 463 pages.

Yes, you can purchase it from Amazon here.

Hulu is adapting Nine Perfect Strangers into a limited series starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy for release in 2021.

The cover image of this feature is by  Zoltan Tasi  on  Unsplash

To purchase Nine Perfect Strangers on Amazon, click the button below.

Thanks for visiting!

We write honest reviews on books, products, and travel. We hope you find our site useful. Two Dog Review is named for our two Goldendoodle dogs pictured here. As a result, they appear in many of our article photos and Instagram posts and are the site’s official mascots.

Do you like contemporary fiction filled with messy character situations?

Click below to check out our recent review of Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney.

Disclaimers for Two Dog Review

Two Dog Review has NOT received any compensation from the author or any other company in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors.

There are affiliate links within this post through which Two Dog Review will receive a small commission on purchases you make, with absolutely no added costs to you.

All the information on this website – https://www.twodogreview.com – is published in good faith and only for general information. Two Dog Review does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website (Two Dog Review) is strictly at your own risk. Two Dog Review will not be liable for any losses and damages in connection with the use of our website. Our Disclaimer was generated with the help of the  Disclaimer Generator  and the  Privacy Policy Generator .

Hyperlinks and Affiliate Links

From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link that may have gone bad.

Please be aware that other sites may have different privacy policies and terms beyond our control when you leave our website.

By using our website, you hereby consent to our disclaimer and agree to its terms.

Should we update, amend or make any changes to this document, those changes will be prominently posted here.

If you require any more information or have any questions about our site’s disclaimer, please feel free to visit our Privacy page here or our Contact page by clicking here .

• book review
• contemporary literature

You Might also Like

Related Stories

• February 2021
• January 2021
• December 2020
• November 2020
• October 2020
• January 2020

Recent Posts

Nine Perfect Strangers

About this ebook, ratings and reviews.

• Flag inappropriate

About the author

Rate this ebook, reading information, more by liane moriarty.

Similar ebooks

• Kindle Store
• Kindle eBooks
• Literature & Fiction

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $21.65 $21.65

Save: $14.16 $14.16 (65%)

Buy for others

Buying and sending ebooks to others.

• Select quantity
• Buy and send eBooks
• Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Nine Perfect Strangers Kindle Edition

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Now a Hulu original series “If three characters were good in Big Little Lies , nine are even better in Nine Perfect Strangers .” —Lisa Scottoline, The New York Times Book Review From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Little Lies Could ten days at a health resort really change you forever? In Liane Moriarty’s latest page-turner, 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 her writing a go-to for anyone looking for wickedly smart, page-turning fiction that will make you laugh and gasp, Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers once again shows why she is a master of her craft.

• Print length 463 pages
• Language English
• Sticky notes On Kindle Scribe
• Publisher Flatiron Books
• Publication date November 6, 2018
• File size 4332 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Enabled
• Enhanced typesetting Enabled
• See all details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com review.

Praise for Liane Moriarty's Novels

"Funny and scary." --Stephen King "Sharply intelligent." -- Entertainment Weekly "Irresistible." -- People "Simply exquisite." -- Bookreporter "Powerful." -- The Washington Post "Brilliant." --Sophie Hannah "Gob-smacking." -- BookPage "Superb." -- Parade "Spellbinding." --Emily Giffin "Gripping." --Oprah.com "A wonderful writer." --Anne Lamott "Like drinking a pink cosmo laced with arsenic." -- USA Today "Mesmerizing." -- Family Circle "So, so good."--Jojo Moyes "The ferocity that Ms. Moriarty brings...is shocking." -- New York Times

About the Author

Product details.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07C75GRLY
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Flatiron Books (November 6, 2018)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 6, 2018
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 4332 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 463 pages
• #167 in Women's Psychological Fiction
• #292 in Domestic Thrillers (Kindle Store)
• #473 in Mothers & Children Fiction

About the author

Liane moriarty.

Liane Moriarty is the Australian author of eight internationally best-selling novels: Three Wishes, The Last Anniversary, What Alice Forgot, The Hypnotist’s Love Story, Nine Perfect Strangers and the number one New York Times bestsellers: The Husband's Secret, Big Little Lies and Truly Madly Guilty. Her books have been translated into over forty languages and sold more than 20 million copies.

Big Little Lies and Truly Madly Guilty both debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list - the first time this was ever achieved by an Australian author. Big Little Lies was adapted into a multiple award-winning HBO series with a star-studded cast including Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. Hulu is adapting Nine Perfect Strangers into a limited series starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy for release in 2021.

Her new novel, Apples Never Fall, will be released in September 2021.

Liane lives in Sydney, Australia, together with her husband, son and daughter. You can find out more at www.lianemoriarty.com and www.facebook.com/LianeMoriartyAuthor

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Reviews with images

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

Report an issue

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Amazon Assistant

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

19 major ways the 'Nine Perfect Strangers' show is different from the book

• Warning: This article contains spoilers for "Nine Perfect Strangers."
• Hulu's " Nine Perfect Strangers " is based on Liane Moriarty's 2018 novel of the same name .
• Insider rounded up the major differences between the limited series and the book.

The show is set in California, while the book takes place in Australia.

Unlike the show, in which Tranquillum House is located in the woods of Cabrillo, California, Moriarty's book is set in a remote area of Australia. 

The cast and crew were four weeks away from filming Hulu's adaptation in California when the US began shutting down early in the pandemic, producer Bruna Papandrea told Financial Review . They scrambled to move production to Byron Bay, Australia.

Australia, a country with " relatively low infection rates ," categorized film and TV as an "essential service," the producer explained, eventually leading numerous Hollywood films and TV shows to move operations Down Under. 

"Nine Perfect Strangers," which commenced production in March 2020, was on the front end of the influx.

"We were one of the only teams shooting anything, anywhere at that point," producer Jodi Matterson told Financial Review. "There was no blueprint."

"Nine Perfect Strangers" cast members quarantined for 14 days upon arrival to the country, were tested three times each week for the novel coronavirus, had daily temperature checks, and wore masks all 18 weeks of filming, the producers told the outlet. 

Tranquillum House is described as a Victorian mansion in the book.

In David E. Kelley and John-Henry Butterworth's series, Tranquillum House is supposed to give off a "midcentury-modern meets zen" feel, set decorator Glen W. Johnson told Architectural Digest . The geometric windows look out on lush greenery and fill the space with light, and the modern furnishings are brand new.

Moriarty envisioned the opposite. In the book, Frances describes Tranquillum House as a Victorian mansion built in 1840 that's "sandstone, three storys, with a red corrugated-iron roof and a princess tower."

The interior is filled with stained-glass windows and has a "red-cedar and rosewood" staircase reminiscent of the Titanic.

Several retreat activities were added in the show.

Some of the group's bonding exercises — the dirt-digging, the potato-sack race, and Earth day— were written into the show and aren't part of the 10-day retreat in the book.

Masha's near-death experience in the book is a result of sudden cardiac arrest, not a gun-shot wound.

At her core, Masha Dmitrichenko (Nicole Kidman) is the same in the "Nine Perfect Strangers" book and TV show .

