A review by haley_b
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

 As the title suggests, Nine Perfect Strangers follows the experiences of a cast of nine characters as they attend a health resort in an attempt to fix their lives and themselves. 

I found Liane Moriarty to be a very heavy-handed author; none of the plot twists or character development felt earned. I could constantly “see the strings” when characters wished for some very specific personal development, wondered aloud what might happen next, and broke the fourth wall. I think the author protagonist was intended to disguise these misgivings, but as a reader it only made the plot and characters come across as shallow. Moriarty uses a lot of cheap tricks to make Nine Perfect Strangers seem smart, but she just doesn’t pull it off. 

Even with its large cast of characters and somewhat intriguing plot, this book still felt slow.

In my paperback version, the characters spend over 200 pages in a locked room, drugged and held hostage by the retreat’s narcissistic director. However, despite the trauma inherent in such an event and the large chunk of the narrative dedicated to it, all of the characters emerge unharmed and promptly receive their happy endings, but

Rather than tying everything up, the ending seems to undermine the events of the book. 

The book seems further undermined by a tone that sits confusedly somewhere between wacky and serious. The serious elements never felt dark enough to compel lasting emotion, and the wacky elements never felt light enough to warrant a laugh. 

It’s not all bad, though. I found it surprisingly easy to keep track of the more than nine POV characters, and almost every twist or revelation was adequately foreshadowed for the attentive reader. While I wouldn’t recommend this book, for all its faults, Nine Perfect Strangers still has entertainment value for the right readers.