Complete Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty Book Summary

Nine Perfect Strangers follows a group of people as they all arrive at a strange wellness resort for very different reasons. It’s definitely a page-turner, and you should read the entire book. These are the main points from the story if you need a refresher or better understanding before reading the review. 

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Chapters 1-5 

Yao is an EMT in training responding to a lady who appears to be having seizures, but actually goes into cardiac arrest having to be taken away.  The story picks up ten years later with Frances Welty, bestselling romance novelist, on her way to Tranquillium House, a remote health resort to solve all your personal problems. Suddenly, she has to pull over because she’s having a hot-flash, and a man knocks on her window to see if she needs help but leaves after she says it’s just menopause. 

Lars Lee is also on his way to the 10-day retreat at Tranquillum House but has stopped at a winery. There’s no alcohol during the health retreat, so he orders two cases of wine to be delivered after he’s back home. 

Frances pulls up to the gate when her agent calls and tells her that don’t want her latest manuscript. He says it’s because romance novels have taken a hit recently and mentions it’s nothing to do with a recent article about how all her writing is “trash”. 

Just then, a rich young couple. Ben and Jessica, get out of a Lamborghini to talk to Frances. Ben is actually thinking about how bad the marriage has gotten since a robbery and since Jessica started getting a bunch of cosmetic surgery. Then, Ben finally gets the gate code to work. 

Chapters 6-10

At the front door, a young Asian man who introduces himself as Yao opens Frances’ door to help and tells her about the schedule of the wellness journey while giving her a tour of the resort including the dining room, sitting room, gym, yoga studio and lastly the spa. In the spa, Yao tells her he has to take some blood tests and will everyday while she’s here. On her way to her room, she runs into some fellow guests, the Marconi family-Napoleon, his wife Heather, and his 20-year-old daughter Zoe.  

In her room, Yao makes her drink her a mandatory health smoothie and takes all her electronic devices. Then, Frances goes to her suitcase to have some tea and chocolate she brought against the rules of the retreat, but finds someone went through it and removed all the contraband. 

Jessica Chandler is reflecting on her deteriorating marriage with Ben that started going downhill after Jessica accused Ben’s addict sister Lucy of robbing their apartment. Ben and Jessica start reading the welcome packet that says there with be five days of silence including no talking, touching, writing, reading, or eye contact with any other guests or your own companions. Ben and Jessica agree to follow all the rules even in their own room.

Francis has a massage with a large, severe woman for her bad back and tells the lady about Paul Drabble, an American online that conned her out of a large amount of money to help his son Ari who was supposedly in a bad accident. The police couldn’t find the man.

Masha Dmitrichenko, the director of Tranquillum house, reflects on her near-death experience ten years ago when she had a heart attack and was brought back to life (the lady from the first chapter with Yao). While reading through the files, Masha decides Frances, Ben and Jessica, Lars, and Carmel will be easy to help, but puzzles over Tony and the Marconi family who will be the real work.

Napoleon and Heather Marconi are back in their room following all the Noble Silence rules while their daughter, Zoe is in the room next door. Napoleon is a high school teacher who loves rules, but Heather hates it and already thins this was a mistake. She only booked this because they couldn’t spend another January at home. 

Chapters 11-15

As everyone sits for guided meditation, Frances notices the man sitting near her is the same one who stopped to check on her on the side of the road (who she thought was probably a serial killer then). Masha, the charismatic owner, welcomes them and tells them all about her near death experience. She also tells the guest they’re going on a journey that will change them into new people when the man Frances thought was a serial killer breaks the silence and asks if someone went through their suitcases. 

Zoe leaves the yoga room for a mini panic attack which she’s been having since her twin brother Zach died three years ago in January, and is followed closely by Frances. Then, Zoe tells Frances that she brought in a bottle of wine and chocolate but wrapped it up like a present addressed to her parents, so it didn’t get taken. Zoe starts to like her during their conversation, but they hurry back at the sound of a gong. 