Both versions of the character transform from corporate executive to wellness guru after dying and, miraculously, coming back to life. But the circumstances that lead Masha to leave her high-power position behind are different.

While the on-screen Masha gets shot by one of her many enemies in a parking garage, Moriarty's character has a brush with death because of the way she treats her own body.

In the first chapter of the book, Masha is described as a "middle-aged, overweight woman" that chain smokes and neglects everything that doesn't fall under her job description as the "global operations director for a multinational producer of dairy products." Overworked and exhausted, she has a seizure in her office, eventually going into cardiac arrest. 

Similar to the sequence of events on the show, Yao (Manny Jacinto) is the paramedic that resuscitates her.

When the guests arrive to Tranquillum House in the book, they aren't allowed to speak or make eye-contact for five days.

The Tranquillum House guests check in to the resort in a flurry on the show, with certain personalities immediately meshing and others clashing.

In the book, the characters don't have as much time to get to know each other off the bat, as the program kicks off with five full days of mandatory silence.

"The retreat will begin with a period of silence lasting five days, during which there will be no talking, apart from counseling sessions, no touching, no reading, no writing, no eye contact with other guests or your own companion," the guide map given to the guests reads.

Masha doesn't receive threats in the original story.

In the series, Masha is on the receiving end of sinister threats, sent to her phone from an anonymous number.

"CONGRATULATIONS," one message reads. "It's your LAST WEEK ON EARTH."

This subplot was created for the show, and there's no mention of Moriarty's character being stalked, followed, or threatened in the book.

In the novel, Jessica's various plastic surgery procedures are a big pain point in her marriage.

High-school sweethearts Ben Chandler (Melvin Gregg) and Jessica Chandler (Samara Weaving) arrive at Tranquillum House in a fractured marriage. Their specific issues remain fairly vague on the show, but Moriarty provides more of the couple's backstory in her book.

After a burglar robs their home, Ben's mother buys the couple a winning lottery ticket, funneling a $22 million fortune directly into their pockets. With that money comes a new life, but it's one that neither Jessica nor Ben necessarily signed up for. 

After Jessica undergoes various plastic surgery procedures with the lottery money, Ben struggles to look at her. He considers her physical transformation a "willful disfigurement" and compares her to a "chipmunk." He feels like he doesn't recognize his wife's "frozen forehead," "blowfish lips," "puffy cheeks," "camel eyelashes," "fake hair," and "fake boobs."

"I miss your face," Ben tells Jessica in the book. "Your beautiful face. I don't recognize you. I don't recognize us or anything about our lives. I miss our old flat. I miss my job. I miss the friends we lost because of this. But most of all I miss your face."

The surgeries aren't the couple's only issue in the book , but they are a major one. 

Lars is a family attorney, not a journalist, in the novel.

Lars Lee has more or less one thing in common in both the book and on the show : He's dashingly handsome. 

Played by Luke Evans in the series, Lars joins the group as a snarky undercover journalist hoping to uncover Masha's secrets. In the first episode, viewers learn that he recently went through a nasty breakup with a man named Ray.

Moriarty's version of Lars is different.

In the book, he's a family lawyer in a 15-year-long relationship with Ray, who, much to Lars' agitation, won't stop pressing him about having children together. A serial wellness retreat-goer, Lars signs up for the 10-day transformation to get some space from the situation. 

Masha doesn't know about the Marconis' loss ahead of their arrival at Tranquillum House in the book, and she doesn't give them a discount.

Throughout Hulu's " Nine Perfect Strangers ," viewers are led to believe that Masha hand-picked her guests.

For example, she knows that Napoleon Marconi (Michael Shannon) and Heather Marconi (Asher Keddie) lost their 18-year-old son Zach Marconi to suicide three years before arriving at the retreat. She also offers the couple and their daughter, Zoe Marconi (Grace Van Patten), a discount to attend the expensive retreat.

In the book , Masha doesn't give any of her guests a discount, and she doesn't know that the Marconi family suffered a loss until they share the information with the wider group.

Heather acknowledges that Tranquillum's price tag is slightly high for herself, a midwife, and Napoleon, a high-school teacher, but says they can afford the getaway thanks to years of skipped vacations and an inheritance from Napoleon's grandfather. 

The guests take LSD in addition to psilocybin in the book.

The fruit-filled smoothies on the show contain psilocybin , a psychoactive compound produced by "magic" mushrooms.

Microdosing , or taking small doses of the psychedelics every day to experience beneficial side effects, is the key to Masha's "new protocol," which pushes her guests to confront their trauma with the help of the hallucinogens .   

But there's an added twist in Moriarty's book: The guests take both psilocybin along with LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), a synthetically-produced psychedelic commonly referred to as acid. 

The latest research suggests psychedelic drugs including psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA have the ability to alter the mind and treat medical conditions including depression ,  anxiety , and  PTSD , Insider previously reported .

However, there are numerous key differences between the drugs. 

Tony isn't a drug addict in the original story, and he never killed anyone.

In " Nine Perfect Strangers ," Tony Hogburn (Bobby Cannavale) checks into Tranquillum House when he's at his lowest. 

The divorced former football player lacks a sense of purpose after suffering a career-ending injury, holds onto guilt for accidentally killing a man during a bar fight, and can't get a call back from either of his daughters. Somewhere along the way, he becomes addicted to oxycodone.

Elements of Tony's on-screen story, such as his accident and divorce, come straight from Moriarty's book. Others, like the bar fight and the drug addiction, are add-ons.

In the novel , the ex-professional rugby athlete, known by the general public as "Smiley Hogburn" because of two smiley-face tattoos on his butt, has a relationship with his three children but lacks any connection to them.

Carmel's husband didn't cheat on her in the book. He just fell out of love with her.

Carmel Schneider (played by Regina Hall) goes to Tranquillum House to get closer to Masha, one of the women that had an affair with the former Broadway hand's ex-husband while they were still married. She's angry, jealous, and sporadically violent.

In the book, the middle-aged mother, who used to work in private equity, is divorced as well. Her husband doesn't cheat on her. He just falls out of love with her and eventually marries a much younger woman. 

"It really hurts me to say this but, the thing is, I'm just not attracted to you anymore," she recalls him telling her.

Carmel's sister gifts her a stay at Tranquillum House to focus on repairing her self-esteem and relationship with her body.

When she arrives, she has no existing ties to Masha, and she doesn't want her husband back. She's not mad or violent. Instead, she's heartbroken, lost, and desperate to transform into someone else.

In the original story, Masha doesn't have sexual relationships with Yao or Delilah.

Yao and Delilah, the Tranquillum House wellness consultants, are in a relationship on the show and are also both sleeping with Masha on the side. Neither knows the full extent of the other's relationship with their boss.

Delilah and Yao are paired up in the book as well. Masha has somewhat of an emotional hold on both of her employees, but she doesn't have sexual relationships with either of them. 

Jessica believes she's pregnant in the book.

Jessica and Ben take MDMA, or ecstasy, in both versions of "Nine Perfect Strangers."

But in the book, there's a twist: Jessica announces that she's pregnant during a trip. 

