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The One by John Marrs

A simple DNA test promises your perfect match—until destiny starts to feel like a trap. Twisty and propulsive, The One asks how much control we really have over love when algorithms redraw the map of the heart.

Have you read this book? Share what you liked (or didn’t), and we’ll use your answers to recommend your next favorite read!

Love The One but not sure what to read next?

These picks are popular with readers who enjoyed this book. Complete a quick Shelf Talk to get recommendations made just for you! Warning: possible spoilers for The One below.

In The One, did you enjoy ...

... a single scientific change upending intimacy and society through interlinked personal stories?

The Power by Naomi Alderman

If it was the near-future "what if" of MatchDNA that hooked you—how Mandy, Christopher, Jade, Nick, and Ellie’s lives spiral in different directions—then you’ll love how The Power tracks a sudden biological shift as it detonates across relationships and institutions. Like when Nick’s Match forces him to confront an identity he wasn’t expecting, Alderman’s characters face jolting, intimate reckonings that scale up into societal upheaval. It’s that same chilling, human-focused cascade: one new ability, countless moral aftershocks.

... tightly interwoven, alternating viewpoints showing technology’s fallout on very different people?

Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin

If you enjoyed hopping between Christopher’s chilling double life, Jade’s impulsive journey, and Ellie’s too-good-to-be-true romance, Little Eyes delivers that same mosaic of perspectives. Schweblin follows people linked by a viral gadget—strangers peering into each other’s homes—creating the same prickle you felt when secrets warped the Matches. The shifting vignettes build into a creeping portrait of connection, voyeurism, and the bargains we strike to feel seen.

... slipping inside the mind of a charming monster while the tension stays disturbingly intimate?

You by Caroline Kepnes

Christopher’s storyline in The One—the way his Match becomes a target of his control—balances fascination with dread. You pushes you even closer, letting you live inside Joe Goldberg’s head as he rationalizes every intrusion and lie. Like watching Christopher weaponize vulnerability, you’ll find yourself unsettled by how persuasive a predator’s inner voice can sound—and how ordinary romance can turn predatory one carefully chosen word at a time.

... a high-concept mystery that keeps reinventing the rules without losing the whodunit core?

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

If part of the thrill in The One was tracking the investigative threads—the hidden agendas behind Ellie’s too-perfect Match or the deadly secrets circling Christopher—Turton’s puzzle-box delivers in spades. Each reset peels back another layer of motive and deceit, much like how every chapter in The One reframed what a Match really promised. You’ll chase clues through shifting identities until the final reveal clicks everything into place.

... jaw-dropping late-game reveals that make you reinterpret every character you’ve met?

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

Loved how The One kept blindsiding you—like when a Match isn’t who they claim, or a romance curdles into menace? Behind Her Eyes is engineered for that delicious whiplash. As with Nick’s engagement detonating after his unexpected Match and Ellie’s courtship twisting into something darker, every relationship here hides a trapdoor. When it opens, you’ll rethink every clue you thought you read correctly.

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