Yes- all at once! I loved the characters' internal dialogues with themselves, the contemporary Australian language use and the setting in the "wellness retreat"!!! I especially enjoyed the ways that everyday culture was pulled apart.

I loved ‘What Alice Forgot’ when I read it for the first time years ago and subsequently have pre-bought every book Liane Moriarty has created - she really is the queen of domestic suspense, so I had high hopes going into ‘Nine Strangers’ and I'm happy to report I was once again delighted and madly swiping the pages into the wee hours of the morning.I love that literally Nine Strangers come together at a wellness resort... however as it’s a Liane Moriarty creation, there's a heap of secrets waiting to be revealed and unlike her other reads this was funny!The premise is so unique, literally nine strangers head off to a health resort, hoping to return home different people. Set in Australia, Tranquillem House is a health and wellness resort that many clients claim transformed their lives. The latest batch of arrivals get considerably more than the diet, light exercise, therapy and spa treatments they had signed up for...There is plenty of sly humour and wit in Moriarty's story and I just simply can’t say much more without spoilers... however I have to say made me think twice about trying a health retreat! I am a verified purchaser in AUSTRALIA

Another page turner of a book by liane Moriarty. A great insight into people and life with twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat.

Love Liane Moriarty books!!

Nine, worn-down-by-life, strangers, sign-up for an exclusive ten-day, mind and body total transformation retreat, but end up getting much more than they bargained for!I was expecting the ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ to be strangers to each other but this wasn’t the case. Two were a married couple, while a further three were family members – father, mother, and their 20 year old daughter, while the remaining four were indeed strangers – two male, two female. Of course, the title does have a deeper, cleverer meaning that I am of course not going to reveal. The fact that some were related did make it admittedly easier to keep the various characters straight, as there were thirteen POV’s – made up of the nine guests, three core staff, and one other (no spoilers!), so quite a few voices to keep up with.‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ isn’t a thriller, crime, or mystery novel, and while there are moments of psychological suspense, there are not enough of them to bill it as that either. To be fair the back of the book doesn’t mention any of the above genres, but because that’s what I’ve come to expect from Liane Moriarty, even though I did quite like this, at the same time I couldn’t help feeling disappointed. I would call it contemporary, chick-lit – a light, entertaining, amusing romp, that would make an excellent beach read. I would even go as far as to call it a parody, as it does poke fun at itself several times, and the silliness towards the end screams deliberate. The characters were all interesting, and their reasons for attending a health retreat were moving, emotional, touching real world, relatable issues. The back of the book lists the following words – shame, guilt, loss, grief, privilege, insecurity, addiction, identity, love – and I think that sums up the novel nicely. So, all in all, it was well done, but I would’ve preferred it to be crime, psychological suspense.Note: I actually read the trade paperback edition, which was released here in New Zealand September 18th.