The Tranquillum House staff is shocked considering no signs of pregnancy appeared on her blood tests. They also grow concerned that they gave her MDMA, a drug that could have adverse effects on the baby. 

While on the drugs, Jessica explains that she knew she was having a baby "as soon as it happened," referring to the time of conception. 

A week after she leaves the retreat, she learns that she was never pregnant. "It was all in my head," Jessica tells Ben.

Napoleon immediately forgives Heather for overlooking the side effects on Zach's medication in the book.

On the show, the hallucinogens cause Heather to feel like she's having a real conversation with her late son. As they speak about his suicide, she realizes that the pamphlet for his asthma medication listed the potential side effect of suicidal ideation.

Napoleon, who has previously blamed himself for his son's death since he overslept the morning he died, tells Masha that he can't forgive his wife for her mistake.

"I'm a pretty forgiving man. I've had to learn to be," he says. "I don't think I can forgive that."

In the book, Heather knows about the side effect in the pamphlet ahead of her trip but never tells her husband or daughter out of fear of their reactions. When she does tell them, Napoleon is quick to forgive her. 

"Darling, it wouldn't have made any difference," he says. "We needed to get the asthma under control."

In Moriarty's version, Frances and Tony's romance doesn't flourish until after they leave the retreat.

Frances (Melissa McCarthy) and Tony seal their romance with a kiss on episode six of "Nine Perfect Strangers" and leave the retreat together. In the book, they don't admit their feelings for each other until after they're far away from Tranquillum House.

The divorcees fall into a habit of calling each other during their long walks outside. Their relationship kickstarts after Tony asks Frances to accompany him on a trip to Holland to see his family. She accepts the invitation, and they have their first kiss in the Qantas lounge. 

Tony eventually moves to Sydney to be closer to Frances, and they tie the knot after she turns 60.

Masha lost a son, not a daughter, in the book.

On-screen, Masha uses hallucinogenic drugs to feel closer to her late daughter, who dies in a car accident when she's 7 years old. 

But in the book, Masha loses a son instead of a daughter. 

She mourns the death of her infant, who strangles himself on the chord from a window blind while she's not in the room. Three months after he dies, she gives birth to another son. Too grief-stricken to care for him, Masha leaves the baby with her husband.

The entire group is trapped in the fire-simulation room.

The Tranquillum House staff holds several of the guests captive in a windowless room on the show. The temperature rises and smoke begins to seep in, convincing those inside that they're about to perish in a fire. It isn't until Yao finally frees them that they realize it was a simulation. 

In Moriarty's book, the entire group is trapped in the Tranquillum House basement for hours. Masha monitors the group while dosing LSD herself and sedates Yao when he attempts to intervene. She simulates a fire, as she does on the show, but in the book, the disgruntled guests are forced to break out on their own. 

In the original story, Jessica and Ben get divorced after their stay at Tranquillum House.

The fractured couple reconnects toward the end of "Nine Perfect Strangers" and decides to stay at Tranquillum House to run the retreat.

The characters' resolution is different in Moriarty's pages. Rather than working through their marital issues, Ben and Jessica go their separate ways and agree to an "inevitable, amicable divorce." 

Jessica continues as a social media influencer and auditions for "The Bachelor," while Ben returns to work. Moriarty mentions that after Ben leaves the retreat, he stays in contact with Zoe.

• Main content

Book Club Questions for Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

This post contains links to products that I may receive compensation from at no additional cost to you. View my Affiliate Disclosure page here .

Nine Perfect Strangers   by Liane Moriarty is about a bizarre experience for nine strangers at a remote health resort. The following book club questions will have spoilers so if you haven’t read the novel yet, check out my preview and review first.

The story revolves around nine people gathered at this health resort in Australia. We get to know each character and slowly find out why they decided to book a 10-day stay at this resort. Each one comes there with different reasons but they all hope to leave feeling refreshed and healthier. However, they’re unaware that the woman behind the health resort has interesting tactics up her sleeve in the name of “health.” For more about the synopsis, click here .

Let’s get into the book club questions.

• What did you think about the beginning with Yao and Masha? Let’s talk about how much they changed when we meet them years later.
• We read Frances’ viewpoint the most, why do you think she felt the need to go the health resort? What was she hoping to cure? Why do you think the author placed such an emphasis on her viewpoint?
• We meet the other “strangers”:married and unhappy couple Ben and Jessica; athletic but sad Napoleon, Heather and Zoe; beautiful but quiet Lars; insecure Carmel and gruff Tony. Let’s talk about why each person felt they needed to attend the health resort. What secrets were they not admitting to each other and themselves?
• What did you think about the health resort at first? Did you think there was going to be unusual and sinister behavior behind everything?
• Masha believes instructing the guests to commit to silence for several days will expand their horizons and such. Why did she think this was necessary? Was this a form of manipulation so that the guests would do whatever she said next?
• After the code of silence, Masha and her assistants give everyone smoothies that are laced with LSD. Why did she think this would be a smart move? How did it force everyone to open up in ways they might not have? But did it change anything for the good?
• This one deals quite a bit with the suicide of Napoleon and Heather’s son Zach. Each of the three family members blames themselves. Let’s talk about this and how it impacted the three family members relationships with each other.
• Why do you think Frances fell for the online scam? What do you think she was searching for?
• We learn that after winning the lottery, Jessica decided to have a bunch of plastic surgery. Why do you think she did this? What image was she trying to convey?
• Tony is pretty gruff to begin with but we start to get to know him better. Were you surprised that him and Frances got together or did you see it coming?
• Why do you think Lars goes to these health resorts?
• Masha and Yao seemingly trap the strangers together in the room with no way out. Why did Masha think this would be a good bonding experience? What does it say that the guests never thought to just try and open the door?
• Why would Masha pretend she put the house on fire? Was she simply high and out of her mind?
• Even though Masha’s tactics were fairly insane, they kind of seemed to work on everyone, right? What do you think about that?
• What did you think about the ending?
• What do you think was the overall message of this story?
• Would you ever go to a health resort?

Next on my TBR (to be read)

She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge is next on my list. Check out my preview here .

You May Also Like

Wednesday 24th of April 2019

I have a book club tonight for this book; I'm the host. These questions are AMAZING! I like that they go i order of the story. Thank you so much for publishing these!

Heather Caliendo

Sunday 28th of April 2019

Hi Emma! So happy to hear that you enjoy the questions - hope you all had a fantastic book club meeting! Definitely check back to the site from time to time as I try to post questions for all the bestsellers. :)

Please beware of fraud schemes by third parties falsely using our company and imprint names to solicit money and personal information. Learn More .

