A book delivery can only mean one thing … it’s time for a new book club read! I’m excited to say that I’m back to reading hardcopy and this month’s pick is Nine Perfect Strangers by the bestselling author Liane Moriarty!

You might recognise her as the author of the brilliant Big Little Lies which was later turned into an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning HBO series. After reading that, and Truly Madly Guilty, I was immediately drawn to her latest release. I haven’t finished reading it yet but what I have read so far, I’ve loved!

The plot

The story is set at a luxury health and wellness resort called Tranqullum House a few hours north of Sydney, Australia. The 10-day programme on offer promises guests a journey to wellness and total transformation. Sounds like the dream right?! Nine people decide to escape the complexities of their lives in the city by heading to the resort to switch off from the outside world and relax.

Not realising quite how much they’d have to give up on this retreat, the guests start to question some of the ideals enforced by the resorts’ owner, Masha. Is it going to lead to a path of transformation? Is it all a bit too much? As in all stories, not everything is as it seems and the guests certainly get more than they bargained for!

In a recent interview with the Guardian discussing her new book, Moriarty said:

“We live in paradise. Most of us live such comfortable middle-class lives, and so, is it the desire for suffering? And this desire we all have for transformation. I can never see an article that says, ‘Just change this one thing about your life and you’ll be transformed forever’ – even though you know when you click on it, it won’t work, I find it irresistible.”

I think this story is an interesting exploration of the lure of self-improvement which so many people desire and strive to achieve. I haven’t got to the twist yet but I’m excited to read on and find out what happens to our nine characters.

If that doesn’t get you excited then this might… Nicole Kidman managed to get hold of the screen rights before the novel was even published! I think we might be seeing interesting things coming down the line.

Pick it up, give it a read and let me know what you think!

Happy reading all x