I’m sorry to say Here One Moment left me cold. I’ve read most of Liane Moriarty’s other novels and enjoyed them but I found this disappointing.
The premise is great and the opening pages where Cherry makes her predictions are enticing. Unfortunately, there are far too many characters and the novel is overlong. It may be the NetGalley version but it is incredibly badly laid out - it switches between between characters with no breaks and it gets very difficult to follow. I guessed the twist way before the ending and it then just got boring.
Sadly not a recommendation from me.

What would you do if someone told you how and when you’re going to die? That’s the question faced by the passengers on an otherwise unremarkable – just delayed – flight, when a fellow traveller starts to make some very calm, matter-of-fact predictions. Is she unwell, perhaps suffering from dementia? Or does she have clairvoyant abilities? Many of the predictees get to laugh about it – who would mind being told they’ll live to 103? But for some the date is a whole lot sooner, or the ‘how’ a whole lot darker, than anyone would wish.

While some of the passengers find themselves haunted by the predictions, however unlikely, everything changes when things start coming true…

Liane Moriarty is a master of story telling, setting up a story in such a way that makes you need to know what’s going to happen next – and this is all of that at the very top of her game.

The story flicks (perhaps a little confusingly at the start, until I got into the rhythm) between half a dozen or so of the many passengers, focusing in on their stories before and after the flight. How each responds to having their fortune told. Many wonder if they can change things, if it’s worth at least trying. Others are haunted by the what-ifs of it all. And then some decide that they can’t fight fate, or even that they are immune to it – is that any better?

Interspersing each of these is some first-person narrative from the ‘Death Lady’ herself, the one who handed out the predictions. We go back through her whole life, from the death of her father and life with her mother… a famous fortune teller! Oooh… It’s far from all ‘woo woo’, however, and a character with a love of numbers and statistics was just so very me 🙂 It takes the whole book – of course! – to unravel the whys and wherefores of the event on the plane, and I expect the eventual revelations might be a little on the marmite side. I loved it, though – but, no spoilers!

I came away from this feeling like we’d not spent huge amounts of time with any of the other passenger characters, and yet we get ‘enough’. And between them, all the different reactions to this very strange circumstance. As well as just being a gripping, thoughtful, and frankly unputdownable story, a huge strength here is also the nudge to ask yourself that question: what would you do?

Absolutely recommended, I think this might have leapfrogged to be one of my favourites from this author!

This is a great mystery drama.
It’s a bit on the long side but once you get to the halfway mark, it seems to pick up the pace.
The story begins with an everyday flight which has been delayed but nothing else out of the ordinary.
That is until a lady is making her way up the plane telling people what age they will die, and what the cause will be.
Some passengers find this amusing but others are distressed by her comments. They tell her they don’t want to hear it when she approaches them, but she is insisting on telling everyone.
Those that are told they will die in their 90s or early 100s aren’t bothered by her predictions but there’s a few that are predicted to die at a young age.
The story then follows these characters and we find out how this affects their lives and those around them.
When one person dies as predicted there is a panic on social media and people want to know who ‘The Death Lady’ is.
We also follow her story and get an insight into her past and what led her to be on that flight.
This is a great story that makes you think what you’d do in this situation.
Thanks to Michael Joseph for the opportunity to read this book.

Here One Moment
By Liane Moriarty

Every time I begin a new book by this author I have to brace myself for a mental workout. The premises are always intriguing. The plots are laid out like a soap opera with character after character being introduced until the point I am confused and almost past caring about the intriguing premise, but just in the nick of time, usually around the 40% mark, the action starts to feel cohesive and at that point, nothing and nobody can divert my attention.

As in most of her other novels, the relationships and marriages of the vast cast are examined in rotating points of view, with pithy, often cringey familiarity. As is her style, Moriarty interweaves the many perspectives through coincidence and inevitability towards a singularity.

This has been more successful in some of her novels than others, but in this case I think it works very well. With themes of psychic ability, mathematical probability, life expectancy and our power over destiny this makes a riveting (eventually) read which turns a lens on how we make assumptions about other people and how the power of suggestion can have such an impact on how we live or lives.

