Since publishing her debut novel, The Winter Sister, in 2019, author Megan Collins has captivated readers with her collection of chilling, suspenseful thrillers. Now, she’s back with a brand-new twisty mystery that examines the lengths we’re willing to go to for love. Cross My Heart follows a heart transplant patient who falls head over heels for her donor’s charming yet mysterious husband. Here are all the gory details to know before the book drops on January 14!
Synopsis
Rosie Lachlan has had a rough year. As if getting dumped in her wedding dress wasn’t traumatic enough, she also had a major health crisis, resulting in a life-saving heart transplant. Now physically and emotionally scarred, Rosie works at her parents’ bridal shop and dreams of a happily ever after she fears will never come. Enter Morgan Thorne, local celebrity thriller author and recently widowed husband of Daphne Thorne, Rosie’s heart donor. Through an online service called DonorConnect, Rosie and Morgan begin messaging under the guise of anonymity. Except Rosie knows exactly who Morgan is, and she’s convinced they’re destined to be together now that Rosie has his wife’s heart.
In Rosie’s eyes, they couldn’t be more compatible: They have the same favorite coffee shop, the same bizarre food preferences, and the same affinity for cutesy pet names. And unlike the ex who broke Rosie’s heart, Morgan isn’t turned off by her obsessive personality, which only feeds her infatuation. But as Rosie and Morgan exchange more intimate details about their lives, she begins to see a darker side of him. One that just might give credence to the unsettling rumors about Morgan’s involvement in his wife’s supposedly accidental death. As the saying goes: the heart wants what it wants. But will chasing this desire put Rosie’s heart on the line in more ways than one?
A Heart-Racing and Heartfelt Thriller
Oh, it was sinking in
Taylor Swift, The Prophecy
Slow is the quicksand
Poison blood from the wound of the pricked hand
Oh, still I dream of him
Megan Collins’s Cross My Heart delivers a compelling mystery underlaid with themes of grief, self-esteem, and trauma.
While the book’s peculiar premise is instantaneously grabbing, in execution, aspects of the whodunit storyline underwhelm. The story gets off to a slow start as we’re introduced to the characters and world, and it doesn’t pick up until about the halfway point. Conversely, the rushed pacing of the climax diminishes the final showdown’s impact. And although Collins pulls off a few game-changing plot twists, many of the narrative’s misdirects are less than subtle, resulting in a predictable grand reveal for seasoned thriller readers.
However, Cross My Heart’s greatest strength is apparent in the evolution of its protagonist, Rosie. As the story opens, we see the devastating effect Rosie’s latest failed relationship has had on her life — and her sense of self-worth. She’s desperate to find love again, knowing her heart condition means she’s living on borrowed time. Thus, the narrative’s sense of urgency comes not only from the mystery of Daphne’s death but also from Rosie’s stark awareness of her own mortality.
As the story concludes, a new Rosie emerges, one who recognizes romance isn’t a requirement of a fulfilling life. It’s this transformation that solidifies the story’s resolution. In her final form, Rosie is no longer a self-conscious hopeless romantic willing to contort herself according to a man’s desires. Instead, she realizes the most important connection in her life is her relationship with herself.
Ultimately, the main mystery is a complement to Rosie’s emotional arc, resulting in a conclusion that’s satisfying to both the sleuth and the altruist in us all.
An Examination of the Many Forms of Grief
A greater woman has faith
Taylor Swift, The Prophecy
But even statues crumble if they’re made to wait
I’m so afraid I sealed my fate
No sign of soulmates
When we think of grief, what often comes to mind is death. The loss of a loved one, whether sudden or expected, is one of the most harrowing torments a person can endure. But people exit our lives all the time, and not always due to death. Sometimes we lose touch with friends, fall out with family members, or suffer a challenging breakup. These experiences are each a form of loss, and they require unique grieving processes, as Rosie comes to learn.
Throughout the story, Rosie must work through the end of a romantic relationship she thought would last forever. She mourns not only her ex’s absence in her life but also the future she had dreamed up for them. In the wake of their breakup, her hopes are shattered — the wedding gown in her closet now a ghost of the life she could’ve had. She also grieves the parts of herself she’s lost in the process of moving on: her self-confidence, her innocence, and the “Rosie-colored glasses” she used to see other people through.
Compared to Morgan Thorne’s grief over the death of his wife, Rosie doesn’t think her suffering stacks up. But pain is not a competition, as Morgan reminds her, and it isn’t overdramatic or selfish to mourn the death of a future you once staked your happiness on. Rosie learning to give herself grace is a critical reminder to let ourselves grieve without shame or self-reproach. After all, the only way to heal the pain we feel is to acknowledge our right to feel it in the first place.
