Thanks to the inspiration of her dearly departed friend Arthur Truluv, she has begun to teach baking classes, sharing the secrets to her delicious classic Southern yellow cake, the perfect pinwheel cookies, and other sweet essentials. The way her characters’ back stories reel in the reader made me think of binge-watching ABC’s “Lost.” The ending of “Nine Perfect Strangers,” however, is much more satisfying.A delightful novel about surprising friendships, community, and the way small acts of kindness can change a life, from the bestselling author of The Story of Arthur Truluv Lucille Howard is getting on in years, but she stays busy.

Moriarty manages to poke clever fun without being mean, and she times each reveal well. The book hops from one perspective to the next: the once-bestselling romance novelist with a broken heart, the married couple whose life was ruined by a lottery win, the family of three that used to be four and is about to go through another painful anniversary.Īll the while, it becomes increasingly clear that something isn’t quite right at Tranquillum House or with its mysterious owner Masha, even though the smoothies taste delightful. We meet Moriarty’s titular strangers as they arrive at a remote Aussie wellness resort called Tranquillum House, all seeking healing of some kind. Lucky for her, it’s a winner, even if it doesn’t cut to the bone quite like “Big Little Lies.” Kidman, whom Moriarty thanks in her acknowledgments, snapped up the rights to “Nine Perfect Strangers” even before reading it. “Big Little Lies” author Liane Moriarty is back, with a page-turner that’s already set to become another star vehicle for Nicole Kidman (whose performance helped make HBO’s miniseries even better than the 2014 bestseller). “Nine Perfect Strangers” by Liane Moriartyīy Liane Moriarty. You can almost smell the cinnamon from Lucille’s home-based bakery, and what better antidote to the stressful world? But there is simple, lovely prose and a sense of yearning that is contagious and comforting. This is not a challenging book there are no confusing timelines or complex characters or last-minute twists. Having read “Truluv” offers a bit of background and depth, but it’s not necessary to understand and appreciate these folks.

“Miracles” brings back Arthur’s lonely neighbor, Lucille, and Maddy, the young woman he had “adopted.” Newcomers are a rueful divorcee who’s moved from the East Coast for a fresh start a lovelorn waitress and her would-be suitor, the local cabdriver and a young family facing a health crisis.Īll are looking for love, or at least community and all of course are intertwined in the way a small town dictates. “Night of Miracles,” in which Elizabeth Berg revisits the Midwestern setting of her bestselling “The Story of Arthur Truluv,” all but serves you a cup of cocoa and tucks you into bed. Sometimes you just want a warm bath of a book.

The story of arthur truluv synopsis