The One: 4 Stars

Author: John Marrs
Length: 416 pgs

I’m officially a John Marrs fan and will be adding him to my list of authors whose new releases go straight to my wishlist and/or kindle collection depending on how much money is in my bank account.

My book relationship with John Marrs began with his book The Good Samaritan late last year and reignited my love for psychological thrillers. There’s nothing quite like a GOOD thriller that messes with your head and throws you for a loop a handful of times. The Good Samaritan was thoroughly enjoyable for that reason, so I jumped at the change to listen to The One thanks to a Goodreads friend (hi Pam!) letting me hijack her library subscription.

The story here revolves around several people who have been “matched”. In the world Marrs has created, there exists a technology that uses DNA to match people to their soul mate. Of course everyone jumps at this chance to find their true love without thinking twice. The whole idea has its pros and cons that are explored throughout the book. But in true Marrs fashion he does so via some characters that may seem innocent or naïve at first glance but turn out to have many layers to them.

The book alternates POVs in each chapter and at first you wonder how you’re going to keep track of everyone but I adapted quickly to the revolving viewpoints. We have Ellie, who is a rich and powerful CEO – but of what, exactly? Mandy, whose husband left her for his DNA match and who wants to find her true own love and settle down to have a family. Nick, who’s perfectly happy with his fiancé Sally until she insists they test to see if they’re a match. Jade, whose match is halfway around the world in Australia and who will text her but won’t Skype or Facetime- what is he hiding? Christopher, a serial killer who’s just found his match – but will he fall for her or add her to his list of victims?

I thought I had certain storylines nailed down at some points in the book, but in typical Marrs fashion he caught me completely off-guard more than once (and of course the way the stories actually went was so much better than what I’d imagined). When I was finishing up the audiobook on my commute home yesterday I had a visceral reaction to some bombs that were dropped at the end. I was angry. I was upset at and with some of the characters. And others completely shocked and impressed me with the way they had handled some insane situations.

There were times when a characters’ narrative would start heading towards happily-ever-afterville and I’d wonder how Marrs would give it his “touch”, and again he’d add the perfect little twist or wrap it up in a way that didn’t feel forced or cheesy.

I have listened to the audio version for both of the Marrs books I’ve finished and they are as enjoyable as the actual story. The narrators each speak in a clear, soft British accent and intuit their character’s emotions perfectly.

I now have to add every book Marrs has ever written to my TBR. Up next is the audiobook for When You Disappeared which I downloaded via Kindle Unlimited and started almost immediately after finishing The One. If I love this book as much as the other two I really don’t know how I’m going to keep my own head from exploding at excitement from finding a new favorite suspense/thriller author. Why his name isn’t yet up there with Paula Hawkins and Ruth Ware I have no idea. Please, someone make this a movie.