Tranquillum House is a health resort offering a transformative experience to people seeking a balm for ailments both mental and physical. It's where Liane Moriarty brings together nine perfect strangers for a 10-day retreat. One is Frances, a bestselling romance author reeling from a nasty review and a rejection of her latest manuscript, and her back is acting up. Being a writer, she's naturally curious about the other guests: Why is the entire Marconi family there, when they all seem so healthy? What's the deal with Tony, who looks like a serial killer? Ben and Jessica are young and rich, arriving in a Lamborghini, so what's their problem?
Strangers isn't only about Tranquillum House's clients; the story is also told from the points of view of the staff. Masha is the founder and seems impossibly perfect. Yao is a former paramedic who became a true believer of all things Tranquillum, and Delilah reserves judgment about her employer's "healing" methods.
This novel is less of a mystery than Moriarty's previous books (Big Little Lies; The Husband's Secret). It delves into the emotional state of each character, at times exposing painful truths. It moves at a leisurely pace, perhaps befitting the atmosphere at the retreat, and has a bizarre twist in the third act. But Moriarty's turns of phrase remain as sharp as ever: "Her eyes looked like they'd been borrowed from someone beautiful," and "his moustache had been perfectly preserved from 1975." Everyone comes to Tranquillum looking for transformation and Moriarty gives it to them--in unexpected ways. --Elyse Dinh-McCrillis, blogger at Pop Culture Nerd