Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

I had been eagerly awaiting the chance to read Moriarty's latest book and I wasn't disappointed. It tells the story of nine strangers at a health spa. The protagonist, menopausal Frances, writes romance novels but has just had her first one rejected by her publisher. Other guests include a young wealthy couple and a family of three who lost a son/brother to suicide.

The dialogue between Frances and other characters, about her writing, allowed Moriarty to include a number of metafictive moments. Criticisms of Frances' writing were repeated in the plot line of Nine Perfect Strangers, creating laugh out loud parody.

The health spa is run by a former Russian corporate high flyer, Masha. The character's name comes from the winning bidder at a Starlight Children's Foundation auction. Her prize was to have her name in one of Moriarty's books. It was great to see that the name was given to one of the main characters.

The spa was unconventional in ways that went beyond plausible into the realms of comedy.  The story balanced the serious issue of teen suicide, with the comic spa and the carefully crafted and credible characters Moriarty is well known for. It was a great read!

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Erika and her husband Oliver are both a little odd. Cellist Clementine, Erika's best friend since childhood, and Clementine's husband Sam, endure rather than enjoy Erika and Oliver's company.

Erika and Oliver's neighbours, Vid and Tiffany, are both extroverts and have little in common with them. However, Vid and Tiffany met Clementine and Sam at a Christmas party, and really enjoyed their company. When Erika mentions to Vid that Clementine, Sam, and their two girls are coming over for afternoon tea, Vid suggests they all join him and his family for a barbecue.

The story revolves around the barbecue; the chapters switch from the present day (two months after the barbecue) to the day of the barbecue. Something dreadful happened that has left Erika with memory loss and Clementine and Sam struggling to keep their marriage together.

It takes 300 pages to find out what happened at the barbecue. There are a couple of other 'reveals' in the last 200 pages but nothing particularly surprising. The beauty of the book is not so much a clever plot but the building of the characters. Moriarty expertly paints a picture of ordinary people who may at first seem unappealing but who are, on the whole, doing their best under the circumstances.

The book explores themes of friendship, marriage and how life changes after parenthood. Erika and Clementine's friendship, Sam and Clementine's marriage, and Erika's relationship with her mother, all reveal how feelings of love and hate are sometimes hard to separate.

The Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty

The books tells the story of triplets Cat, Lyn and Gemma Kettle and their parents Maxine and Frank. The prologue describes a dinner to celebrate their 34th birthday. One of the triplets  is pregnant and they have a huge row. The story then goes back 3 years and we slowly find out what led to the bust up and which of the three sisters is pregnant.

This is definitely one of Moriarty's better books. It's fast paced with lots of interesting characters, particularly the men each of the sisters is involved with. There are moments you want to cheer and moments you want to cover your eyes. There are short anecdotes between many of the chapters written by people who have seen the three attractive, vivacious sisters out together. The author uses these to show the effect the girls have on other people.The story provides insights into being 'a multiple', being married to a triplet and being the parents of triplets. The girls have very different personalities when they're apart, but when they're together there's a Kettle Triplets persona that they share.

The Hypnotist's Love Story by Lianne Moriarty

This is one of Moriarty's early novels (first published 2011). Her latest ones have noticeably more complicated plots with interweaving storylines. It's a story about serial monogamy, about moving on, about getting stuck in the past, and about the importance of timing. Ellen is a hypnotherapist who has gone through three, three to four year relationships. She is now single and meets Patrick through an internet dating site. Patrick's wife Colleen died about six years earlier and he has an 8 year old son. He has had one serious relationship since Colleen died. This was with Saskia, it ended three years ago, but she has been stalking him ever since.

Unknown to Ellen or Patrick, Saskia becomes one of Ellen's clients. The book provides interesting insights into the world of hypnotherapy. It also explores the mind of a stalker and the impact stalking can have on its victims. Moriarty brings her characters to life with the small details in their actions and thought processes. As Patrick and Ellen get to know each other they shift from that first 'treading on eggshells'  stage to their first argument.

The story has it's climax and a fairly long wrap-up. It doesn't have the plot twits of some of Moriarty's other books, but it's a classic story of finding oneself and emotional growth.

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty

This is my fourth Liane Moriarty book and I've just bought another two. It wasn't my favourite but it's still a good story.

Sisters Connie and Rose live on a small island in Sydney Harbour. As teens they discovered an abandoned baby. The story takes place 70 years later when they are old ladies. They raised the baby, who is now 70 herself and has children and grandchildren. The mystery surrounding the abandoned baby has turned the island into a tourist destination.

I love to read books about people like me, living in Sydney with school age children. This is perhaps why I didn't enjoy this story quite as much as the others I've read by Moriarty. What Alice Forgot, The Husband's Secret and Big, Little Lies all had characters I could relate to more easily. That said, one of the characters suffers from post natal depression (thankfully not something I've experienced) and I though Moriarty's depiction of her was realistic and insightful.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

This is the third book I've read by Liane Moriarty (the other two were The Husband's Secret and Big Little Lies). They're all witty and entertaining stories. I enjoy that they feature places and situations I'm familiar with e.g. Sydney mums doing the school run etc.

Alice is about to turn 40, has three children, and is getting divorced. She bumps her head at the gym and wakes up thinking she's 29 and pregnant with her first child. She has no recollection of her children or what went wrong in her marriage.

The book looks at the stress of having children and what that can do a marriage. It also looks at the stress of not having them (Alice's sister has had multiple miscarriages). As the story unfolds we find out how a happy carefree young wife and her doting husband turned into a workaholic executive and a high-maintenance, helicopter mother, who hate each other!

There are lots of other great characters in the book including Alice's 'grandmother' Frannie who writes a blog, Alice's mother who has remarried and taken up salsa dancing and Alice's children who include a rebel, a princess and a geek.