Book details

Nine Perfect Strangers

Author: Liane Moriarty

• Amazon.com Best Books of the Year
• Oregonian Best GN of the Year
• Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year

1 Yao “I’m fine,” said the woman. “There’s nothing wrong with me.” She didn’t look fine to Yao. It was his first day as a trainee paramedic. His third call-out. Yao wasn’t nervous, but he was in a hypervigilant state because he couldn’t bear to make even an inconsequential mistake. When he was a child, mistakes had made him wail inconsolably, and they still made his stomach cramp. A single bead of perspiration rolled down the woman’s face, leaving a snail’s trail through her makeup. Yao wondered why women painted their faces orange, but that was not relevant. “I’m fine. Maybe just twenty-four-hour virus,” she said, with the hint of an Eastern European accent. “Observe everything about your patient and their environment,” Yao’s supervisor, Finn, had told him. “Think of yourself as a secret agent looking for diagnostic clues.” Yao observed a middle-aged, overweight woman with pronounced pink shadows under distinctive sea-green eyes and wispy brown hair pulled into a sad little knot at the back of her neck. She was pale and clammy, her breathing ragged. A heavy smoker, judging by her ashtray scent. She sat in a high-backed leather chair behind a gigantic desk. It seemed like she was something of a bigwig, if the size of this plush corner office and its floor-to-ceiling harbor views were any indication of corporate status. They were on the seventeenth floor and the sails of the Opera House were so close you could see the diamond-shaped cream and white tiles. The woman had one hand on her mouse. She scrolled through emails on her oversized computer screen, as if the two paramedics checking her over were a minor inconvenience, repairmen there to fix a PowerPoint. She wore a tailored navy business suit like a punishment, the jacket pulled uncomfortably tight across her shoulders. Yao took the woman’s free hand and clipped a pulse oximeter onto her finger. He noted a shiny, scaly patch of reddish skin on her forearm. Pre-diabetic? Finn asked, “Are you on any medication, Masha?” He had a chatty, loose manner with patients, as if he were making small talk at a barbecue, beer in hand. Yao noticed that Finn always used the names of patients, whereas Yao felt shy talking to them as though they were old friends, but if it enhanced patient outcomes, he would learn to overcome his shyness. “I am on no medication at all,” said Masha, her gaze fixed on the computer. She clicked on something decisively, then looked away from her monitor and back up at Finn. Her eyes looked like they’d been borrowed from someone beautiful. Yao assumed they were colored contact lenses. “I am in good health. I apologize for taking up your time. I certainly didn’t ask for an ambulance.” “I called the ambulance,” said a very pretty, dark-haired young woman in high heels and a tight checked skirt with interlocking diamond shapes similar to the Opera House tiles. The skirt looked excellent on her but that was obviously of no relevance right now, even though she was, technically, part of the surrounding environment Yao was meant to be observing. The girl chewed on the fingernail of her little finger. “I’m her PA. She … ah …” She lowered her voice as if she were about to reveal something shameful. “Her face went dead white and then she fell off her chair.” “I did not fall off my chair!” snapped Masha. “She kind of slid off it,” amended the girl. “I momentarily felt dizzy, that is all,” said Masha to Finn. “And then I got straight back to work. Could we cut this short? I’m happy to pay your full, you know, cost or rate , or however it is you charge for your services. I have private health insurance, of course. I just really don’t have time for this right now.” She turned her attention back to her assistant. “Don’t I have an eleven o’clock with Ryan?” “I’ll cancel him.” “Did I hear my name?” said a man from the doorway. “What’s going on?” A guy in a too-tight purple shirt swaggered in carrying a bundle of manila folders. He spoke with a plummy British accent, like he was a member of the royal family. “Nothing,” said Masha. “Take a seat.” “Masha is clearly not available right now!” said the poor PA. Yao sympathized. He didn’t appreciate flippancy about matters of health, and he thought his profession deserved more respect. He also had a strong aversion to spiky-haired guys with posh accents who wore purple shirts a size too small to show off their overly developed pecs. “No, no, just sit down, Ryan! This won’t take long. I’m fine.” Masha beckoned impatiently. “Can I check your blood pressure, please, ah, Masha?” said Yao, bravely mumbling her name as he went to strap the cuff around her upper arm. “Let’s take that jacket off first.” Finn sounded amused. “You’re a busy lady, Masha.” “I actually really do need her sign-off on these,” said the young guy to the PA in a low voice. Yao thought, I actually really do need to check your boss’s vital signs right now, motherfucker. Finn helped Masha out of her jacket and put it over the back of her chair in a courtly way. “Let’s see those documents, Ryan.” Masha adjusted the buttons on her cream silk shirt. “I just need signatures on the top two pages.” The guy held out the folder. “Are you kidding me?” The PA lifted both hands incredulously. “Mate, you need to come back another time,” said Finn, with a definite edge to his barbecue voice. The guy stepped back, but Masha clicked her fingers at him for the folder, and he instantly jumped forward and handed it over. He obviously considered Masha scarier than Finn, which was saying something, because Finn was a big, strong guy. “This will take fourteen seconds at the most,” she said to Finn. Her voice thickened on the word “most” so that it sounded like “mosht.” Yao, the blood-pressure cuff still in his hand, made eye contact with Finn. Masha’s head lolled to one side, as though she’d just nodded off. The manila folder slipped from her fingers. “Masha?” Finn spoke in a loud, commanding voice. She slumped forward, arms akimbo, like a puppet. “Just like that!” screeched the PA with satisfaction. “That’s exactly what she did before!” “Jesus!” The purple-shirt guy retreated. “ Jesus . Sorry! I’ll just …” “Okay, Masha, let’s get you onto the floor,” said Finn. Finn lifted her under the armpits and Yao took her legs, grunting with the effort. She was a very tall woman, Yao realized; much taller than him. At least six feet and a dead weight. Together he and Finn laid her on her side on the gray carpet. Finn folded her jacket into a pillow and put it behind her head. Masha’s left arm rose stiff and zombielike above her head. Her hands curled into spastic fists. She continued to breathe in jerky gasps as her body postured. She was having a seizure. Seizures were disquieting to watch but Yao knew you just had to wait them out. There was nothing around Masha’s neck that Yao could loosen. He scanned the space around her, and saw nowhere she could bang her head. “Is this what happened earlier?” Finn looked up at the assistant. “ No . No, before she just sort of fainted.” The wide-eyed PA watched with appalled fascination. “Does she have a history of seizures?” asked Finn. “I don’t think so. I don’t know.” As she spoke, the PA was shuffling back toward the door of the office, where a crowd of other corporate types had now gathered. Someone held up a mobile phone, filming, as if their boss’s seizure were a rock concert. “Start compressions . ” Finn’s eyes were flat and smooth like stones. There was a moment—no more than a second, but still a moment—in which Yao did nothing as his brain scrambled to process what had just happened. He would remember that moment of frozen incomprehension forever. He knew that a cardiac arrest could present with seizure-like symptoms and yet he’d still missed it because his brain had been so utterly, erroneously convinced of one reality: This patient is having a seizure . If Finn hadn’t been there, Yao may have sat back on his haunches and observed a woman in cardiac arrest without acting , like an airline pilot flying a jet into the ground because he is overly reliant on his faulty instruments. Yao’s finest instrument was his brain, and on this day it was faulty. They shocked her twice but were unable to establish a consistent heart rhythm. Masha Dmitrichenko was in full cardiac arrest as they carried her out of the corner office to which she would never return. Copyright © 2018 by Liane Moriarty

Available in Digital Audio!

