The Marriage Act

A Novel

By: John Marrs

Narrated by: John Marrs, Clare Corbett, Nathalie Buscombe, David Monteith, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, Joshua Riley

What if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey? Black Mirror meets thriller with a dash of Naomi Alderman’s The Power in this dark, high-concept novel by the bestselling author of The One.

Britain. The near-future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society’s ills—the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single.

But four couples are about to discover just how impossible relationships can be when the government is monitoring every aspect of our personal lives—monitoring every word, every minor disagreement…and will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honor and obey.

“The king of near-future what-ifs is back with a smart and chilling page-turner. Twisty, unsettling, scarily believable and thought provoking, this is his best yet.” —Ellery Lloyd, author of The Club

“Clever, compelling and terrifyingly plausible. A near future nightmare that grips from the first page and never lets go. THE MARRIAGE ACT is a brilliant examination of relationships and the power we let others have over us. And talk about a page-turner. This one will leave you with paper cuts!” —C. J. Tudor, author of The Chalk Man

Don't miss other suspenseful reads from John Marrs (you'll never see the twists coming!):

• The Marriage Act
• The Vacation
• The Family Experiment
• The One

©2023 John Marrs (P)2023 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

Won’t be disappointed

I listen to on average 1-2 audiobooks a week, this is the first time I’ve felt compelled to write a review!! This book is top tier. It’s original and thought provoking. I never wanted it to end! You won’t be disappointed!!

F…..k the government

This is what our government is trying to do, control everything! It’s scary to think that this could happen very soon

Worth the pre-order

I usually don't do more than rate books but i haven't been disappointed by this author. worth the credit, i finished it in a day. I go through about 5 books a week and this plot of this book was intriguing and different from any others. reading "the one" by this author beforehand provided a tiny bit of background but isn't necessary to enjoy the book.

Meh

It's an interesting premise, but fell flat for me. Many of the characters aren't likeable enough to care what happens to them, but I hung in to see how their stories would connect in the end. It wasn't worth it.

How terrifying!

I give this book a solid 4,5 stars. How terrifying!! I found this book to be a real page turner. In the beginning there was a lot going on and I found it a bit hard to follow, but I enjoyed the storyline so much that I still gave it a high rating. I did think that the end of the book wrapped everything up a bit too neatly considering everything that happened in this story. Still overall a great read!

Loved it

My only criticism is that in the beginning it was confusing who was who. I love the concepts from this author

5 star speculative thriller!

Great cast of characters, plot development and set in a just-out-of-reach near future.

John Marrs does it again

John Marrs is currently my go to author. I had high expectations for The Marriage Act based on his previous books. It didn’t let me down. The Marriage Act had me hooked from the beginning and threw curveballs every time I believed I had a grip on the moment. Love it.

It was a love - hate for me

I was off kilter not for me at first, then got to know characters… then got scared of premise b/c of today’s fast moving technology… then rooting for characters.

Wow!

John Marrs continues to amaze me with his books. They are more frightening than horror novels because they are so realistic. I love all the books I’ve read of his so far. This one may be my favorite.