In the yoga room, Masha addresses the man’s, Tony Hogburn, questions, saying that it’s all in the forms they signed. It’s all an important part of their wellness retreats, especially Tony’s, who’s goal was weight loss. Their silence resumes, and Yao rings the gong to bring Zoe and Frances back. 

During the middle of the night, the new guests are woken up in the middle of the night by the wellness consultants for starlight mediation lead by Masha. Lars is thinking about his partner Ray who keeps wanting to have kids even though refuses. Rays sister Sarah has even offered to have the baby and texted Lars to think about it before he arrived.  

Chapters 16-20

During the starlight meditation, Jessica is thinking about the day her and Ben won 22 million dollars with a lottery ticket Ben’s mom had bought them after the robbery. They were estranged from almost all family and friends over money, and they always fought about how to spend the money. 

The next morning, all the guests go on a guided meditation hike where one health consultant, Delilah, guides them on an extremely slow hike up a small incline, stopping frequently to look at the view. Zoe gasps at her mother Heather who has wandered off the path and is standing at the edge of a small cliff only to be pulled back by Napoleon. 

Back in his room, Tony is ready to give up, but he thinks of getting healthy after a bad visit with his doctor for his daughters who don’t really see him anymore. He decided to take a break from the sports marketing firm he owned for this cleanse, and he decides to go for a swim, even though his swim trunks are now so small on him the button pops off. 

Thinking about the negative article, Frances is swimming in the pool when Tony shows up. Tony suddenly tells her she has something wrong with her nose only for her to realize she’s having her first ever bloody nose. He helps her out of the pool, get some towels, and tells her how to stop a bloody nose. On his way out of the pool, his swim trunks fall down, and Frances sees that he has two bright yellow smiley faces on each of his butt cheeks.

In her office, Masha deletes another email from her ex-husband without reading it, then checks the security cameras to see what each guest is doing. She notices Carmel, a divorced mother, is back near her room crying, so Masha listens to the live audio she has installed in each room to try to figure out what’s upsetting Carmel. 

Chapters 21-25

In her room, Carmel can’t stop worrying about her four kids who are in Paris with her ex husband and new girlfriend. She keeps thinking about how much she doesn’t like her body and, even thinks that it’s obvious her ex-husband left her for a younger woman because he didn’t find her attractive anymore. 

At the end of the first day, Masha, Yao, and Delilah discuss the new guests, but Yao gets distracted thinking about Masha and his crush on her. Yao had a major depressive episode with an inpatient stay in the psych ward after his parents divorced, his fiancée left him, he was almost killed on the job, his mentor left the job, and his car was stolen. Having emailed sporadically with Masha after he saved her, she told him to come and visit for some rest at her new country house retreat center, and he never left. 

On day four of the retreat, Frances is feeling good and her negative thoughts have stopped. After lunch, she has her first consoling session with Masha which bristles her at first because she feels judged by Masha. But they end up bonding over losing their fathers at a young age, and Masha tells her about coming to Australia with her husband when she was young.

In Masha’s next meeting, Carmel will only tell her the obvious like that she’s a single mother, her husband left her, etc, so Masha tries to ask her about what she was like before getting married. As she’s leaving, Carmel tries to ask how much weight she’s lost, but Masha won’t tell her an exact number. 

Next, Masha has a meeting with Tony who seems uncomfortable at first, but gets to talking when he asks Masha about her near death experience. Masha thinks about the light she saw, and her son who she only had as a baby but appeared as an adult in the vision. Tony laments that he’s wasted years of his life by moping and eventually leaves the meeting. 

Chapters 26-30

During tai chi, Napoleon can’t stop thinking about that day Zach killed himself at home. Heather found him and has never healed. He know runs a support group for families of kids who committed suicide, but he still feels like he failed Zach as a father. 

Zoe notices her dad’s tears during tai chi and also thinks of her brother. She also is full of grief today, but especially for how broken her parents are. She also reflects how much has taken a physical toll on her body.

