She was a terrible winker; she found it hard to close only one eye and had been told that her attempt looked like an extraordinary facial spasm. They're coming to lose weight, to detox a bit from the alcohol they've become fond of, to get lots of spa treatments and massages, and to get a jump on the problems that have been plaguing them. Setting all the action in an isolated (and oddly un-chichi) health spa cuts Moriarty off from showing everyday life and culture, which has been one of her greatest strengths. From the start of their 10-day stay at Tranquillum House, the nine guests realize this is not going to be a vacation.

Perfect Strangers was wow, it was wow, and I can’t really describe it without breaching spoiler territory. Moriarty digs into their vulnerabilities and dredges out truths in ways that feels insightful and hopeful. The "twist" that happens at 55% made me put the book down because honestly at this point the book is a fucking mess and I can't see how this will improve. She couldn’t shake the feeling that if she didn’t record this moment on her phone then it wasn’t really happening. The production is understood to have moved after the Covid-19 pandemic meant that filming in California was not possible at the time.The guests reluctantly accept the rules and begin to take part in the silence, guided by Masha’s strange, ethereal presence. But with a wobbly accent and an ice-blond wig better suited to a child’s Frozen-themed birthday party, she relies on little more than her height and preternatural thinness to conjure Masha’s magnetism and crucial authoritative power. They're the kisses of a man who wants more of a woman—who wants everything—and isn't going to stop until he gets it. That is the reason to show up to this book, and I think for many people that will be enough, even with any flaws, for it to be worth their time.

First of all, when a book introduces 11 characters to you and provides in-depth backstories for most of them, that's a lot to wade through. It also doesn’t make sense, since she doesn’t use character voicings for anyone else’s point of view other than Masha. One of the reasons I rounded up to 5 stars is because I know I’ll remember the plotline for a long while (memory longevity factors into my rating). Instead, they start to enjoy Masha’s homemade smoothies, which one of the guests, Heather Marconi, later correctly believes to have been spiked with drugs after her family begin to open up like never before. Throughout the course of their retreat they realize that each of them are battling their own demons and all of them are subjects of an experiment.They allow Masha, Yao, and the staff to host a guided meditation session under the influence of the drugs. She knows she needs to lose some weight and come to terms with menopause, the imminent decline of her career, and the hurt and humiliation she feels after a romance has gone awry. You wait years for a miniseries about rich Americans pitching up at a luxury retreat to try to find bliss, then two turn up at once.

Each person arrives hoping that the 10-day retreat will help them to solve a huge problem in their daily lives, ranging from the breakdown of a marriage, to being conned and the death of a son. I rooted for and cared for them all, but Frances remained a favorite character for me from start to finish. Through their sprinkling of stories, Moriarty tells stories about self-acceptance, about forgiveness, about healing and about moving on and moving forward. Masha [Nicole Kidman] has a very different arc, so it'll be interesting to see what people think,” she continued.

It’s an un-cynical story that reminds all its readers that it’s okay to struggle sometimes, and it’s better to ask for and get help if you need it.