An Unflinching Look at Life After the Transplant
I got cursed like Eve got bitten
Taylor Swift, The Prophecy
Oh, was it punishment?
Cross My Heart pulls no punches in its depiction of Rosie’s life post-transplant, painting a vivid picture of how the procedure impacts her in multitudinous ways.
She feels insecure about the newfound roundness in her face, a side effect of the prednisone. The cyclosporine she takes makes her achy, fatigued, and nauseous. She’s constantly worried about the life-threatening side effects of her immunosuppressants, the dismal 15-year average life expectancy for transplant recipients, and the frightening likelihood she won’t survive the next operation — that is, if she manages to match with a second donor to begin with. And on top of all of that, she’s also dealing with the guilt of her second chance coming at the expense of other people’s grief — at the loss of someone else’s life.
Although she recognizes her successful transplant for the miracle it is, the ability to live a normal, healthy life is now off the table. Rosie must contend with what it means to enter a romantic relationship knowing her marital bliss would have a time limit on it. Can she even consider marriage, knowing her hypothetical husband would be a widower before he reached middle age? Though Rosie finds comfort in her loving support system, her situation is one few can truly understand.
By providing insight into Rosie’s psyche, Cross My Heart does the important work of spreading awareness about what it’s like to live as a transplant recipient. Rosie’s story, inspired by the life and writings of author Amy Silverstein, showcases the profound strength and resilience required to survive losing your heart.
A Dismantling of the “Hysterical Woman” Trope
A greater woman stays cool
Taylor Swift, The Prophecy
But I howl like a wolf at the moon
And I look unstable
Gathered with a coven ’round a sorceress’ table
When men scream at the TV and smash furniture because their favorite sports team lost, it’s a reasonable reaction. But when a woman sings her heart out and sheds happy tears at a Taylor Swift concert, she’s “insane” and excessively emotional. Men’s emotions — and in many cases, their violence — are justified. But women are inherently irrational, their interests trivial and childish. At least, that’s what Rosie’s been told by the myriad misogynistic men she’s dated.
This twisted message is further exemplified by Morgan and Daphne’s relationship, the reality of which Rosie uncovers through Daphne’s haunting poetry. In Morgan’s eyes, when a man steals his wife’s traumatic childhood memories and uses them as a plot device in his novels, it’s not a transgression but a tribute. Of all people, Morgan would know, considering that’s exactly what he did to Daphne when he learned about her sister’s brutal murder. He made this tragedy the premise of his book without so much as consulting Daphne and expected her to be grateful that her living nightmare was his creative inspiration. He cashed in on her trauma and called it compassion, yet she was the “crazy” one for being rightfully upset about Morgan using her triggering past to elevate his career.
Collins makes no effort to hide her disdain for men who profit off of women’s pain, as well as those who label women “deranged” or “unwell” to invalidate their emotions. It’s a powerful critique of a long-tired trope used to silence women and absolve men of accountability for the harm they cause.
Final Thoughts
Cross My Heart is a sufficiently suspenseful mystery whose true virtues lie in its ability to engender empathy for messy but authentic female characters, augment understanding of underrepresented human experiences, and expose the not-so-sneaky ways misogyny works to discredit women and dismantle their self-confidence. Though absorbing and binge-able, this book is a triumph for more than just its entertainment value. Alongside the work of fellow authors such as Jacqueline Bublitz and Gillian Flynn, Collins’s fifth novel helps shape a new generation of thrillers that furthers the conversation about who gets to tell women’s stories and what kinds of women are deemed worthy of compassion.
You’ll love Cross My Heart if you enjoyed these titles:
- Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti
- Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
- Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
- Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
- The Wife Who Knew Too Much by Michele Campbell
- Watching You by Lisa Jewell
Bookstr’s Cross My Heart Dream Cast:
- Amanda Seyfried as Rosie Lachlan, a lovesick heart transplant patient
- Ana de Armas as Nina Burke, Rosie’s protective best friend
- Alexandra Daddario as Daphne Thorne, Rosie’s heart donor
- Andrew Garfield as Morgan Thorne, an enigmatic thriller author
- Aubrey Plaza as Blair Hawkins, Morgan’s fierce best friend
- Elle Fanning as Edith Cole, a kind-hearted ex-bride-to-be
Final Score: 3.5/5
If you want to add Cross My Heart to your TBR, you can preorder it on Bookshop and Amazon! Thank you to Atria Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
For another Bookstr starred review, click here!
To browse more books like this, check out Bookstr’s Mystery shelf on Bookshop!