Publication date: 26th September 2024

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC copy for review purposes

It’s been a while since I picked up a Liane Moriarty novel, so I was really looking forward to Here One Moment, and it didn’t disappoint! From the start, I was hooked—Moriarty kicks things off with a group of passengers stuck on a delayed plane. A woman begins telling everyone around her their fates, and you just know there’s more to her than meets the eye.
The characters are brilliant—each one has their own little quirks and secrets, and I found myself really invested in what was going to happen to them. Moriarty is fantastic at weaving in those little twists and turns, keeping you guessing as the story goes on. There’s a great balance of tension and light-hearted moments, which made it such a satisfying read.
I also loved how well-written it was; Moriarty’s style is so easy to get into, and she really knows how to pull you along. It’s clever, without being too heavy, and the pacing felt just right—nothing dragged, but nothing was rushed either.
Overall, I’d say this is a fab read if you’re a fan of Moriarty or if you’re looking for something that mixes a bit of mystery with really strong character work. Definitely one I’d recommend!

Here One Moment was an oil I loved from start to finish.
A group of passengers are sat on a delayed plane, it is here we start to get to know some of the passengers and their own anxieties for the plane being delayed. When they are on their way a woman makes her way down the plane telling passengers their cause of death and their age at the time. Some believe some don’t and the woman after causing a stir is made to return to her seat. It then transpires some of them are dying as the lady predicted and this causes different passengers to react in different ways.
This book kept me reading, I loved Cherry and to be honest I liked all the characters and what dilemmas they were crossing when trying to work out if they believed the prediction they’d been given or not. The book bounced from character to character and worked well as you followed their lives and hoping to avoid what had been predicted. A different kind of book for me to read but one that I enjoyed.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

With thanks to netgalley and the author for allowing me to review here one moment.

Here one moment was a enjoyable thriller that I enjoyed. A good thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for this eCopy to review

Here One Moment is an intriguing thriller. The novel kicks off with a gripping scene on a delayed flight, where an older woman named Cherry predicts the deaths of several passengers. At first, everyone thinks it’s a joke, but as her predictions start coming true, the tension and intrigue builds dramatically.

What I loved most about the book was Moriarty’s ability to create such vivid and relatable characters. Each passenger’s reaction to Cherry’s predictions felt authentic and added depth to the story. The way their lives intertwined and the impact of the predictions on their decisions kept me hooked from start to finish.

However, I did feel that some parts of the story dragged a little, however the ending more than made up for this. It was a great twist

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were so well written and I was really invested in whose predictions would come true and who wouldn't. There were lots of little twists throughout the book so you could never be sure how it was going to end.
I was also pleasantly surprised by how Cherry's story and "skills" were explained.

I would definitely recommend this book to others.

There's a lot of character build up so it took me a bit to get really into the story but once I did I couldn't put it down.

I really enjoyed this cleverly written and intricately woven story. Yes, there were a lot of characters and at first it took me a moment to work out who I was reading about but the coincidences and the way the narrative wove them all together was just lovely. A sometimes sad but always warm story of living life to the full and never accepting your ‘fate’.

Following a group of characters who all end up stuck on a delayed plane when an elderly woman decides to walk up and down making predictions on their futures. Dismissed as a troubled woman. Most people manage to disregard what she is saying, but for some, her words start to seep into their lives once they finally get to their destinations and carry on with their lives.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of in this book, which can distract from the story at some points, but this was a compelling read that I ultimately enjoyed as it made me think what I would do if I encountered someone who could see my future!

This is such a hard book to review. The synopsis says it all really and you don’t need to know much more.
I really found this hard going in the beginning, it is a long book and I nearly put it aside as it seemed there was so much waffling, so much about the characters but going nowhere. I understand that it was about character build up and there were a few but it nearly lost me.
That said, there seemed to be a turning point in the book for me where everything changed and suddenly things moved on. This is where I started to get invested in the characters and it turned my whole attitude to this book around.
So in the end I loved it and I’m really glad I persevered, very satisfying really.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

Lianne Moriarty's books are always so gripping and full of suspense. This one exciting especially to see connections and coincidences that can change our lives, very suspensful read.

Another wonderful read from Liane Moriarty!

It’ started out just a normal flight, the usual mix of people travelling and living their lives, the good and the bad. It’s the flight attendants birthday, a young man’s travelling home from his best friend's funeral, a young mum struggling with her young children, the almost retired and the just married, thinking about the future and the old lady sitting across from the overworked engineer.

No one is really aware of anyone else, until the old lady walks through the cabin and offers the passengers a direct insight into their futures!

Is she a fortune teller, is she winding them up, is she unwell, it’s all quite strange ???

Afterwards there much chat about her, but no one really takes it seriously….. until the predictions begin to come true!!

Another book you won’t want to put down, I second guessed all the way through, that’s what I love about this author, and I still didn’t get the right outcome!

Well worth a read! Thank you!