Also during tai chi, Heather is remembering recently at work at the hospital when she ran into a mom and son who used to play soccer with Zach. Heather felt so much anger that she lashed out at the boy for not passing to Zach enough years ago in soccer. The mom and son are only kind to Heather even after the outburst which makes Heather feel ashamed. 

Later that day breaking the Noble Silence, Masha has them to introduce themselves and say a little bit but anything they want. You learn Lars is health-retreat junkie and family lawyer, Napoleon likes to recite poetry, Tony is a famous footballer known for the smiley face tattoos, and Zoe thinks she wasn’t close to her brother anyways. Finally, Heather says something isn’t right and asks Masha if they’ve been medicating the guests. 

Masha tries to regain control of her emotions before she evades Heather’s question. She doesn’t flat out deny it, but says that they are just here to heighten senses. Heather appears like she’s about to attack Masha. 

Chapters 31-35

Masha eventually admits they’ve been microdosing them all with LSD in the smoothies for the health benefits, and that they’re doing guided psychedelic therapy with LSD and mushrooms. Delilah and Yao try to guide them each to a mat to lay down, but Heather and Ben still try to argue. 

Zoe’s on her mat having a conversation with Zach about how angry she is at him but also how much she misses him. During her trip, Frances is on a sleigh with her best friend who died telling her to enjoy her life and time while she forgets about the book review and negative things.

Tony sees himself on a football field with his old dog. He knows he must kick the football through the goal posts to get rid of all the negative in his life. After he makes the kick, he’s never felt so good.

Chapters 36-40

Carmel is in a shop with Masha and her daughters picking out a new body, but her daughters convince her to pick her old body. Napoleon is panicking because he had one bad trip in the past, but he starts bonding with Zoe as they both see Zach. Frances asks Delilah who the boy is with Napoleon and his family.

Heather is still furious about the drugs and trying to keep her mind straight, but Heather screams at Masha to leave. Masha encourages her to get all her rage out, but Heather is now focused on her family.

Chapters 41-45

Zoe tries to focus as her mother admits that the medication she got for Zach’s asthma has the known side effects of depression and suicidal thoughts which she never told Napoleon. Then Zoe admits she knew something was bothering Zach that day. Napoleon decides that he’ll never tell his wife and daughter how much their secrets upset him.

Masha is trying to help Jessica and Ben who says that Jessica looks worse now after all the surgeries, and the money has been bad for them. Jessica says she feels more beautiful now and loves the money. She also tells him that she’s pregnant.

Heather wakes up the next morning deciding they’re leaving the resort and going to be alone on the anniversary of Zach’s death today. They’re also going to report Masha to the police, Napoleon tells them that the retreat staffed has locked them all in this mediation room.

Chapters 46-50

All the guests together try to figure out how to open the door but nothing works. Eventually, Heather breaks down in Napoleons arms, and the other guests try to pick the lock on the door to get out. Frances and Zoe share that they feel better after their trip, and, and, even though he won’t admit it out loud, Ben did, too. Ben asks Zoe about her brother before he died, and Zoe asks him about his sister when she wasn’t on drugs.

After a few more hours, the guests are still trying to find a way out. Jessica starts talking to the video camera and trying to bribe their way out. Suddenly, Ben says out loud that Jessica told him she was pregnant on their trip last night.

Chapters 51-55

In Mashas office, Masha, Yao, and Delilah are watching the live video of the guests while debating if Jessica is actually pregnant. Yao says he did pregnancy tests on everyone and they were all negative. The three of them I be the office start arguing about what to do with the guests as this is the first time they’ve ever tried psychedelic therapy with guests. Delilah tells the other two she’s going to make tea, but instead grabs her belongings from her room and drives Ben’s Lamborghini to the nearest airport.

Jessica admits she’s been off birth control without telling Ben. Then, Tony comes out of the bathroom with a wash cloth for Frances who’s sitting red faced on the floor having another hot flash. Frances tries to distract Tony with conversation who tells her all about the struggle he had with sports and the recent doctor visit showing an unhealthy lifestyle. 

