I thought this book had a phenomenal storyline. It was unique and nothing I have ever read about before.

I would say at the beginning, I got a bit mixed up with all of the characters storylines but that might have been a bit of the narration vs the story itself. 

A bunch of people board a plane in Australia and during the flight, a lady, possibly unknown to all of them, starts to predict age and cause of death for each person. The novel follows the predictor's storyline as well as fellow passengers on the plane and how they cope and live with what they were told. 

I loved its originality and what the characters did with the information they had. It was a book club read for me as well and I think it's a great one to discuss with others. 

The narration was well done and humourous at times. I appreciated both narrators in equal measure.

Title: Here One Moment
Author: Liane Moriarty
Genre: Literary
Rating: 2.00
Pub Date: September 10, 2024

I received a complimentary eARC from Penguin Random House Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Pensive • Absorbing • Disappointing

📖 S Y N O P S I S

If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate?

Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed.

Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future—age 103!—and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all.

How do they know this? There were ostensibly more interesting people on the flight (the bride and groom, the jittery, possibly famous woman, the giant Hemsworth-esque guy who looks like an off-duty superhero, the frazzled, gorgeous flight attendant) but none would become as famous as "The Death Lady."

Not a single passenger or crew member will later recall noticing her board the plane. She wasn’t exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasn’t drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable.

A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die, again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story at a cocktail party.

If you were told you only had a certain amount of time left to live, would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny?

💭 T H O U G H T S

Based on the premise alone, Here One Moment was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024. Yes, it took me a bit longer to finally pick it up than I would have liked, but I was waiting on a physical copy being available through my library. The reflective nature of the concept of being told when and how you will die is absolutely fascinating to me.

Told through multi POV, including the 'death lady' herself, I was initially pulled into the story and the death predictions, yet as it moved along it loses its momentum. The cast of everyday characters is rather large, which suits the nature of the plot, but also made it somewhat difficult to keep track as the story progressed. Eventually I found myself bored and withdrawn from what should have been an entirely engaging plotline.

The chapters from the 'death lady's' POV often took me out of the story and made the book longer than needed. The free will versus fate concept could've easily been explored to a much deeper level, in turn making for a much more contemplative and engaging read. I needed more reflection and more depth.

And to me the ending was weak and unjust. I correctly predicted what was coming at about the halfway mark and I knew if I was correct it would greatly impact (and lower) my rating for the book as a whole. It was done with such poor taste and drives home stereotypes mental health advocates are continuously trying to work against. It left me with an ick feeling and wishing I hadn't picked the book up to begin with.

Overall, I absolutely loved the premise for Here One Moment, yet the execution fails horribly. It is by no means a mystery/thriller verging more into the literary genre than anything else. For me, there was so much potential, yet the story development is boring and how the author chooses to end the story is such a let down. One of my most disappointing 2024 releases, yet I will continue to read from Liane's work because I have enjoyed several of her other books in the past.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• Liane Moriarty's work
• books set on a flight
• free will versus fate reflection

⚠️ CW: death, death of parent, child death, death of partner, grief, medical trauma, aneurysm, car accident, drunk driving, mental illness, OCD, suicide, suicidal thoughts, cancer, terminal illness, vomit, toxic relationship, domestic abuse, infertility, infidelity, alcohol, alcoholism, self harm, war

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"You never know what your last words are going to be, so try to choose them all wisely."

"But that's the thing about life: both your wildest dreams and your worst nightmares can come true."

This one was so interesting and I was hooked at the beginning. But then I started to rush as I wanted to get to the end. Cool premise but missed the mark for me

Here One Moment presents a very unique storyline and had me hooked from the first ten pages.

If a stranger predicted your death down to the day, time, and manner of death, what would you do? This is what a plane full of passengers must come to terms with when a woman on their flight does exactly this, especially after they realize her predictions start coming true.

The book is long but rich with detail and honestly fascinating. I appreciate the attention paid to each of the passengers' stories, though it does get a little boring at times, and Cherry's POV was particularly interesting. I was a little let down by the ending but overall I really enjoyed this story and think it's a strong addition to Moriarty's collection.

Liane Moriarty is an auto-read author for me. I’ve read (and enjoyed) all of her books, and this one was no exception.

In a plane flying over Australia, despite a minor delay everything seems to be running normally. Until a seemingly normal looking older woman stands up in the aisle, and one by one points to each passenger on the plane, informing of them of their age and cause of death. Havoc ensues.

