"Fate can't be fought".

A woman on a plane (later deemed the Death Lady) begins to walk the aisle, pointing at each passenger in turn and predicting their age of death and cause of death.

Even the worried passengers don't take her very seriously... until people begin to die exactly how she said.

Told through the POVs of several passengers, as well as the Death Lady herself, this novel explores the concept of fate, as well as mortality, grief, sexuality, and identity. It weaves a very intriguing mosaic and there's an underlying element of fantasy, as we try to figure out whether this woman has true psychic ability or if she's a fraud.

Although I enjoyed the themes and the book in general, there were definitely elements I struggled with. There was a bit too much character hopping, particularly in the beginning passages and namely with the Death Lady. She chimed in far too frequently and initially had very little to say. Her story doesn't really kick off until about halfway through the book and I had no interest in her until that point. Then I did become very invested and really enjoyed the latter half due to that. I also found some of the characters a bit bland, and failed to really be intrigued by them.

Stylistically, I think the first half just wasn't there. But overall, I did enjoy it (albeit it wasn't mind-blowing).

This is very good and also very different to Lianes other books. It tells the story of a woman on a plane who tells everyone the cause of death and age of their death.

It then follows the woman, but also the people she predicted their deaths and how they react with this knowledge.

It’s very thought provoking, explores the butterfly effect, how would you live if you knew you only had a short time left?

I really enjoyed how it wrapped up, especially the epilogue. Well worth the read. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc copy.

Here One Moment starts with a plane journey where the reader faces an onslaught of characters that are passengers on the plane and an older woman who is upsetting them all by telling each of them the age of death she predicts and their cause of death. The story is then told from the POV of each of these characters as they deal with their predictions and the woman who made them, Cherry. It is a brilliant premise but for me it starts in a very clunky way. Once established, however, the story becomes much more readable. The reader is told about Cherry’s life in the lead up to the day she makes the predictions and she is a very interesting and compelling woman. You come to care about each of the passengers and their fate. Ultimately it is an astute examination of all walks of life whilst also examining love, loss, fear, anxiety and grief. I loved it.

I liked the whole premise of this book, and as always Ms Moriarty has written an easy read page turner. However, I did feel this wasn't one of her better ones as for me there were too many characters to feel invested in them properly, and as other readers have mentioned, my e copy didn't have chapter breaks each time so different stories got a bit mixed up.
I was also slightly disappointed by the ending.
I'm still looking forward to her next book though!
Thank you to netgalley and Michael Joseph for an advance copy of this book.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4

What a fascinating book...I loved the novel idea (if you pardon the pun).

The book starts by introducing us to the characters who are on a plane journey with the main character, who acts peculiarly.
When the plane is in the air, this old lady gets up from her seat and starts to predict their cause and dates of death.
On the whole, the passengers initially caught it off but when they hear of people who were on the flight dying....are they seeing the prophecies fulfilled or is it merely coincidence?

A brilliant book which had me hooked till the end.

Fabulous.

Before reading this novel, I was aware of the author having seen at least one of their novels on the small screen I think this is what made me reach for the novel when I saw it advertised on NetGalley UK
The story starts with a aeroplane flight across Australia where we meet a selection of the passengers as they board what was planned to be a straightforward flight. On the flight one of the passengers stand up and starts telling each of them the age of death and what they are going to die from . We then follow the passengers as they come to terms with this prediction immediately that it has been given and then over the next few years. Several of the initial deaths that were predicted happen exactly as predicted which changes the way that the other passengers see their personal predictions.
We meet a whole cast of characters early on in the novel and follow their paths. Many of these characters do seem rather stock two dimensional people and I personally found it difficult to empathise with any of the characters as they never really develop beyond their initial characterisation.
The story does switch very quickly from one passenger to an other and I find it quite difficult to keep up with who I was reading about I got rather lost in cases. I read an early copy. I don’t know if it’s not yet format correctly and that perhaps in the final copy there will be some indication of the narrator’s identity. This would make it easier to read.
The author’s writing style is clear and and easy to read. This is a relaxing easy read I could imagine picking it up at an airport bookstore and reading it on holiday.
No doubt that this will become a best seller. The author is well known and liked. I will also not be surprised to see it as a Netflix TV series in the near future.
I read copy of the novel on NetGalley UK. The book is published on the 26th of September 2024 penguin Random house.
This review will appear on NetGalley UK, Goodreads, and my book blog bionicSarahsbook.wordpress.com. After publication it will also appear on Amazon Amazon UK.

I found this book a bit confusing and struggled with it if I’m honest. The premise seemed good but I just didn’t quite gel with the characters or story line. Not one for me I’m afraid

I ABSOLUTELY devoured this book. I was already a fan but didnt love the last one. This one has an immediate hook as a lady on a plane starts doling out predictions to strangers. What happens to people after they leave the plane is set against the ladys' life to that point. In essence its dual timeline without the strict one chapter each format. The characters are like all Moriarty characters, lovable, flawed, bemused, struggling, funny, honest , relatable. You cannot help but be drawn in to their lives and there is a driving question pulling you through the narrative in a pacy way as the reader tries to figure out A) is she actually psychic? And B) what will happen to each passenger who's life we are following. I think its a tour de force of plotting and she doesnt get enough credit for her writing ability because perhaps its not seen as serious fiction. There are tiny moments anyone will recognise as she shines her light on those little interactions in a marriage or in being a parent. Small things almost unworthy of comment except when she writes it you nod, or catch your breath or laugh out loud. She gets humans and she can tell a story. No higher praise. 5 stars!

