My Review with Spoilers for Cross my Heart discusses this suspenseful book about toxic love that’s a new January 2025 release. How do you feel about (fictional) obsessive heartsick stalkers? I’m here to reveal all and help you decide if this suspense story is for you. Let’s discuss it!
Jen’s Quick Take on Cross My Heart
- Cross My Heart is a twisty suspense story that also has an amateur detective element
- It’s a story about obsessive love (I can’t go into many details without spoilers, which will be under protection below.)
- I wished the plot had been pared down just a little to give the story more psychological depth, but maybe that’s just me. Her fans seem to love this one!
- And is a VERY well-known suspense author shaded in this book? Maybe that’s just me again. (I will discuss that below because it’s not a spoiler.)
- To be published on January 14, 2025 by Atria Books. 320 pages. Thanks to the publisher for the advance copy for review.
Review with Spoilers for Cross My Heart by Megan Collins
The initial premise of Cross My Heart was so intriguing:
Rosie, a young woman who just had a heart transplant learns, through a friend who works in the ER, that her new heart might have come from Morgan Thorne, a popular thriller author.
So cool, until Rosie is on Thorne’s Instagram and sees comments from people wondering if he killed his wife.
Right off, I was getting ALL the Verity vibes.
But Cross My Heart wasn’t really like that. Heavily plot-driven with some surprising reveals, the book seemed more like a defense of the “crazy in love” woman.
My next prediction was that the book would veer into the horror lane
I thought maybe Rosie would start suddenly feeling and acting like Morgan’s late wife, Daphne. Even Psychology Today says that organ donor recipients can experience personality changes. But … no.
At its heart, this book is really a wacky murder mystery
Rosie is an unconventional detective who tends to become obsessive about guys. And it wasn’t the heart transplant. She has a long history of changing her personality to get and keep guys.
Were authors Riley Sager and A.J. Finn shaded in Cross My Heart?
Another character describes Morgan Thorne, the thriller author character, as a male author who “appropriates women’s voices and stories.” This character mentions that Morgan uses his gender neutral name to make readers think he was female.
This 2017 Wall Street Journal article called “These Male Authors Don’t Mind if You Think They Are Women, discussed Sager, along with fellow male thriller authors S.J. Watson and A.J. Finn.
There is a quote in Cross My Heart and this article that are VERY SIMILAR.
Cross My Heart says: “[Morgan] didn’t have his photo on his book or website, and his bio didn’t use any pronouns. It’s a disgusting sales grab.”
The Wall Street Journal article says: “Is Riley Sager a woman? The author’s gender-neutral name won’t answer the question. Neither will the author biography on the book’s back flap, which avoids male or female pronouns, or the book-jacket photo, which is nonexistent.”
Cross My Heart says: Women made this genre what it is. Gillian Flynn with Gone Girl, Paula Hawkins with The Girl on the Train… so when readers see someone named Morgan writing thrillers about women, they’re going to assume the author is a woman.”
The Wall Street Journal article says: “Female authors like Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) and Paula Hawkins (The Girl on the Train) have been leading this booming genre in a realm dominated by women readers. The problem for men: some fans doubt the authenticity of the female narrator’s voice when it is delivered by a male author.”
Hmmm…
Maybe the shade is on Finn, as he has been accused of some shady stuff, like this and this.
Okay, that’s all I can say without spoilers so the rest of the review will be be spoiler protected!
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Review with Spoilers of Cross My Heart
While Cross My Heart was a little too wacky for me, if you are a fan of books like You by Caroline Kepnes, you might love it!
Check out all the New January 2025 Thrillers and Mysteries
