I’ve always been a fan of mystery thrillers, especially ones that take me on an emotional rollercoaster, keeping me on the edge of my seat while also making me reflect on life’s deeper questions. After reading plenty of Liane Moriarty’s works, I knew that Here One Moment would be an exhilarating addition to my bookshelf. Moriarty’s novels, from Big Little Lies to Nine Perfect Strangers, have consistently impressed me with their tight plotting and rich emotional depth.
What intrigued me about Here One Moment was the existential mystery at its heart—how one fleeting moment can alter the course of multiple lives. Unlike Moriarty’s earlier novels, which often examine domestic and psychological tensions, this book leans more into fate, destiny, and the inevitability of death. If you’re a fan of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig or The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, you’re likely to find Here One Moment an equally rewarding read.
Book Overview: A Journey Through Life and Loss
Here One Moment blends the gripping intensity of a high-stakes thriller with the poignant depth of a philosophical drama. Set against the backdrop of a plane crash, the novel follows several characters who are forced to confront their mortality in unexpected ways. At the heart of the story are two main characters: Paula, a fiercely protective mother, and Leo, an obsessive engineer with a deep fear of failure.
Paula is a mother whose world revolves around her son, Alex, a boy suffering from a rare illness that makes every day a battle for survival. Her overprotective nature pushes her to desperate lengths, believing that fate can be altered by sheer force of will. On the other hand, Leo, a methodical and logical engineer, is convinced that he can predict and prevent mechanical disasters—perhaps even the plane crash that haunts the book’s narrative.
As the plane passengers’ lives intertwine, Moriarty takes readers through an emotional and philosophical exploration of life, death, and the moments in between. The story is not just about the crash itself but about how the characters grapple with their own inner struggles and the choices they make in the face of impending doom.
Spoiler Alert: A Detailed Plot Summary
The novel opens with Paula frantically trying to protect her son from the dangers of the world. She’s consumed by the fear that Alex’s fragile condition will lead to his untimely death, and she’s determined to do whatever it takes to keep him safe. Her anxiety reaches a breaking point when they board a flight that, according to her premonitions, is destined for disaster. Her fear becomes an obsession as she starts to interpret every small turbulence, every strange noise on the plane, as a sign that the worst is about to happen.
Meanwhile, Leo, a talented yet overly cautious engineer, is also on the flight. Leo’s obsession with preventing accidents is tied to a deep personal trauma—he once failed to foresee a minor structural flaw in a bridge he worked on, which led to a tragic accident. Since then, he’s been haunted by the idea that every mechanical system is a potential catastrophe waiting to happen. On this flight, he becomes fixated on preventing a crash, convinced that he can find and fix whatever might go wrong.
As the plane’s journey progresses, we are introduced to other passengers, each with their own burdens. Cherry, a flight attendant struggling with her sense of purpose, is another pivotal character who reflects the novel’s overarching themes of existential angst and the search for meaning.
The novel alternates between the present—the passengers grappling with their impending doom—and flashbacks that flesh out their personal lives. This structure builds tension and highlights the delicate balance between the past and present, much like Moriarty’s previous works in Big Little Lies and The Husband’s Secret.
The Ending Explained: Breaking Down the Final Twist
Now, let’s dive into the novel’s shocking and thought-provoking ending. By the time the crash occurs, the characters have gone through various stages of panic, desperation, and self-reflection. Paula’s journey toward accepting her inability to control her son’s fate and Leo’s obsessive attempts to prevent the crash culminate in a harrowing final sequence.
In a twist that Moriarty handles with masterful subtlety, the crash is not caused by a mechanical failure or even human error in the traditional sense. Instead, it’s revealed that Leo’s hyper-awareness of every possible malfunction leads him to overlook a much simpler problem: his own increasing paranoia. His obsession with preventing disaster blinds him to the fact that, in his effort to stay vigilant, he inadvertently distracts others from doing their jobs properly. In the end, it’s his own actions that contribute to the chaos that causes the crash.
Paula, meanwhile, experiences a devastating epiphany as the crash unfolds. She realizes that, despite all her efforts, she cannot protect her son from every danger. This is an emotional breaking point for Paula, who has spent the entire novel convinced that she could outwit death. In the final moments, she is faced with the profound reality that life is inherently fragile and uncontrollable. Her son’s survival, as it turns out, is due to sheer luck and timing rather than any action she took.
What makes the ending even more poignant is the way Moriarty shifts the focus from the crash itself to the survivors’ internal transformations. Paula emerges from the wreckage not just physically alive, but spiritually awakened. She has come to understand that her fixation on controlling the future was preventing her from living in the present. Leo, similarly, must face the consequences of his obsessive need for control, realizing that his inability to accept uncertainty is what led to his downfall.