In Mashas office, Yao keeps telling Masha they should let them out, but she won’t listen. He really believed this was what would help the guests after his own psychedelic trip was so enlightening when he realized why he hated making mistakes and why everything in his life hadn’t worked out. Finally, Frances realizes all the music that was playing last night was about stars or the sky after Masha told them they have to start looking up, and Heather stops a package in the rafters.

Chapters 56-60

Tony tries to jump off the backs of Ben and Napoleon, but dislocates his shoulder when he hits the ground. Zoe throws a water bottle at the package which Ben catches as the other guests try to help Tony. Zoe unwraps the package to find a Russian doll, and after opening all the dolls inside one another, there’s nothing in the last one. 

Yao now confronts Masha because the security code is supposed to be in the last doll. Masha tells him she’s changed the plan because they all need to surrender and realize the solution is no solution. She thinks about her hard life in the Soviet Union and how everyone here has such easy lives. Yao still seems unconvinced and says he’s going to let them out. Masha tries to tell him as no as she brings a syringe to his neck.

It’s now 9 PM, and as the guests are talking the lights go out.

Chapters 61-65

Together in the pitch black, Napoleon is trying to shake a gray, heavy feeling he’s had all day, and he realizes he might be feeling something similar to depression just like Zach. Then, Mashas face comes onto the video screen on the wall. At first everyone tries to appease her to let them out, but they start getting more and more agitated and afraid. Masha tells them their journey is almost complete, but they have one exercise left called “Death Row”. 

Each guest has to act as the lawyer for another guest and convince Masha that they deserve to live instead of being on death row. She turns on the lights and says they have until dawn. In her office, Masha eats junk food for the first time in a year, she thinks about how she never fit in here in Australia because nobody here worked as hard as her or was as smart as her. She remembers how her baby boy called for her to come get him out of his crib, and, in the few minutes it took her to get there, he had accidentally strangled himself with blind cords. 

Her husband forgave her, but she never forgave herself and pushed her husband away. Years later, she found out he remarried and had kids with an Australian woman. But she had made it to the top of her company because of her skills. Then, she took out cigarettes and a lighter from the safe as she starts to hallucinate from LSD. 

Chapters 66-70

Napoleon reassures them it will be fine, they just have to go along with Mashas game, but, like Jessica, Ben starts wondering if the money has made him a bad person. When Masha comes back onto the screen at 3 am, they quickly notice that Masha is high, and not making sense about this game she had they play. Carmel steps up to present her “strategic business presentation” which seems to calm Masha down by using corporate buzz words, not even mentioning Zoe, which Masha loves.

Smoke starts coming underneath the door, and Napoleon and Heather stuff wet towels under the door. All the guests move to the far end of the room as the heat the fire crackle above them. Tony quickly decides he doesn’t want to die. He wants to make amends with all his kids and take up the offer to coach the local kids football. He also realizes he wants to take France’s out on a date. 

All huddled together in the corner with wet towels over their heads, the nine guests are trying to comfort one another while Frances even tries praying for the first time in years. Napoleon tries to be reassuring that the smoke isn’t getting any worse down here, but they keep hearing loud crashes above them. Yao wakes up groggy in Mashas office, immediately, seeing Masha smoking a cigarette and for the first time, sees right through her. 

Chapters 71-75

When they hear another crash, Lars realizes that they’ve been listening to a recording of a fire. Zoe suggests the smoke under the door is a controlled fire because Masha wants them to face death head on. Frances asks if anyone tried to actually turn the door knob instead of codes on the keypad. Yao clicks back to the security footage to see the guests have left the meditation room, and Masha tells him the doors been unlocked the whole time. 

The group found a steel garbage bin outside the door with a small fire inside, and upstairs Yao meets them with fruit pretending everything is normal.  Masha then enters and yells at them all for their poor effort. During the ensuing argument, Masha lungs at Heather with a dagger as Yao and Napoleon try to step between them, and France’s hits Masha in the head with a candelabra. 

