Here One Moment

Moriarty’s (Apples Never Fall) latest follows travelers stranded on a delayed Australian flight between Hobart and Sydney. Nerves are at a breaking point when an older woman stands, points at a nearby passenger, and states how and when he will die. Without pausing, she moves on to predict the deaths of the others—everyone from an infant (drowning at age seven) to a new bride (intimate-partner homicide at age 25) to a gentle flight attendant (self-harm at age 28) who haplessly tries to put an end to the prognostications. Caroline Lee, a longtime and much-lauded narrator of Moriarty’s audiobooks, voices the older woman—Cherry, who, much to her horror, comes to be known as the Death Lady. Lee’s depiction of Cherry is a tour de force, capturing her infectious warmth, her sorrow over the predictions she made, and her remembrances of the relationships that shaped her over the years. Geraldine Hakewill portrays the other passengers, sensitively conveying their panic and dread as they try to disprove Cherry’s predictions and consider fate and free will. The novel vibrates with tension, sweetened by glimpses into the passengers’ lives and tender relationships.