Can a health retreat really change your life forever?
Nine people gather at a remote resort in Australia. Some are there to lose weight, some are there to heal from grief, and some are there for reasons they are not even aware of themselves. Even though they are expecting some luxury and pampering, they also know that giving up some things might be necessary to reach their goals. However, none of them could ever have imagined how challenging it would actually be!! The novel felt to me like an old Agatha Christie mystery with all of the possible culprits assembled in the same hotel with some sinister event lurking just around the corner. Will it be Miss Scarlet in the gym with a rope? or will someone be found floating in the pool?
It’s hard for me to talk about this book without giving spoilers. If you are a Moriarty fan, (as I am) you will not want to miss it, even though it wasn’t my favourite. It does have her trademark mildly satirical sense of humour, this time taking on the wellness industry. My favourites of hers, so far, are The Husband’s Secret and Big Little Lies. I do always love Moriarty’s characters and enjoy reading her books, but I had hoped for a better plot line in this one. Though there is psychological suspense as the main twist is slowly revealed, it all seemed a bit too cheerful to be a thriller and too character driven to be a page-turner. The ending was mystifying and I want to talk about it when you’ve read it!
Was Moriarty teasing us and poking fun at herself halfway through the novel when one of the characters is asked how she likes the book she is reading? The reply is this, “The book was meant to be another murder mystery but the author had introduced far too many characters too early, and so far everyone was alive and kicking. The pace had slowed. Come on now. Hurry up and kill someone.” Pretty tongue-in-cheek because at that moment I was feeling exactly the same about Nine Perfect Strangers! 🙂
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