Most of the passengers deem her to be nothing more than a batty old lady, until three of her predictions turn out to be true. Some of the other passengers who have been told they are destined to die in the near future, attempt to take matters into their own hands, doing anything they can to thwart their fate.

Like all of her books, I was invested throughout the ride and was satisfied at the conclusion. Although her

I recently read The Measure which has a vaguely similar premise, but I much preferred how this one was executed.

My only complaint? THE COVER!! It screams low budget, and I don’t know who signed off on it, but they should be fired. The cover art is such a disservice to this well known, multiple published author. It’s just awful! Ok, rant over.

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty is an engaging exploration of fate, choices, and the ripple effect of unexpected moments. The story begins with a seemingly ordinary flight that becomes extraordinary when a mysterious woman starts predicting the passengers' deaths. This eerie premise sets the stage for a character-driven narrative that dives into the complexities of life, relationships, and the unknowns that shape our futures.

Moriarty's signature wit shines through, and she does a fantastic job of introducing a cast of diverse characters—each with their own story, struggles, and secrets. Allegra, the flight attendant, is an empathetic protagonist whose personal journey mirrors the larger themes of the novel, making it easy to connect with her.

While the premise is intriguing, the pacing can feel uneven at times. Some plot points feel a bit predictable, and the build-up to the central revelation doesn’t always hold the tension as effectively as one might hope. The multiple character perspectives, though well-crafted, can sometimes detract from the focus on Allegra's story, leading to a sense of fragmentation.

That being said, Moriarty’s ability to weave humor with serious moments is a strength, and the novel ultimately offers a thought-provoking reflection on how we live our lives in the shadow of the unknowable. If you're a fan of Moriarty's previous work, this book will likely resonate, though it may not quite reach the emotional depth of some of her best-loved stories.

A solid read with clever insights into human nature, Here One Moment is an enjoyable exploration of how our decisions and the passage of time can shape us in unexpected ways.

I’m thrilled to have my first 5-star read of the year! This one caught me off guard in the best way. Not because I didn't have high hopes for the book, but because I didn’t expect to connect so deeply with the 'Death Lady.' She was such an intriguing character that I found myself not only continuing to read but also listening to the audiobook. I highly recommend the audiobook version—the narration of Cherry is spot on and makes her character instantly lovable.

On a side note, the e-version of the ARC didn’t play well with my Kindle, messing up the formatting a bit, which was a little annoying.

As for the book itself, it was wonderfully written. I loved the unique premise—Cherry, a woman on a plane, goes around telling each passenger their age and cause of death. The story also had a built-in suspense that kept me hooked. I was constantly curious about how Cherry made her forecasts and, more importantly, why she did so. The author did a fantastic job focusing on a small group of characters, delving into their stories not just after their fates were revealed, but also their backstories. I particularly enjoyed how Cherry’s POV felt so personal, like she was speaking directly to the reader. Her story was fascinating, and I loved how humorously unaware she was of her own wit.

Since there were no chapter headings to indicate whose POV we were reading, listening to the audiobook helped because each character had their own voice. Once I got the hang of it, it was easy to follow who was speaking. Each character had its own charm, and it was fascinating to see how they each reacted to learning their death dates and causes.

In the end, I was completely absorbed in the story. I’m so glad I discovered this author, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for their future works.

Such a unique concept for a book. I loved how different this was from anything I have read before.
I did find the amount of characters and crossover of stories a bit difficult to follow but still managed to figure it all out.

This was a slow burn for me and more character driven than her previous work, but once I got into it, I was really into it. I loved what it had to say about determinism vs fate, destiny vs free will etc.

Liane Moriarty is one of my favourite authors; I have genuinely enjoyed every book she’s ever written. I think she’s got a unique knack for creating larger than life characters that are bizarre yet believable and incredibly fun to read and this was no different.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

I had very high hopes for this book, but it just did not meet the mark with me. While the storyline was interesting, and some of the charcters enjoyable to read about. I just feel like I have read very similar stories before and I did not really care for the main character. There seemed to be a lot of storylines going on at the same time and I found that the switch between them wasn’t as seamless as it should have been.

Overall, I feel like a lot of people loved this book, it just wasn't the one for me.

