The Family Experiment

'John Marrs is not to be missed' Freida McFadden, bestselling author of The Housemaid 'few writers do domestic suspense meets dystopia better than John Marrs' Lucy Foley 'The books of John Marrs have become a quiet phenomenon . . . Thoughtful, well written . . . and alarming' - Daily Mail Some families are virtually perfect . . . The worlds population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them. But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch, accessing them via the Metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind MetaChildren has created a reality TV show. It will follow its contestants as they raise a MetaChild from birth to the age of eighteen, in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child or risk it all for the chance of a real baby . . . Set in the same universe as John Marrs's bestselling novel The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate 'tamagotchi' - a virtual baby. 'Speculative fiction at its best original, dark and wickedly clever' - C. L. Taylor, author of Every Move You Make 'His best yet. Frighteningly plausible, gripping, dark, and so clever' Claire Douglas, author of The Woman Who Lied 'An unsettling and immersive roller coaster which hurtles towards a chilling denouement - a truly thought-provoking, single-sitting thriller. Loved it' Ellery Lloyd, author of The Club 'Chilling, inventive, horribly plausible and brilliantly addictive' C. J. Tudor, author of The Gathering