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Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

Contemporary fiction

Here One Moment

by Liane Moriarty

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Quick take

In her latest, Liane Moriarty poses the question: what would you do if you knew how and when you’d die?

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Emotional

    Emotional

  • Illustrated icon, Fast_Read

    Fast read

  • Illustrated icon, 400

    400+ pages

  • Illustrated icon, Multiple_Viewpoints

    Multiple viewpoints

Synopsis

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?

Content warning

This book contains mentions of suicide.

Free sample

Get an early look from the first pages of Here One Moment.

Here One Moment

Chapter 1

Later, not a single person will recall seeing the lady board the flight at Hobart Airport.

Nothing about her appearance or demeanor raises a red flag or even an eyebrow.

She is not drunk or belligerent or famous.

She is not injured, like the bespectacled hipster with his arm scaffolded in white gauze so that one hand is permanently pressed to his heart, as if he’s professing his love or honesty.

She is not frazzled, like the sweaty young mother trying to keep her grip on a slippery baby, a furious toddler, and far too much carry-on.

She is not frail, like the stooped elderly couple wearing multiple heavy layers as if they’re off to join Captain Scott’s Antarctic expedition.

She is not grumpy, like the various middle-aged people with various middle-aged things on their minds, or the flight’s only unaccompanied minor: a six-year-old forced to miss his friend’s laser-tag party because his parents’ shared custody agreement requires him to be on this flight to Sydney every Friday afternoon.

She is not chatty, like the couple so eager to share details of their holiday you can’t help but wonder if they’re working undercover for a Tasmanian state government tourism initiative.

She is not extremely pregnant like the extremely pregnant woman.

She is not extremely tall like the extremely tall guy.

She is not quivery from fear of flying or espresso or amphetamines (let’s hope not) like the jittery teen wearing an oversized hoodie over very short shorts that makes it look like she’s not wearing any pants, and someone says she’s that singer dating that actor, but someone else says no, that’s not her, I know who you mean, but that’s not her.

She is not shiny-eyed like the shiny-eyed honeymooners flying to Sydney still in their lavish bridal clothes, those crazy kids, leaving ripples of goodwill in their wake, and even eliciting a reckless offer from a couple to give up their business-class seats, which the bride and groom politely but firmly refuse, much to the couple’s relief.

The lady is not anything that anyone will later recall.

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Why I love it

When I spend quality time with friends, I love jumping into long conversations and debates about big “What If” questions. It’s a fun way of sharing the unique and strange ways we each see the world, and it often takes us into some very interesting directions. In her latest novel, Liane Moriarty builds a story around the ultimate what-if: What would you do if you knew when and how you were going to die?

Here One Moment begins on a domestic flight that is briefly delayed but otherwise seemingly unremarkable. That is, until one passenger begins sharing oddly specific predictions, letting other passengers on the flight know exactly when and how they will take their last breath. Nobody can recall her boarding or much about her appearance, but her prophecies quickly take on real gravity. Many people’s deaths she predicts far off in the future, but not everyone…

A few months after the flight, one of the passengers dies exactly as foretold. Then two more in quick succession. Suddenly no one is joking about the woman they now call “The Death Lady” or her predictions. These revelations send many of the passengers from the flight into grappling with how to respond to their destiny and questioning if fate can be sidestepped.

In classic Moriarty fashion, Here One Moment is a big book chock-full of interesting characters and unexpected twists and turns that will have you pondering what you might do if forced to confront destiny head-on. Don’t miss out.

Other books by Liane Moriarty

Member ratings (1,975)

Spotlight titles
The Life Impossible
The Women
What the River Knows
The Last Love Note
The God of the Woods
Here One Moment
Intermezzo
The Night We Lost Him
We Solve Murders
Spotlight titles
View all
The Life Impossible
The Women
What the River Knows
The Last Love Note
The God of the Woods
Here One Moment
Intermezzo
The Night We Lost Him
We Solve Murders