Suddenly, a cop, Gus, shows up because pulled over Delilah for speeding in the Lamborghini who then calls in more cops who find a lot of drugs on the premises and take all of their statements. They also take Masha away to the hospital and Yao to the police station. The cops tell them that they found Ben’s car at the airport but haven’t found Delilah. 

Because it’s now so late, all nine guests decide to stay the night at Tranquillum House before heading home the next day. When Zoe reminds them that it’s her and Zach’s birthday, they all work together to put together a birthday dinner. Carmel makes a cake, Frances finds the confiscated alcohol, and a few of them cook dinner together. Ben plays music, so they can all dance together. Slowly they all go to bed, leaving just Frances and Tony there to talk.

End of the Book

One week later, Jessica tells Ben that she’s not pregnant, and they decide to separate. Two weeks later, Carmel welcomes her daughters home and realizes her ex husband would have left her no matter what simply because he wanted something new. When she asked if he and his girlfriend can help more with the girls activities, the girlfriend tells Carmel that she can’t have kids, so she would love to help with the girls. Carmel can tell they’re going to become friends and wonders why she was ever jealous of her. 

Three weeks later, Frances has been exercising when she takes a call from her old, retired publisher who tells Frances that she’s coming out of retirement to start her own company and will publish Frances’ latest manuscript. Four weeks later, Lars finally feels happy about about having a baby with Ray. Five weeks later, Frances calls Tony to tell him she just watched a football documentary, and that she’s been doing pushups.

Six weeks later, Zoe has started another term at university along with a part time job, and Heather has started a tai chi class and made friends with the old ladies in the class. But Napoleon has been struggling with depression, so he finally gets in to see a psychiatrist about it and tells her all about his fears of taking antidepressants. 

Two months later, it’s become a regular thing for Tony and Frances to talk on the phone while they walk in their respective neighborhoods. Tony tells Frances he’s planned a trip to Holland to see his son and grandchildren, and, eventually, Tony invites her to come with him. 

Three months later, Heather confronts Napoleon and finally provokes him into shouting at her that he’s angry at her about the medicine. He also throws his phone at the wall before he collapses on the bed all out of anger. The next day, they sleep together for the first time since Zach died.

One year later, Ben went back to work as a mechanic, and Jessica is now an Instagram influencer who’s auditioning for the Bachelor, mostly for publicity on social media. When Ben gets the news that his sister overdosed, he reaches out to Zoe who’s been casually talking to online, and she comes to the funeral.

Five years later, after the events at Tranquillum House, Yao plead guilty to his part avoiding prison, but Masha took all the responsibility for the drugs while no one ever found Delilah. Eventually, his ex-fiancé called, and they got married shortly after and had a baby. One night after putting the baby to sleep, Yao sees Masha doing a TV show interview. 

At the same time, Masha’s ex husband also sees the interview. Masha has written a book about a ten-day personal development program with psychedelic drugs and being locked in a room with strangers. When the interviewer asks, Masha tells her that she is in fact conducting these courses in secret locations but nothing illegal is going on.

He remembers how Masha had their second son three months after their first son died. After the baby was born, she left both of them because she said she was unfit to be a mother but would send money. He had tried to send her pictures and updates over the years, but she never replied. Recently he started sending the email updates again because their son had their first grandchild.

Tony moves to Sydney to be with Frances who being a grandmother figure to Tony’s grandkids, and one of Tony’s kids and his family even move to Sydney to be closer to them. Frances’ newest book, a romance thriller with her first ever murder in it is a huge hit. The first publisher who rejected Frances latest book loses all her money in a cryptocurrency scam.

Finally, France’s and Tony get married. At their wedding is a little boy named Zach who carries around a Matchbox car. 

Read the Full Book Review

Now that you’ve been reminded of the main points in the book, read the full review with further recommendations here. I highly recommend you read the whole book, especially before watching the TV adaptation.

You can find the book here if you need it.