Admittedly, Liane Moriarty books can be hit or miss for me but one thing I can trust is Moriarty’s ability to tell a good story. And as soon as I heard the premise of Here One Moment, I knew I had to pick it up. The novel opens on what seems to be an ordinary (yet delayed) flight between Hobart and Sydney. During the middle of the flight, a woman stands and in what seems like a trance, begins predicting how and when each passenger will die. The story then follows the lives of some of the passengers after the flight, some feeling anxious towards the prediction, others shrugging it off. That is until one of her predictions comes to fruition.
It’s such a brilliant concept that gripped me from the beginning. I really enjoyed the multiple points of view shared throughout the story, following the character’s reactions to the prediction, the preventative measures some put in place, and the way the predictions affect their loved ones. Moriarty does well to tap into the character’s psyche, exploring their need to have a sense of control and certainty towards their future, or to change their ‘fate’. I also found the media element of the story really interesting, with Moriarty depicting how these kinds of odd circumstances capture the attention of the media and the virality that can then come, causing more angst, anxiety and fascination.
What I didn’t expect going into Here One Moment is that the central character would be the woman making the predictions, Cherry (or who is later known as ‘Death Lady’). Through interspersed chapters, her life story is revealed to us, making her the most fleshed out character of the novel. However, I often wasn’t engaged by her story and found myself sometimes skimming parts, feeling impatient to return to the present day where the other characters grapple with their mortality. At first, I thought it would be more effective for Moriarty to focus on Cherry’s reactions to the predictions, but by the end, I appreciated that knowing Cherry’s backstory made it a more rounded story.
While Here One Moment wasn’t my favourite of Moriarty’s, I really enjoyed my time with it and found it easy to become immersed. This would be a perfect book to add to your summer reading stack; a guaranteed page-turner that still carries some emotional depth.
Rating: 3.5/5
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