Buy This Book From:

Reviews from goodreads.

About This Book

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Now a Hulu original series “If three characters were good in Big Little Lies , nine are even...

Book Details

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Now a Hulu original series “If three characters were good in Big Little Lies , nine are even better in Nine Perfect Strangers .” —Lisa Scottoline, The New York Times Book Review From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Little Lies Could ten days at a health resort really change you forever? In Liane Moriarty’s latest page-turner, 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 her writing a go-to for anyone looking for wickedly smart, page-turning fiction that will make you laugh and gasp, Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers once again shows why she is a master of her craft.

Imprint Publisher

Flatiron Books

9781250069825

Reading Guide

Reading Guides for Nine Perfect Strangers

Get the Guide

In the news.

2018 Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist: Best Fiction Best of 2018: People , Publishers Weekly , Glamour , Real Simple , PopSugar, Kobo, LitHub Best of Fall: Goodreads, Entertainment Weekly , Cosmopolitan , Vogue , Elle , USA Today , Harper’s Bazaar , AARP, CrimeReads, BookRiot, PureWow, InStyle, Bustle, and Refinery29 “A treat for Big Little Lies fans....Witty and poignant, Moriarty’s storytelling is worth every penny.” — People , Book of the Week “[A] smart and suspenseful page-turner.” — Woman’s World “An entrancing read…An early holiday present for Moriarty fans, Nine Perfect Strangers is a darkly comical novel that defies classification. It manages to be wildly funny and richly emotional at the same time, proving that the Big Little Lies author still has a lot to offer her readers.” — Bustle “As she did in Big Little Lies , Liane Moriarty writes compelling, realistic characters. Readers will devour Nine Perfect Strangers .” — Real Simple “Moriarty is back with another page-turner.” — TIME “Irresistible.” — Entertainment Weekly “Liane Moriarty is a master of sustained tension.” — Washington Post “Promises to be a lively page-turner.” — Vogue “A cannily plotted, continually surprising, and frequently funny page-turner and a deeply satisfying thriller. Moriarty delivers yet another surefire winner.” — Publishers Weekly , starred and boxed review “Liane Moriarty serves up laughs, thrills, surprises.” — Associated Press “Each reveal is a delicious surprise… Nine Perfect Strangers is so well written and slyly constructed that it won’t feel like enough.” — Booklist “This latest work from the author of Big Little Lies makes us cower, laugh, reflect, cry, and fall in love right alongside the characters.” — Family Circle “Can’t wait for Season 2 of Big Little Lies ? Satisfy your craving with Moriarty’s new novel. At a remote health resort, nine people gather, eager for change. Despite the luxurious new-age comforts that surround them, each realizes that the next 10 days will be tougher than they could ever imagine. Things may not be what they seem in this addictive read.” — Observer “The wildly popular Big Little Lies author is back with another irresistible story that’s both suspenseful and surprisingly funny.” — AARP ’s The Girlfriend “No one writes about the minutiae of women’s lives with quite as much insight and pull as Moriarty, who wrote Big Little Lies , and yet again her slow-burning plotting leaves you gasping at the very end. I’m jealous of anyone who hasn’t read this yet.” — Grazia (UK) “Liane Moriarty is simply unparalleled at infusing flawed characters with humor and heartbreak. Her singular brand of storytelling was most recently showcased when her bestselling novel Big Little Lies was made into an Emmy-winning HBO miniseries. Nine Perfect Strangers is a worthy follow-up, offering an irresistible take on our wellness-obsessed culture, where the weirder the treatment, the better.” — BookPage “ Nine Perfect Strangers has everything I look for in a Moriarty novel: colorful, relatable characters and a page-turning narrative infused with humor and warmth…a wise, wonderfully immersive read.” — Augusta Chronicle “Readers and movie stars alike cannot get enough of Moriarty and her addictive novels, which explore the secrets of suburbia with wit, empathy, and enough plot twists to have Alfred Hitchcock applauding from the grave.” — San Diego Union-Tribune “Liane Moriarty is a serious talent...[She] paints a picture with color, sound, aroma, mood, and fragments of the characters’ inner monologues, telling us their stories in quick details while the transformation goes off the rails.” — News & Observer “Liane Moriarty seamlessly leads the reader through an unpredictable maze of struggles with love, loss, and understanding. Her pacing, character development, and knack for packing a surprise punch will keep readers engaging in literary therapy by turning the pages late into the night.” — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Praise for Liane Moriarty’s Novels : “Funny and scary.” —Stephen King “Sharply intelligent.” — Entertainment Weekly “Irresistible.” — People “Simply exquisite.” — Bookreporter “Powerful.” — The Washington Post “Brilliant.” —Sophie Hannah “Gob-smacking.” — BookPage “Superb.” — Parade “Spellbinding.” —Emily Giffin “Gripping.” —Oprah.com “A wonderful writer.” —Anne Lamott “Like drinking a pink cosmo laced with arsenic.” — USA Today “Mesmerizing.” — Family Circle “So, so good.”—Jojo Moyes “The ferocity that Ms. Moriarty brings…is shocking.” — New York Times

About the Creators

• Children's/Family
• Documentary/Reality
• Amazon Prime Video

More From Decider

New Shows & Movies To Watch This Weekend: 'Eric' on Netflix + More

Bad Vibrations: 'The Beach Boys' Documentary Is Mike Love Propaganda

'The Kardashians': Scott Disick Reveals He Was Eating "A Whole Box" Of...

'Godzilla Minus One' Gets Surprise Release On Netflix

Netflix's Huge Jake Paul Vs. Mike Tyson Fight Postponed After Tyson...

Jax Taylor Admits His "Delivery Is Awful" In 'The Valley': "That's One Of...

What Happened to Regé-Jean Page? Did the Duke Bomb His Movie Star Career...

'9-1-1's Malcolm-Jamal Warner On Amir And Bobby, Working With Peter...

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to copy URL

‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ Wild Ending, Explained

Where to stream:.

• Nine Perfect Strangers

Stream It Or Skip It: 'Apples Never Fall' On Peacock, Where Siblings Reexamine Their Parents' Relationship When Their Mother Disappears

7 shows like 'yellowjackets', 'tell me lies' episode guide: how many episodes in grace van patten's new show, stream it or skip it: 'the valet' on hulu, an unexpectedly delightful comedy featuring an inspired eugenio derbez/samara weaving combo.

It’s been a long journey full of LSD and yoga, but it’s all come to an end. This week marked the final episode of Nine Perfect Strangers , David E. Kelley and Jonathan Levine’s miniseries about what it really means to be well. And you better believe its finale was as shocking as anything else in this twisted show.

Based on the novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, Nine Perfect Strangers follows a group of people who go to a mysterious wellness retreat to heal from their personal demons. But once they learn they’ve been drugged as part of an experimental treatment plan, this retreat goes from heaven to hell. Wondering how Nine Perfect Strangers ends? Here’s what’s going on with Carmel and how that ending differs from the book.

How Did Nine Perfect Strangers End?

With a whole lot of drug use. But you were expecting that, weren’t you?

