The One

December 4, 2017
This muddled mix of thriller and romance from British author Marrs (The Good Samaritan) takes dating apps to a new level. Match Your DNA, “based on biology, chemicals and science,” uses computer power to identify the one person who is meant to be the life partner of each subscriber. The narrative shifts among five people who encounter various difficulties along the road to true love. Christopher, a serial killer who stalks single women in London, is matched with Amy, a police officer. Office worker Mandy’s destined partner is across the world in Australia. Jade, a recent university grad working as a receptionist, finds that hers has died. Computer exec Ellie gets someone whose description “accounted for almost half the men in the Western world.” Soon-to-be-wed heterosexual Nick discovers that his match is a man. After the introductions, many of the individual stories drag. What links the five, who never meet, is
a big reveal at the end that will surprise few readers.

January 1, 2018
Marrs' debut novel traces the stories of five people who find their soul mates--or do they?Imagine if you could submit to a simple DNA test and then receive your Match in your email. Not just an online date who might be geographically compatible, but a true and unique genetically destined partner. While the potential long-term benefits may seem to outweigh the negative consequences, the system is far from infallible; as any science-fiction fan could tell you, if it sounds too good to be true, there's usually a catastrophe lurking at the other end. Marrs' novel traces five individuals who meet their Matches under varying circumstances and with widely conflicting outcomes. During the course of their romantic adventures (and misadventures), the entire DNA matching algorithm will prove to be susceptible to hacking, also proving that (gasp!) just because something may be driven by science doesn't mean that it's free from the world of human error. The philosophy posed by the novel speaks not just to the power of love and the laws of attraction, but also serves as a commentary on today's world of genetic exploration. Do these breakthroughs simplify our lives, or do they make us lazy, replacing the idea of "destiny" or "fate" with "science" as a larger power that we don't need to question? These ideas keep the novel moving along and create a deeper level of interest, since most of the narrative threads are fairly predictable. The two exceptions are the psychopathic serial killer who meets his Match and begins to lose interest in killing and the heterosexual man matched with another man, both of whom must then redefine sexuality and love, commitment and family.Will simultaneously intrigue both romantics and skeptics. The science might oversimplify, but it's gripping enough to read all in one sitting.

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December 1, 2017
In this mystery with an SF twist, it's the present day, but the world has been radically changed by a new kind of dating service: Match Your DNA, which pairs love-seekers with the one person in the world who is their genetic soulmate. It sounds perfect at first, and many couples worldwide are blissfully happy with their match, but the downsides are considerable. What if your match is decades younger or older, or he or she lives in a far-off country? What if you're already married when you're notified that your match has been found? The possibilities can become knotty, and they're well illustrated by the several people featured in Marrs' alternating chapters, among them a young Englishwoman whose match is in Australia, an engaged couple who didn't meet via Match and fear their test results, and a career-focused scientist who wants to find love at last. Complicating the story still further is a serial killer who uses dating sites to find his prey. Marrs' engrossing, believable thriller raises intriguing questions about our science-tinged future.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2018

What if science found a way to change the dating and marriage scene by ensuring that couples were perfectly matched to each other through their DNA? British author Marrs (When You Disappeared; Welcome to Wherever You Are) looks at five such "perfect" catches determined by their DNA to be ideal for each other. But what if your match is of the same sex as yourself and you consider yourself heterosexual? Or lives across the globe? Or is a decade older than you? What if you are very rich and your match very poor? What if your match is ill or dying? What if you are a policewoman and your match is a serial killer? The paths to "true love" for these couples take many twisted and complicated turns. Marrs carries out his intriguing plot idea in fast-paced short chapters that end in cliff-hangers. But flitting among unrelated couples can cause befuddlement, or induce readers to jump ahead to sections pertaining to each particular couple. Fortunately, doing so does not spoil the stories, as the couples' paths never intersect. VERDICT Readers of thrillers and sf will enjoy this book. [See Prepub Alert, 8/13/17.]--Vicki Gregory, Sch. of Information, Univ. of South Florida, Tampa

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