Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over at #BookSquadGoals (www.booksquadgoals.com). She can be reached at emily.ecm@gmail.com.
What was your first experience with Liane Moriarty? Was it her first novel Three Wishes? Was it her breakout novel, 2013’s The Husband’s Secret? Or was it HBO’s adaptation of Big Little Lies that first made you aware of the author? However you first came to know of Liane Moriarty, there’s no denying it: this author has become a household name. Her books are bestsellers; three of her novels (Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers, and Apples Never Fall) have been adapted into successful TV series; and two more of her novels (The Husband’s Secret and The Last Anniversary) are currently being adapting into films. And while Moriarty is probably doing well enough for herself that she could take a break, she instead insists on continuing to write bangers. Her 10th novel, Here One Moment, was just released at the end of 2024. If you haven’t read it yet, you’re in for a treat.
Just be warned: it’s impossible to put down.
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
Liane Moriarty says she came up for the idea for this novel when she was “stuck on a plane at Hobart airport in Tasmania […] and during that time the cheerful thought came into my head that every passenger on this plane would one day die.” The novel starts off on a planed that is (you guessed it) delayed, much to the irritation of everyone on board. Babies are crying. People are shouting. Just when the plane takes off and everything seems to finally settle down, the chaos really begins. A passenger stands up and begins walking down the aisles, letting everyone else on the plane know when they will die and how their death will occur.
For some people, the woman predicts long and healthy lives. For others, their deaths are predicted to come within the next year. Some people are predicted to die in unexpected ways. Not a single passenger is spared, and by the time the plane lands, the mysterious woman is known by all as “The Death Lady.”
Many are shaken by The Death Lady’s predictions. Even if there was nothing to her predictions, it’s rather disturbing to hear that your son is going to drown at a young age. Or that your husband will murder you. Or that you won’t make it past your 30th birthday. Still, everyone tries to put the predictions in the back of their mind once the plane lands.
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That is until the predictions start coming true. After the first death, some shake it off as just a coincidence. But then more deaths happen as predicted, and people start getting scared. Suddenly, everyone wants to find the Death Lady, but she is nowhere to be found. What was that woman doing on that flight? Why did she feel the need to tell everyone how they would die? And what does it mean if they all come true? Everyone wants answers, and everyone wants to know if their fate can be changed.
While these questions are fascinating and what keeps the momentum of the book going, the questions Liane Moriarty is really exploring in this novel are far more interesting. What would you do if you knew how precious every moment of your life was? Would you life your life any differently if you knew how everything was going to end?
You will be completely enthralled with every character’s dramatic story and their own unique reactions to knowing their impending fate. If you’ve read Liane Moriarty before, this is one of her best ones, so you won’t want to miss it. If you’ve yet to pick up a Moriarty novel, this is a great place to start!
Happy weekend reading, bibliophiles! Feel free to follow me on Instagram @emandhercat, and check out my other newsletters, The Fright Stuff and Book Radar!
English (US) · 