At the end of Episode 7, Carmel (Regina Hall) removed a contact and revealed her foggy eye. That revelation cemented everything. Carmel was the one who shot Masha (Nicole Kidman) all those years ago, an attack that led to Masha creating Tranquillum House. Carmel learned that Masha was sleeping with her husband and went full postal before coming to this resort to see what Masha’s been doing. So yeah, all the psychotic vibes you got from Carmel are right on the money. But rather than kick her out, Masha forgave Carmel and put her in a sensory deprivation chamber. One stranger down, eight to go.

After literally confronting her enemy, Masha went to the Marconi family. Remember how Masha took some LSD to ensure Napoleon (Michael Shannon), Heather (Asher Keddie), and Zoe (Grace Van Patten) that it was safe to see their deceased son via drug trip? Yeah, she left out some big details. The biggest omission was revealed by Lars (Luke Evans), who explained that the last time Masha drugged someone as intensely as the Marconis, they died. Even though they knew the risks, the Marconis went ahead with the drug trip. And it worked! They saw the late Zach (Hal Cumpston) one last time and get some closure. But they weren’t the only ones.

Another big reveal from Lars? Apparently the only reason why Masha was interested in reconnecting with deceased people via drugs was because she lost her own daughter. As the Marconis chase Zach, the high Masha chased glimpses of her own daughter.

That accounts for five of the strangers. What about the other four? Independently, Frances (Melissa McCarthy) and Tony (Bobby Cannavale) and Jessica (Samara Weaving) and Ben (Melvin Gregg) decided to leave Tranquillum House. There was just one problem. None of them could find their cars. While looking for a way out, they found Carmel locked in the sensory deprivation room. Masha and Yao (Manny Jacinto) opened the room to them, but once they were all inside, Masha and Yao locked it again. What made it worse was this time they could hear the crackling of fire and smell smoke.

Eventually, Frances realized that the door was actually unlocked at come point so they can escape. By the way, that fake fire? It was all a life-threatening therapy tactic from Ms. Crazypants herself, Masha. Towards the end of the finale, the police arrived thanks to a tip from Delilah (Tiffany Boone). Masha is arrested as she cradles the little girl she lost.

Where Is Everyone at the End of Nine Perfect Strangers?

Just like the book it’s based on, Nine Perfect Strangers ‘ final episode offers an afterward of sorts. Since it starts once Frances starts writing, we can’t be entirely sure if this is what really happens or if Frances is making this all up. But regardless it’s a nice thought.

In the afterward, France and Tony are still dating, and Tony has reconnected with his daughters. The Marconis are closer to becoming a happy family once more. Lars returns to his boyfriend, ready to have a kid. Carmel has started her own therapy group, something she desperately needs since, you know, she shot someone. And in the biggest twist of all, Jessica and Ben have used part of their lottery winnings to take over Tranquillum House. It’s a nice, happy ending that leaves little to no room for a sequel.

How Did Nine Perfect Strangers the Book End?

Hulu’s adaptation basically followed the actual ending of the book. The fire in the midst of a drug trip was a big part of the novel, and just like in the series, Masha does get arrested. But there were also some pretty big changes.

The biggest one has to do with Carmel. In the book, Carmel is just an angry, wealthy woman struggling through a divorce. She’s not the shooter who nearly killed Masha. Instead, that shooter was a random person. Likewise, Masha is never threatened by ominous calls or texts in the book.

Then there is the afterward. In the novel, Frances and Tony end up married, something that’s implied but not explicitly stated in the series. Jessica and Ben split up rather than stay together to take care of this retreat. It’s even implied that Ben and Zoe start some sort of relationship. But other than those relatively small cracks, Nine Perfect Strangers the book and the show are about the same.

Watch Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu

• regina hall

When Does '1923' Return With New Episodes? The Latest On The '1923' Season 2 Premiere Date

'Live's Kelly Ripa And Mark Consuelos Say They Could Never Be Part Of A Throuple: "I Can't Even Understand Their Scheduling"

'Today': Jenna Bush Hager Describes Her Wild Night Getting Caught Walking Her Cat In A Stroller While Wearing Her Pajamas

Whoopi Goldberg's Daughter Denies Being A Nepo Baby In Rare Appearance On 'The View': "I Have Yet To Experience That"

Drew Barrymore Says She Just Learned What A "Vedgie" Is: "I Certainly Know What A Camel Toe Is!"

Ana Navarro Can Barely Contain Her Rage At Marco Rubio On 'The View' After He Compares Trump Guilty Verdict to Oppression In Cuba: "How Dare You"

Anxiety and Apocalyptic Road-Trips in ‘I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom’ [Review]

The rise of widely available internet during the late 90s and early 2000s gave up-and-coming authors a brand-new avenue through which they could share their words with the world without the need for publishers. Back then, free-to-read blogs and personal websites weren’t just gathering places for readers, they were also a forum that allowed writers to directly connect with their audience and spin yarns that old timey editors would probably have considered too niche for mainstream publication.

And while not all of these online stories were created equal, with some ending up unfinished and forever trapped in cyberspace, others became so popular that the leap from screen to the printed page was all but inevitable. One of my favorite examples of this is the iconic John Dies at the End , a book series that originally began as a hilarious in-universe blog run by “David Wong” (who we now know as Jason Pargin ) before turning into a best-selling franchise complete with an underrated big-screen adaptation directed by Phantasm creator Don Coscarelli .

Throughout the years, Pargin has continued to expand his JDatE universe and has even dipped his toes into other genres while also making online history as a TikTok sensation, Podcast co-host (I’m a huge fan of Bigfeets in particular) and a legendary run as the former editor of comedy website Cracked . That’s why I was stoked to hear that 2024 would see the release of Pargin’s first standalone novel in nearly a decade, as I think the author is at his best when trying new things.

Titled I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom (which is right up there with This Book is Full of Spiders and Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick as far as excellent Jason Pargin book titles go), the upcoming novel is meant to be Jason’s first foray into more “grounded” fiction.

In the book, we follow anxiety-prone Twitch streamer and Lyft driver Abbot as he’s recruited by a mysterious young woman named Ether to help her transport an ominous-looking box across the United States in exchange for a life-changing sum of money. The only catch is that Abbot must leave his cell phone and digital life behind while also keeping the true nature of the trip secret from his friends and family. Unfortunately for the unlikely duo, their little road trip soon snowballs into a nation-wide panic as rumors spread about the potentially nation-destroying contents of the box, with our main characters becoming targeted by homicidal bikers, retired FBI operatives and the most dangerous pursuers of all – paranoid Redditors.

Basically, it’s Bonnie and Clyde for the social media age!

On the surface, Black Box of Doom might seem like a standard (and somewhat literal) mystery box thriller – a narrative structure that I have a great deal of contempt for due to how often it’s been mishandled in popular media over the past decade or so – but Jason goes out of his way to make it clear that the absurd conspiratorial thinking surrounding the box and the duo transporting it are the real story here.

The book may lack the patented combination of dick jokes and cosmic horror that made the JDatE novels so memorable, but genre fans will be pleased to hear that this more grounded thriller still manages to tap into some very real frights, including but not limited to incel uprisings, domestic terrorism and the psychological dangers of being perpetually online.

