Her stories are light-hearted fun, featuring characters that we all know. The Hypnotist's Love Story had less characters to get to know and love, than most of her other stories, but you still ended up feeling quite attached to them all by the end - even the stalker!
And that's the charm of Moriarty. She writes believable characters, in (almost) everyday situations. She never sensationalises the issues - actually that's not true. I've just realised why I didn't enjoy Truly, Madly, Guilty as much as the others.
Empathy and the ability to walk in someone else's shoes are her strong points. She doesn't demonise or victimise her characters, she also doesn't put them up on a pedestal. She shows us normal, functional people who suddenly cross a line they never thought they would.
The climatic moment in The Love Hypnotist's Love Story featured an early morning scene with a
strange, eerie orange-yellow light. It was like there'd been a fire, except there was no smell of smoke....where Ellen would normally see the beach and the ocean, all she could see was a haze of apocalyptic orange.
There really was a day in 2009 (22nd September to be precise) when we all woke up to a Sydney bathed in dust. It was eerie and other-worldly. Normally we had a lovely view across the harbour to Cockatoo Island and the morning sun shone through our lounge room window.
But on this day, it felt like the world might really come to an end. It was frightening and exciting at the same time. It was a day of heightened senses and emotions. The perfect day, in fact, to set a pivotal scene in a book.
My reviews for Moriarty's other books - only one more to go!
Unless she writes a new one soon.
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