This felt different to your typical Liane Moriarty book and I liked it. Sometimes it did get a tad confusing (the downgrade to 4 stars) when you kept switching points of view and it isn’t clear BUT once you’re in the swing of things you get used to each character and know straight away who it is. Intriguing and well written, just like any Liane book. A go to author for me.

Interesting premise, enjoyed this book and varying cast of characters but the layout of the book made it hard to follow at times, but I know this will be fixed before publication

Fate cannot be fought, or can it?

After a delay to their short haul flight, the passengers onboard a flight to Sydney are all having an uneventful journey until ‘death lady’ starts to make her predictions. She wanders down the aisles telling each passenger when and how they will die. Some people are pleased with their predictions which are way into the future and peaceful whilst others are scared by the manor of their death or the fact that it is just around the corner.

After the flight they all try and get on with their normal lives until one of the death lady’s predictions comes true and some of the passengers are left to wonder if they are next or can they change their destiny.

The book follows ‘death lady’ also known as Cherry as we find out the vents in her life that led her to that flight and making the predictions as well as several of the other passengers.

I was intrigued to hear about Cherry’s life leading up to the flight, I also liked finding out how the passengers dealt with their predictions in their own way. The way the plot weaves and is all interconnected is clever.

A different take on a mystery book and really fascinating to read, it also gets you thinking about your own destiny and how you would react in a situation like this and how one small action can have a massive impact.

I found the premise of this book interesting and was looking forward to reading it. However the arc I received did not have all the chapters separated in the text and often a new chapter would start at the end of the paragraph from the previous chapter. This affected the flow of the story for me. I did manage to work out what was happening and enjoyed some of the storylines but I felt let down by the conclusion of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph and Penguin Random House for the advance copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House.
Normally I love Liane Moriarty's books but this was hard to get into.
I loved the premise, the elderly lady called Cherry (named later on in the book) who claimed was a practice and was informing everyone on the plane of the date of their death and their cause of death, whether they wanted to know or not.
The first part was hard going then after 25% in, it became easier to read. I found that the book didn't flow well as it seemed to flit from one set of characters to another and at times I found myself re reading pieces.
In my opinion it's not her best book,

An elderly lady on a flight starts walking around the plane telling the passengers the age they will die and the cause of death. Although, not necessarily believing this lady is clairvoyant, it seems to stick in their minds and causes them to act differently in an attempt to make sure it doesn’t happen.
I loved the idea of the storyline and the various characters. But, most of all, I loved the writing style - there were many sentences and phrases I wanted to read out loud to someone else.

A genius book! The premise is just off the chart and completely captivates. An old lady predicts the age and causes of death of an entire plane full of people. The off shoots produced by this action are enthralling. The lady’s story woven through these threads from a young age to past the events on the plane. The ending is just perfect and wraps everything up like a really wanted gift. Fantastic writing and truly engrossing.

Thank you Netgalley

I always enjoy Liane Moriarty’s books and this one is no exception.

When an old lady suddenly gets up mid-flight and starts predicting the age and manner of death for all the passengers she changes the lives of many of them.: from the young mum she tells that her baby son will drown aged seven, to the young man she predicts will die in a violent attack.
When her ‘predictions’ start becoming real those involved want to track her down and find out if her ability to tell fortunes is real.

Each character is so beautifully descripted that you feel you know them well. My only negative is that the format I read the book in meant it was difficult to sometimes tell when viewpoints had changed from one character to the next.

I don’t think I have ever read a book which took me through so many emotions. The beginning intrigued me, the middle broke me but the ending mended me.
Interesting premise, beautifully written with fully developed and relatable characters. It was well paced and I found it reasonably easy to follow, although there were chapters where I had to stop and really think back to the character’s story (not necessarily a bad thing).
I was surprised how strongly I reacted to it - I certainly didn’t read it at bedtime as it set my mind racing. I ended up thoroughly enjoying it, but there was a point in the middle where I was having a difficult time overthinking my own mortality and although it’s definitely a book I personally ended up loving, I will think hard about those friends I recommend it to.

Thank you to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

I've enjoyed some of Liane Moriarty's other books, but found it more difficult to connect with these characters. It was difficult to keep track of the characters and points of view throughout the book, and although it was an interesting concept, I felt a bit let down by the execution. Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph for the arc!

Here One Moment is quite a long read and quite slow at the beginning but then it changes pace as we get to know the characters especially Cherry (The Death Lady). I enjoyed the backstories of the main characters and the effect the predictions of their deaths had on them .Would you want to know your death date and method ?Would it make you live your life differently? I liked that all the characters stories tied up satisfactorily in the end and I especially liked the ending .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

I usually enjoy this authors books but unfortunately really struggled with this one. The chapters were all over the place changing from one character to another with no break in sentence or anything to indicate it was a different person. This made it very very confusing to read. It was also far too slow and long going into too much detail. Sorry it just wasn’t for me.