Jason’s iconic brand of crass humor is still present, with the book featuring laugh-out-loud descriptions of furry porn and extraterrestrial conspiracy theories, but these elements, alongside the violence traditionally associated with Pargin’s work, have been significantly toned down in order to better fit the unexpectedly uplifting themes of this catastrophic road trip. This softer approach may not work for everyone, but I think it complements the story’s virtual chaos rather nicely.

It’s notoriously difficult for storytellers to incorporate modern conveniences like smartphones and online subcultures into their plots without bringing to mind Steve Buscemi’s “How do you do fellow kids?” meme, but Pargin has miraculously captured a snapshot of the current cultural zeitgeist despite no longer being the same spry young man who wrote JDatE . I mean, the book’s vocabulary alone could only have been achieved by someone who actually put in the time and participated in actual internet communities instead of merely researching them from the outside – something that I can appreciate as someone who literally grew up online.

And yet, despite the hilariously accurate Reddit post and Twitch chat simulations, the story still diligently tackles serious themes and even contains a couple of nail-biting moments of tension – with a traffic pile-up involving hot sauce and cottage cheese being particularly memorable. Of course, as a fan of Jason’s more personal work (like his classic articles about the adult consequences of growing up in poverty), the highlight of the experience for me was finding unironic nuggets of both wisdom and genuine vulnerability hidden among Ether’s witty trivia and Abbot’s immature rants.

Unfortunately, the Black Box of Doom can be decidedly heavy-handed in its messaging at times, especially when it comes to Ether. Her character often feels more like an impossibly patient paragon of virtue meant to represent the author’s beliefs rather than a fully-fledged person. While this is somewhat mitigated by her backstory reveal towards the latter half of the experience, it’s a shame that such an engaging story is often bogged down by monologues about the current state of society – especially when some of these lectures could have been summed up as “can’t we all just get along?”.

Thankfully, the book mostly makes up for these naïve moments with some well-placed jokes, frequently reminding readers that this story isn’t meant to be taken seriously. There’s also a very welcome recognition that the issues plaguing modern society are actually much larger and more complex than internet-induced anxiety and cultural warfare, something that can be seen in the novel’s willingness to present us with conflicting opinions without necessarily pointing fingers at who’s really to blame for all the evil in the world.

Plus, as a lifelong internet weirdo, I really dig how the book incorporates the infamous Killdozer story into the narrative without it feeling like a complete parody.

Ultimately, Black Box of Doom is an experiment in empathy, challenging readers to engage with a disparate collection of shifting points of view and offering up a rare glimpse into the collective subconscious of modern-day America. The opinions presented here aren’t necessarily correct or even healthy (with even our main character suffering from incel-adjacent biases), but Pargin does a great job of reminding us that these are all just human beings trying to get by in an insane world.

I may still prefer the otherworldly madness of the JDatE books, as I think Pargin’s juvenile sense of humor pairs wonderfully with both mind-melting terror and fascinating insights into the human condition, but I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom is undeniably one of his best stories yet. Longtime fans might be a little disappointed at how tame this adventure is when compared to the author’s previous yarns, but I think the book still packs one a hell of a punch once you remember that we’re only a couple of news stories away from this satire becoming reality.

I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom comes out September 24, but it’s available now for pre-order wherever you get your books.

Born Brazilian, raised Canadian, Luiz is a writer and Film student that spends most of his time watching movies and subsequently complaining about them.

You may like

We Love the Library: On Stephen and Tabitha King’s MLA Keynote Speech [The Losers’ Club Podcast]

12 Horror Books to Sink Your Teeth into This Summer

‘John Dies at the End’ – Don Coscarelli’s Cult Horror-Comedy Is Still Underappreciated 10 Years Later

Pre-orders Available Now for ‘Alien: Isolation’ Companion Book ‘Perfect Organism’

While we wait for its successor, fans of Alien: Isolation  are probably wanting something to tide them over.  Unbound Publishers looks to have just the thing with their companion book, Perfect Organism: An Alien: Isolation Companion . Set for release on August 8 , and written by BBC News journalist and short film director Andy Kelly , Perfect   Organism is currently up for pre-order at the Unbound Publishers website.

Perfect Organism combines original insight, extensive research and level-by-level analysis, and features original chapter illustrations from Jon McKellan, lead UI artist for Alien: Isolation . The book reveals to players the rationale and authenticity of the set design and art direction, as well as info about the alien’s unnerving abilities to second-guess the players and the importance of its unique height, the importance of the dynamic audio (which if you’ll remember, earned the game a BAFTA award) and the use of seventies archive soundbites, as well as the darkly beautiful music.

Add on top of that topics regarding the game’s deleted content, scenes and features that never made the final cut, and even going so far as to include biographies of every character, who they were, why they were on the station, and what happened to them.

While the option to get a signed hardcover version of Perfect Organism has sadly sold out, you still have the option to get a regular hardcover version, or an e-book version.

‘Beetlejuice’ Collection from Loungefly Gets You Showtime Ready with New Apparel, Pet Accessories, Enamel Pins and More

New ‘Alien: Romulus’ Poster Hugs Your Face and Promises Full Trailer Tomorrow

‘The Strangers: Chapter 2’ – First Image from the Sequel

Spirit Halloween Previews Art the Clown & Michael Myers Animatronics!

‘Alien: Romulus’ – Watch Terrifying New Trailer for ‘Evil Dead’ Director’s ‘Alien’ Sequel!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The Strangers: Chapter 1

After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple is forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike wi... Read all After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple is forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive. After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple is forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive.

• Renny Harlin
• Alan R. Cohen
• Alan Freedland
• Bryan Bertino
• Madelaine Petsch
• Matus Lajcak
• 197 User reviews
• 81 Critic reviews
• 43 Metascore

• Jeff Morell

• Scarecrow Double
• (as Matúš Lajčák)
• Dollface Double
• Pin-Up Double

• Sheriff Rotter

• Deputy Walters

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

The Big List of Summer Movies

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Renny Harlin simultaneously filmed all three films of this trilogy. The producer explained that the lead star would film scenes for the first film in the morning and scenes for the second in the afternoon, commuting to many different locations for filming several times a day.
• Goofs About eight minutes in, when Maya and Ryan go back to their car from the diner, a crew member can be seen in the window of the car when Ryan is trying to start it.

Maya : Why are you doing this to us?

Pin-Up Girl : Because you were *here*.

• Connections Followed by The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2024)
• Soundtracks So Good Written by B.o.B. (as Bobby Ray Simmons Jr.), Brent Kutzle , Ryan Tedder & Noel Zancanella Performed by B.o.B. Courtesy of Warner Music UK Ltd.

User reviews 197

• May 21, 2024

New and Upcoming Horror

• How long is The Strangers: Chapter 1? Powered by Alexa
• Is Bryan Bertino involved with this?
• May 17, 2024 (United States)
• United States
• Official Site
• The Strangers 3
• Fifth Element Productions
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $32,208,939
• $11,825,058
• May 19, 2024
• $37,628,614

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 31 minutes

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.