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty masterfully interweaves the lives of several seemingly unrelated characters, each facing their own personal struggles. The narrative begins with a diverse cast: a flight attendant working her birthday shift, a mother managing two young children alone, newlyweds on a honeymoon, an overworked father missing a significant event, a young man mourning his friend, and an ER nurse contemplating retirement.

Their lives intersect when an elderly woman, who appears to be a clairvoyant, makes a prediction that ties them all together. This seemingly benign act of fortune-telling becomes a catalyst for chaos, as her words disrupt their carefully ordered lives, casting doubt on their futures and straining their relationships.

Moriarty's skillful storytelling keeps readers engaged as the characters' paths converge and unravel in unexpected ways. The exploration of how a single moment can alter one's trajectory is both thought-provoking and deeply human. The characters' journeys highlight the unpredictability of life and the impact that even small, seemingly inconsequential events can have on our existence.

I found that at times we were given almost too much backstory on some characters; we followed the clairvoyant for most of her life, and got lots of backstory on the others, and while some of those details later turned out to be important, a lot of it didn't. For me personally that was a lot to keep track of, but I know there are readers out there who will love these deep dives into the characters and enjoy teasing out the connections and important plot points before they reappear.

With its intricate plot and richly developed characters, Here One Moment is a compelling read that will resonate with anyone who has pondered the twists and turns of fate and how they shape our lives.

For fans of this style, I recommend:

Book: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – For its exploration of existential questions and the impact of different life choices.
Movie: Sliding Doors – For its portrayal of how small moments can lead to significantly different outcomes.

I haven't read many of Liane Moriarty's books but I enjoyed the ones I have read and I really liked this one. I found it intriguing. I like her character driven writing.

It starts with passengers waiting to board a flight at Hobart Airport. The passengers are described briefly but brilliantly. We have young, old, solo travellers, couples, newlyweds, a very pregnant woman, a frazzled mother with a baby and a toddler and more. All strangers to each other. The flight is delayed but once everyone is on board a further delay is announced. If you've ever been on a delayed flight, it's easy to picture the scene. There is also a unremarkable lady, of indeterminate age, travelling alone. No one really notices her until later during the flight – when she stands up, and begins predicting cause and age of death of the passengers. When the flight eventually arrives she just quietly goes on her way.

Some laugh off her announcements; but for six passengers earlier deaths than they would like have been predicted. What lengths will they go to to defy these predictions?

A couple of months after the flight apparently a passenger dies as predicted, followed by two more. Social media lights up. The lady on the flight is referred to as The Death Lady. A page is set up for passengers who were on the flight.

The story is told from the perspective of these six passengers but in between their stories we also learn of 'the death lady's' story (whose name is actually Cherry).

I just found it an enjoyable, satisfying read.

My only criticism might just be something that has now been fixed in the final edit. I found it a bit confusing that there was no break between the passengers stories and Cherry's story. It was slightly confusing although once I read on a few sentences I soon realised the narrator/point of view had switched. (it also switched to first person).

I have mixed feelings about this book, I was invested in most of the characters but it felt overly long at times. At times it felt like there was too much of Cherry's back story but the ending was actually quite heart warming.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

This book is by another of my favorite authors. Using a story whereby people meet on board an airplane and are told how long they are likely to live and possibly the cause of their death. Following this event we get to find out more of the life of the individual who made these predictions and go back and forth in time. The author poses a number of questions such as: can we control our destiny? is life full of coincidences or do events take place by fate? If we are told what is going to happen - can we then take steps to change our destiny or will it just happen anyway?
A thought provoking tale, which I really enjoyed.
Looking forward to the next book.
Thanks to net galley for the free read in return for a review.

My thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Here One Moment’ written by Liane Moriarty in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

A plane is finally on its way from Hobart to Sidney when an elderly grey-haired lady stands up and walks amongst her fellow passengers predicting what they will die of and when. Does this lady have the gift of seeing into the future or does she have health issues?

‘Here One Moment’ is a cleverly written novel with an interesting concept and good character descriptions but despite being written by Liane Moriarty whose novels I always enjoy reading, I just couldn’t get into it. There were so many characters that I found it hard to keep track of them all and as there didn’t appear to be gaps between the characters speaking I had to go back every now and then to check who was speaking. I liked the characters and their backgrounds which were very interesting, but it was a long story that could have been shorter and it lost my attention at times. This is purely my own opinion and there does appear to be quite a few readers who’ve enjoyed it, but unfortunately this time I’m not one of them. Even though I didn’t enjoy this novel as much as I’d expected, I’ll still look forward to reading the next one.