Cross My Heart by Megan Collins is a mystery thriller by the author of The Family Plot. It’s a twisted tale about toxic love, obsession, and of course, murder. This book explores unhealthy relationships in a way that fans of books like Verity and Gone Girl will find familiar. It uses a unique premise to dive into classic themes in mysteries, and with a decidedly unreliable narrator, readers are left not knowing who to trust.
Rosie Lachlan has a broken heart, both figuratively and literally. After a brutal breakup, she discovered she had a heart defect and needed a transplant. Through an anonymous website, she connects with her donor’s husband, hoping to find out more about the woman whose heart now beats in her chest. Her motives, however, may not be as innocent as they seem, and he could prove to be worse.
A majority, if not all, of these characters have lost their marbles and are deeply unlikeable, which is certainly purposeful. Readers are not supposed to be rooting for anyone in this story, I don’t think. Instead, we are supposed to be picking them apart to see what’s going on underneath.
Rosie, the heart transplant recipient, gives stalker vibes from the very beginning. At the very least she has a deeply dysfunctional attachment style. She’s a bit of a pick-me girl who’s truly desperate for love. Not to sound conceited, I have my own issues, but this makes her unrelatable, hopefully, to most of us. However, despite the inability to connect with her character, she’s still utterly fascinating to read.
Morgan Thorne, the widower of Rosie’s heart donor, is a mystery writer. While he doesn’t share Rosie’s desperation, he does seem a little creepy and obsessive too. Something is quite off about him, and it’s the reader’s journey to figure out why he gives off such untrustworthy vibes.
There are also lots of side characters that make for intriguing potential suspects and red herrings. The story is told primarily from Rosie’s perspective, but readers get Morgan’s point-of-view through his DonorConnect emails and other emails written to his best friend, Blair.
The first quarter of the book is a little slow, but it’s setting up lots of details and plot points that become important later. Things pick up significantly, and it’s worth the wait.
The truth is a very malleable thing in Cross My Heart. Readers spend the entirety of the story on uneasy footing trying to figure out just what is going on with Rosie, Morgan, and the crazy chain of events that follows them. Just when I thought I had everything all figured out, it seemed rather obvious at first, a shocking midway plot twist threw everything in a new direction.
Cross My Heart is not the most memorable mystery I’ve ever read, but the writing was well-done and engaging. This book was thoroughly entertaining and managed to surprise me, which is really all I look for in a good mystery.
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