Five of this year’s best graphic novels make perfect summer reads

These books by Maurice Vellekoop, Eddie Ahn, Nate Powell and others offer fresh stories and beautiful images.

This has already been a banner year for exciting new comics. Here are five of the year’s most exciting titles that you can read now.

‘I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together,’ by Maurice Vellekoop

Three-fourths of the way into Maurice Vellekoop’s textured memoir, the Canadian cartoonist delivers a pure heartfelt payoff. The last reel makes everything worth the wait.

“I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together” — the title nods to the experience of growing up with “Carol Burnett Show”-era television while being enchanted with Barbie dolls and Disney fairy tales — unfolds mostly chronologically, from innocent, often joyous boyhood to the rocky journey of adult self-discovery.

Over the course of the book, Vellekoop comes out to his strict Calvinist immigrant parents, leading to a long estrangement from his intolerant mother, with whom he had once taken buoyant shopping trips. Their fraught relationship provides one arc of ongoing painful poignancy.

As in Alison Bechdel’s “Fun Home,” the role of art-making is also deftly threaded through the narrative, sometimes providing personal enrichment, sometimes serving as a means of escape. Once Vellekoop heads off to art school, film and live performance especially serve not only as social glue but also as mirrors for meaning. Meanwhile, his romantic life unfolds in fits and starts — partly during the rise of AIDS — as he works out his complicated relationship with his own desires.

Eventually, Maurice, by now a successful artist, begins seeing a therapist, and the pieces of the emotional mosaic begin to click together powerfully. The back-and-forth between his mental health sessions and his day-to-day relationships give the memoir its most revelatory uplift.

Vellekoop — a veteran commercial illustrator, fashion artist and author whose books include gay erotica (this memoir includes graphic sexual content) — renders his memories beautifully, with expressive faces, liquid lines and effective palette shifts.

‘Advocate: A Graphic Memoir of Family, Community, and the Fight for Environmental Justice,’ by Eddie Ahn

How do you resolve sharp divergence when you and your parents have different definitions of the American Dream?

As he demonstrates in his brisk memoir, “Advocate,” Eddie Ahn, a California environmental justice lawyer, often feels he’s making a difference through his work in the nonprofit sector. His aims, though, can run counter to the notions of “progress” prized by his Korean immigrant parents.

Ahn’s story moves efficiently from the author’s Texas roots, where his family has a liquor and convenience store, and his early youth work with AmeriCorps to his law-school years and his career with environmental nonprofits in the Bay Area. Along the way, we see Ahn endure a medical crisis and a detour into the allure of poker and “easy money,” as well as a job recession and racial prejudice while he occasionally mines his family’s past when grasping for illumination.

Ahn’s life story has so many intriguing pieces that, if anything, the reader might hunger for more asides and excursions. What if we could follow young Eddie more deeply into community conflicts, say, or his challenge in caring for a worsening parent? Any number of these tight chapters could be worth exploring more fully — perhaps they will inspire a sequel.

‘Aya: Claws Come Out,’ by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie, translated from French by Edwige Renée Dro

Nearly two decades ago, Marguerite Abouet launched her superstar character, Aya — whom we met as a lively teenager in the ’70s, and who is now an ambitious college-age intern in the ’80s. Her deliciously soapy world has roots in both the Ivory Coast, where Abouet was born, and in France, where the author lives today.

Abouet created the series’ lively cast with her artist husband, Clément Oubrerie, who was born in greater Paris. More than a decade since the last book, they return with “Aya: Claws Come Out,” in which the series’ core friendships evolve with playful humor and sly banter intact, now set during the ’80s in the Ivory Coast capital, with an occasional cutaway to France.

Office politics, student protests, corrupt officials and double-edged celebrity all come in for cutting wit and high drama. Rendered in thin, inviting lines and bright pops of color, “Aya” proves that Abouet and Oubrerie are still at the top of their game.

‘Fall Through,’ by Nate Powell

This sci-fi story follows a time-traveling punk band called Diamond Mine that is magically tethered to both the ’70s and the ’90s. A break in the space-time continuum occurs whenever the touring group performs its spell-laden tune “Fall Through.” What hath the band’s vocalist wrought? And what can our hero — Jody, the upstart bassist — do to break this increasingly disenchanting loop?

Powell, the National Book Award-winning artist behind John Lewis’s “March” trilogy, embeds this bewitching work with Easter eggs that inspired his story, including nods to such bands as the Sex Pistols, William Martyr 17 and Five-O (the act behind the ’90s recording “ Fall Through ”), as well as the Eisner Hall of Fame cartoonist Lynd Ward, most famous for his wood-engraved wordless novels.

What is the seductive addiction to losing yourself with a “found family” of a touring band — a sonic and psychic escape from the quotidian nature of humdrum life back home? The cartoonist uncannily depicts the social rhythms of life on the road, built on ever-dynamic points of contact and conflict, tension and release.

As artist and storyteller, Powell is a master of colorful chord progressions that accompany the thump of a punk-rock heart.

‘Lies My Teacher Told Me: A Graphic Adaptation,’ by James W. Loewen and Nate Powell

Also worth reading is Powell’s recent graphic adaptation of the sociologist James W. Loewen’s “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong.” It conveys, often in stirring chiaroscuro, Loewen’s thesis that U.S. textbooks fail when they become beholden to sanitized hero narratives and sweeping arcs of perpetual American progress. Powell’s visual depth beautifully adds visceral layers to Loewen’s efforts to undercut scholastic elisions: What did at least a dozen oft-used textbooks long leave out about Columbus’s direct effects on Western Indigenous populations that came under his boot, or about Helen Keller’s radical socialism, or about one American colony of color that predated the Pilgrims? In cleverly dissecting and debunking what was taught for decades, Loewen’s stories collectively serve as an illuminating textbook in their own right.

Michael Cavna is an arts journalist, artist and 2023 recipient of the Ink Bottle Award from the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. He has also worked at The Washington Post as television/media editor, theater editor, book reviewer and creator of the Comic Riffs column.

More from Book World

Love everything about books? Make sure to subscribe to our Book Club newsletter , where Ron Charles guides you through the literary news of the week.

Check out our coverage of this year’s Pulitzer winners: Jayne Anne Phillips won the fiction prize for her novel “ Night Watch .” The nonfiction prize went to Nathan Thrall, for “ A Day in the Life of Abed Salama .” Cristina Rivera Garza received the memoir prize for “ Liliana’s Invincible Summer .” And Jonathan Eig received the biography prize for his “ King: A Life .”

Best books of 2023: See our picks for the 10 best books of 2023 or dive into the staff picks that Book World writers and editors treasured in 2023. Check out the complete lists of 50 notable works for fiction and the top 50 nonfiction books of last year.

Find your favorite genre: Three new memoirs tell stories of struggle and resilience, while five recent historical novels offer a window into other times. Audiobooks more your thing? We’ve got you covered there, too . If you’re looking for what’s new, we have a list of our most anticipated books of 2024 . And here are 10 noteworthy new titles that you might want to consider picking up this April.