She has his wife’s heart; the one she wants is his. The author of The Family Plot brings her signature “taut, emotionally charged, and propulsive” (Jeneva Rose, New York Times bestselling author) prose to a twisty novel about a heart transplant patient who becomes romantically obsessed with her donor’s husband.
Rosie Lachlan wants nothing more than to find The One.
A year after she was dumped in her wedding dress, she’s working at her parents’ bridal salon, anxious for a happy ending that can’t come soon enough. After receiving a life-saving heart transplant, Rosie knows her health is precious and precarious. She suspects her heart donor is Daphne Thorne, the wife of local celebrity author Morgan Thorne, who she begins messaging via an anonymous service called DonorConnect, ostensibly to learn more about Daphne. But Rosie has a secret: She’s convinced that now that she has his wife’s heart, she and Morgan are meant to be together.
As she and Morgan correspond, the pretense of avoiding personal details soon disappears, even if Rosie’s keeping some cards close to her chest. But as she digs deeper into Morgan’s previous marriage, she discovers disturbing rumors about the man she’s falling for. Could Morgan have had something to do with his late wife’s death? And can Rosie’s heart sustain another break—or is she next?
Don't just take our word for it...
“[S]pine-tingling… Collins expertly homes in on her characters’ complexities, nailing the way Rosie’s vulnerability gradually slips into obsession. With a pulse-pounding finale and plenty of exciting plot twists along the way, this is difficult to put down.”
– Publishers Weekly
“If Nora Ephron had written your favorite thriller, it would be Cross My Heart. Equal parts spine-tingling and soul-wrenching, Collins’ latest unpacks the perils of parasocial relationships and the lies we tell ourselves with devilish wit, sizzling prose and a hair-raiser of a plot. The twists will have your jaw on the floor and your heart beating in time to Rosie’s borrowed one. A true pulse-pounder with one question at its core: how far would you go to be with the one you (think you) love?”
– Leah Konen, author of The Last Room on the Left
“With her fifth novel, Megan Collins proves once again why she should be on everyone’s must-read list! Cross Your Heart is the best type of psychological suspense–one that you want to immediately read again once you get to the last satisfying page. It has everything I love as a reader – an unreliable yet sympathetic narrator, cast of deliciously twisted people, razor sharp observations about relationships, and one twist after another. I read it in one night!”
– Kellye Garrett, award winning author of Missing White Woman
Taste the very first page
From: DonorConnect Communications
To: Morgan Thorne
Date: May 3, 2025
You have received the following message from your loved one’s organ recipient. As a reminder, DonorConnect encourages both organ recipients and donor families to refrain from sharing identifying information (including name, address, and personal email) until a time when both parties have consented to giving and accepting those details.
Hi.
I’ve decided there’s no way to begin this message that isn’t either (1) creepy or (2) awkward, so I’m just going to dive right into the Creepy/ Awkward Pool and hope I don’t drown.
One year ago today, your wife saved my life. And it breaks my heart that, in order for me to live, she first had to die.
Actually, I shouldn’t say that. I know it’s just an expression—breaks my heart—but it feels a little reckless for me to use it. Because, this time, I plan to be careful with my heart. With your wife’s, I mean. I plan on keeping it whole.
I don’t remember a lot about the day of the transplant. For that whole week, I’d been in and out of consciousness. But I remember the light in the operating room, just before they put me under, so sharp and bright it felt like a slap of sunlight. I remember realizing, then, that it had been months since I’d felt the actual sun on my face, because even before the hospital, before my symptoms, I’d been in such a dark place. From November 16 to that day, May 3, I’d barely stepped outside.
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