This is a hard book to do a review for. One because it took me a month and a bit to finish it and I normally read books in less than a week. But once I got past the first 300 pages I read it fairly quickly. It’s got its funny moments, it’s sweet moments but it took too long to get to them. I think this could have been edited down a bit more. The first half I would have given a 1* but the second half is definitely a 3. The book was just okay

This audiobook hooked me from the start, but unfortunately lost me mid way.. I did enjoy the overall story, however, some parts were slow and felt like they dragged along.

Another amazing book from Liane Moriarty. The story grabbed my attention right from the start and held it all the way to the end. I couldn't put this book down and was disappointed when it ended as I was enjoying it so much!

Here One Moment had an intriguing premise that caught my attention: a delayed flight, a diverse cast of characters, and a mysterious woman who predicts their fates. However, while the setup promised tension and emotional depth, the story unfolded more slowly than I had hoped, and the pacing often dragged. Overall, Here One Moment wasn’t bad—it had moments of poignancy and insight—but it didn’t fully grip me either. If you enjoy character-driven stories and are patient with a slower pace, it’s worth a try

This was an ambitious and a hefty read with a large cast of characters but a killer premise that has an unknown passenger on an Australian airplane flight making unsolicited predictions about their time and cause of death. What follows is a heartfelt, emotional story about the lives of the passengers in the aftermath as some try to track the mysterious woman down, others refuse to believe their predictions and yet others make changes based on her prophecies. Told from alternating POVs (including that of the fortune teller herself). I enjoyed this thought-provoking book that was good on audio and recommend it to fans of authors like Fredrik Backman or the book, The measure by Nikki Erlick. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

If you can read this one while traveling on a plane like I did, highly recommend! First, thank you to Netgalley, the author and Penguin Random House Canada for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a wild ride! I couldn’t imagine being on a flight, minding my own business and someone telling me how I was going to die & at what age 🫣

I like we then get chapters alternating between our fortune teller (who has no memory of having done these predictions) and the people on where on the plane and what they choose to do with the information they were given.

I really enjoyed this one & would recommend to anyone who loves the thriller genre with alternating view points and timelines.

What a unique book by Liane Moriarty. Thanks to Net Galley and Penguin House Canada for the ARC of this great story. Onboard a flight, an unassuming elderly passenger announces the fate of a number of passengers. Upon landing, the story follows the lives of each of those involved. Interesting, different and full of intrigue. I loved it.

Here One Moment is a top read for me in 2024. Stranger's lives on a flight are forever intertwined after one passenger makes unsolicited predictions of how and when everyone will die. It was such an interesting thought to explore - would you want to know? How would your prediction effect your choices going forward? I thought each character brought something to the story and every arc felt meaningful. It is a longer book, but it didn't feel that way for me. The reader is able to explore multiple POVs, including the lady who makes the predictions, and I was engaged with every one. For me, some of the chapters took a few sentences or two to figure out what point of view it was but overall I thought things flowed well together and the pacing was well done. Moriarty has a way with exploring deeper and harder topics, but with a level of humour and wit. 5/5 stars for me, highly recommend!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada | Doubleday Canada for the copy through NetGalley

I honestly thought I was a fan of Liane Moriarty after reading Big Little Lies soo many years ago. I think I own all of her books but just haven't gotten around to reading them except for Apples never fall and then this one thanks to netgalley and penguin random house.
I was soo disappointed in this book. Like it is thick and I felt like it tried to be like the measure ( i read recently and really enjoyed it) were you know roughly when you are going to die.

I just hated how there were so many different characters, switching povs at different points within chapters that just melded together. I listened to the audiobook and there was very little differentiation. The narration by the woman who was giving out the unsolicited predictions I just could not stand. Another thing I hated was when a reader is directly address in the book for example: " I always make sure I am keeping up with my medical appointments" ( the line was similar to that) and then the next line is: " You should too."

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me.

Good read alert ‼️

I originally got approved on NetGalley for this one but unfortunately let it get archived before reading it. Then I bought a copy so that I could still follow through with my review, didn’t feel like sitting down with it (a bit of a long one) so I also bought the audiobook 😂

This was such a goodie 🤩 I will start with saying that the narration on this one was so great. I felt like I was walking around watching a good tv show. It reminded me of the tv show LOST for some reason (dating myself a bit 😂)

I was hooked right away and never wanted to press pause. Each character was so well written and how the story lines intertwined was really neat 🦋

Pub Date Sept 10th ✈️