Shortlisted for the Goodreads Awards 2023. From the bestselling author of The One, now an eight-part NETFLIX series. Set in the same world as The One, The Marriage Act is a dark, high-concept thriller.‘One of the most exciting original thriller writers’ - Simon KernickWhat if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey?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 supervising 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, honour and obey. 'Black Mirror' meets thriller with a dash of Naomi Alderman’s The Power. Praise for John Marrs:'Clever, compelling and terrifyingly plausible .. . And talk about a page-turner.This one will leave you with paper cuts!' - C. J. Tudor, author of A Sliver of Darkness'A brilliantly tricksy read' Liz Nugent, author of Strange Sally Diamond'Dark, immersive speculative fiction at it’s very best!' - Sarah Pearse, author of The Retreat and The Sanatorium