I picked up this great thriller from the bookstore after only reading the jacket copy:
“ A quick DNA test to find your perfect partner – the one you’re genetically made for.
A decade after scientists discover everyone has a gene they share with just one other person, millions have taken the test, desperate to find true love.
Now, five more people meet their Match. But even soul mates have secrets. And some secrets are more shocking – and deadlier – than others. “
It is interesting enough on its own. But if you need more information on who these five characters are – which is crucial to my review – read on my plot summary. While I give details on who they are and what they do, I won’t tell you what happens after they meet their match, or reveal any other twists and turns. And trust me, there are boatloads of them. And they are all fascinating. Here we go:
Plot Summary: The One by John Marrs (No Major Spoilers)
Thanks to a recently discovered gene, people know can get their DNA tested, and start the ultimate romance with people who share the same gene. There is only one other person in the whole world, so if you have a match, your romantic happiness is guaranteed.
More and more people are getting tested, and people who don’t get tested or who don’t have yet matches are looked down upon. The novel centers on five people with matches:
Mandy is bored at her marketing job. She has been through a divorce and miscarriages. At 37, she can’t wait to meet her match Richard, a handsome fitness trainer 12 years her junior.
Christopher is a psychopath and a serial killer who aims to kill 30 people without ever getting caught. But his self-imposed challenge gets in jeopardy when he meets his Match, a no-nonsense cop.
Jade feels stuck in her life. The only thing that gets her through is her conversations with Kevin, her Australian farmer Match. Even though they have never Skyped or Face-timed, she knows they will be so happy together. But nothing can prepare her for the shock when she travels to Down Under to visit him.
Nick couldn’t care less about finding his Match. Already in love with his fiancée, he knows he doesn’t need science to find true love. But when her fiancée Sally insists, he takes the test. To his disbelief, his match is a man named Alex.
Ellie is a workaholic CEO who has hired protection due to some questionable work practices she has engaged in before getting to where she is. But even she gets to relax when she meets her down-to-earth Match Tim. Time will only tell who has the worse secrets.
Review
I’m a sucker for a good ensemble, and all these five characters present a very complicated and fun road ahead. The one thing I’ll tell you is that their roads never intertwine. Their stories are their own. And that came as a pleasant surprise.
Why did I call the book a romantic drama thriller when its cover clearly hints at some bloody and thrilling times? Because apart from Christopher, who provides the thriller elements all on his own apart from some exceptions I won’t spoil for you, the book is a romantic drama.
Nick has to deal with the fact that he has never even liked a guy before, but Alex makes him feel things no one ever has. Jade’s Australia adventure reveals some gigantic secrets, but there is no blood involved. Mandy will go through things she never imagined, but no one in her path is a psycho killer. And this gives the book a different edge.
All characters are wonderfully flawed, with the exception of our baddie Christopher, who is well, all flaw. Again, with the exception of our killer, they are likeable. They make mistakes, they try to do right thing while also following their hearts.
*
I can’t recommend The One (aff.link) enough, and I can’t wait to read more from Marrs.
