Liane Moriarty’s Here One Moment is the kind of book that sticks with you—like turbulence on a long-haul flight or a stranger’s unsettling prophecy about your death. Wait, what? Exactly. The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Little Lies and Apples Never Fall delivers another whip-smart, emotionally charged novel that asks: What if you knew exactly when and how you’d die? Buckle up, because this isn’t just a story—it’s a existential rollercoaster with complimentary peanuts.
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The Premise: A Flight to Remember (Or Maybe Forget)
The chaos begins on a routine Hobart-to-Sydney flight, where Allegra Patel, a weary flight attendant celebrating her 28th birthday, just wants to survive her shift. Instead, she gets front-row seats to the weirdest in-flight entertainment ever: A seemingly ordinary woman—later dubbed “Cherry”—stands up and starts predicting passengers’ deaths with eerie precision.
- “You’ll die of a heart attack at 55.”
- “Drowning at age 7 for this one.”
- “Suicide. 28 years old.” (Spoiler: That last one’s for Allegra.)
Some laugh it off. Others panic. A few optimists high-five—“79? Not bad!”—but when the first prediction comes true months later, Here One Moment shifts from quirky drama to a gripping exploration of fate versus free will.
The Aftermath: Living (and Dying) With the Prophecies
Moriarty masterfully weaves together the passengers’ post-flight lives, each reacting to their “expiration dates” in wildly different ways:
- The Deniers: “She’s a crackpot!” … until the obituaries start matching her predictions.
- The Doomsday Preppers: One mom enrolls her “drowning at 7” kid in swim lessons; another quits her job to “live fully.”
- The Existential Crisis Crew: “If I’m dying in a car crash this year, should I even drive?”
The novel’s genius lies in its characters—flawed, relatable, and darkly funny. There’s the ER nurse who joked about Cherry’s prediction but now side-eyes every mole (“Melanoma at 79? Better book a dermatologist…”), and the groom whose honeymoon bliss curdles into “Wait, did she say ‘murdered at 30’?” .
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Moriarty’s Signature Moves: Wit, Heart, and a Dash of Horror
Fans of Big Little Lies will recognize Moriarty’s knack for blending humor with gut-punch drama. Here One Moment delivers:
- Laugh-Out-Loud Moments: Like the passenger who bribes Cherry to “redo” his prediction.
- Tear-Jerkers: A dying man reconnects with his estranged daughter, racing against his “3 months left” deadline.
- Skin-Crawling Tension: When Allegra’s 28th birthday looms, her “suicide” prediction becomes a ticking clock28.
Even the structure is clever—switching between the flight’s claustrophobic chaos and the passengers’ unraveling futures, like Lost meets The Midnight Library with better snacks.
The Big Questions: Can You Cheat Fate?
At its core, Here One Moment isn’t about death—it’s about how we live when faced with the unknown. Cherry’s predictions force characters to confront buried regrets, mend broken relationships, and ask: If my time is limited, what truly matters?
Moriarty doesn’t spoon-feed answers. Instead, she offers a mosaic of human resilience (and dark humor). One passenger’s takeaway? “Screw destiny—I’m binge-watching Friends and eating cheesecake for breakfast.” Another’s? “I’m finally telling my boss to shove it.” .
Why This Book Soars
- Unputdownable Plot: Stephen King called it “irresistible”—and he’s not wrong. The mystery of Cherry’s identity alone will hook you1.
- Emotional Depth: NPR named it a Best Book of the Year for its raw, funny, and profound take on mortality8.
- That Moriarty Magic: Like “drinking a pink cosmo laced with arsenic” (USA Today), it’s sweet, sharp, and leaves you dizzy.
Final Boarding Call
Here One Moment is more than a page-turner—it’s a conversation starter. Book clubs will debate whether Cherry’s a prophet or a predator. Readers will text friends: “Okay, hypothetical: If a stranger predicted your death… would you want to know?” And Allegra’s journey—from skeptic to woman staring down her own mortality—will haunt you long after landing18.
So grab your copy (and maybe a Xanax). This flight’s about to get bumpy.