Like Jodi Picoult, Liane Moriarty is another of my favorites but I’m going to be completely open and honest upfront: I was very disappointed in Nine Perfect Strangers. It fell so flat for me and I kept waiting for something exciting or dramatic or jaw-dropping to happen and it just didn’t. I was pretty surprised at this book, as it was unlike anything she’s ever written before. It was light and superficial as her other books are dark and deep.

As the title suggests, nine strangers all book a week-long stay at a holistic and all-natural health resort thinking they are in for hours upon hours of relaxation, facials and massages, and self-enlightenment. What they realize, minutes after arrival, is that they have been sucked into a scam. A resort they assumed would leave them feeling refreshed and healthier, both physically and mentally through mindfulness meditation, pampering, and extra green smoothies, they soon realized was the complete opposite. Something was off with the director/owner of the health resort and the nine strangers came to this realization once it was too late.

Honestly… I don’t have much more to say about this book. I usually don’t review books I wouldn’t recommend but I felt I needed to because this book was so not like Liane Moriarty’s other books and as a fan and loyal readers of hers, I felt obligated to share with my book community my feelings and opinions on this story. For a hefty read (almost 500 pages!), I really just did not see the point of the storyline or what the reader should take away from it. Very disappointed but remaining hopeful her future books will be back to the dark and deep stories we all can’t get enough of!