The ending is a bittersweet mix of survival and loss. While some characters find redemption, others face the tragic consequences of their actions. The novel leaves readers contemplating the delicate balance between life and death, and whether we truly have any power over our own destinies.
Themes and Symbolism: The Fragility of Life and the Illusion of Control
The central theme of Here One Moment revolves around the idea of control—or rather, the illusion of it. Both Paula and Leo represent different approaches to dealing with uncertainty, but in the end, they are both proven wrong. Paula’s desperate need to protect her son and Leo’s obsessive engineering mindset are shown to be futile in the face of life’s unpredictability.
This theme of control versus acceptance runs throughout the novel, highlighted by Moriarty’s use of symbolism. The airplane itself becomes a metaphor for life’s precariousness, a fragile system that can fail at any moment despite our best efforts to keep it in the air. Similarly, the crash serves as a metaphor for the unexpected blows life can deal us, no matter how much we try to prepare.
Another recurring theme is the tension between rationality and emotion. Leo embodies logic, calculation, and science, while Paula is driven by pure maternal instinct and emotion. Their interactions throughout the novel explore how these opposing forces collide in times of crisis. Neither approach is entirely right or wrong, but Moriarty suggests that balance and acceptance are key to navigating life’s uncertainties.
Character Analysis: Paula and Leo’s Personal Journeys
Paula and Leo are two of Moriarty’s most complex characters, each representing different facets of human fear and ambition.
Paula is initially portrayed as the quintessential overprotective mother. Her identity is so wrapped up in her son’s survival that she loses sight of her own sense of self. Over the course of the novel, we see Paula evolve from a woman ruled by anxiety to someone who accepts the limits of her control. By the end, Paula’s realization that she cannot shield her son from all harm is both heartbreaking and liberating.
Leo, on the other hand, is a character driven by fear of failure. His career as an engineer has taught him that every problem has a solution—if only you’re smart enough to find it. But the novel reveals the flaws in this way of thinking. Leo’s need for control becomes his downfall, as it blinds him to the human side of the situation. He fails to see that not everything can be fixed by logic alone.
Both characters serve as foils for each other, and their respective arcs highlight Moriarty’s talent for crafting deeply relatable, flawed individuals. By the end of the novel, neither Paula nor Leo is the same person they were at the beginning. Their personal growth, though painful, is what ultimately gives the story its emotional weight.
Comparisons to Moriarty’s Previous Works
While Here One Moment delves deeper into existential and metaphysical questions than some of Moriarty’s earlier novels, it still retains the elements that fans of her work will recognize and love. The sharply drawn characters, the intricate plot twists, and the examination of human relationships are all classic Moriarty hallmarks.
For readers who enjoyed the suspense and emotional complexity of Big Little Lies, Here One Moment offers a similarly compelling narrative. However, where Big Little Lies focused more on the unraveling of secrets within a tight-knit community, Here One Moment shifts the focus to the internal struggles of its characters as they face existential threats.
The novel also shares thematic similarities with Nine Perfect Strangers, particularly in its exploration of how people cope with trauma and fear. However, Here One Moment takes these themes to a more philosophical level, asking bigger questions about fate, mortality, and the meaning of life itself.
Final Thoughts: Is Here One Moment Worth Your Time?
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty is not a typical mystery-thriller. Instead, it’s a novel that marries suspense with philosophical depth, exploring questions that linger long after you finish reading. Fans of Moriarty’s earlier works, such as Big Little Lies or The Husband’s Secret, will recognize her signature style: intricate plots, deeply flawed yet relatable characters, and emotional layers that unfold with each chapter. But this time, Moriarty ventures into more existential territory, probing the boundaries between fate, control, and the randomness of life.
The novel is as much about human vulnerability as it is about survival. The plane crash, while central to the plot, is merely the catalyst for a deeper exploration of how people cope when they realize they aren’t in control. It’s this sense of unpredictability—both in life and in the novel’s structure—that makes Here One Moment so compelling.
One of the most striking aspects of the book is the way it blends suspense with introspection. The mystery of the crash is engaging, but what truly hooks readers are the characters’ internal struggles. Paula’s journey from a mother who believes she can outwit fate to a woman who must accept the fragility of life is both heart-wrenching and liberating. Leo’s arc, too, is a powerful commentary on the futility of trying to control every outcome.
This novel is for readers who enjoy a mix of high-stakes tension and deep emotional resonance. The ending, while not the neatly wrapped-up conclusion some might expect, is thought-provoking and fitting for the novel’s themes. It leaves us with questions about how we live our lives in the face of inevitable uncertainties. How much do we really control, and is it worth sacrificing the present in an attempt to prevent the future?
If you’re looking for a book that not only thrills but also makes you think about life’s bigger questions, Here One Moment is definitely worth your time. It’s an unforgettable story that reminds us all of the importance of living fully in every moment—because, as Moriarty so powerfully demonstrates, life can change in the blink of an eye.