Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Marriage Act  By  cover art

The Marriage Act

By: John Marrs
Narrated by: John Marrs, Clare Corbett, Nathalie Buscombe, David Monteith, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, Joshua Riley
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.67

Buy for $22.67

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

What if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey? Black Mirror meets thriller with a dash of Naomi Alderman’s The Power in this dark, high-concept novel by the bestselling author of The One.

Britain. The near-future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society’s ills—the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single.

But four couples are about to discover just how impossible relationships can be when the government is monitoring every aspect of our personal lives—monitoring every word, every minor disagreement…and will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honor and obey.

“The king of near-future what-ifs is back with a smart and chilling page-turner. Twisty, unsettling, scarily believable and thought provoking, this is his best yet.”—Ellery Lloyd, author of The Club

“Clever, compelling and terrifyingly plausible. A near future nightmare that grips from the first page and never lets go. THE MARRIAGE ACT is a brilliant examination of relationships and the power we let others have over us. And talk about a page-turner. This one will leave you with paper cuts!”—C. J. Tudor, author of The Chalk Man

Don't miss other suspenseful works from John Marrs (you'll never see the twists coming!):

  • The One
  • The Vacation
  • The Family Experiment (coming soon!)
©2023 John Marrs (P)2023 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

What listeners say about The Marriage Act

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    105
  • 4 Stars
    51
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    127
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    102
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    19
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not So Fictitious

This book is great. Too similar to themes happening today or plausible for the future to be a comfortable read. And yet I couldn’t stop listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

To close to home

This is scary close to where our world is going. Please read / listen to this book if you want a wonderful twist and also an eye opener.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining, dark, sad and enlightening

I found this book to be a little hard to know the characters at first but after a few chapters of the back and forth, I got use to it and started knowing who was who. With a paperback book, I’m able to go back to understand what character is what. 😁
Overall, it was a very good book. I would recommend!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really good

Very interesting and creepy idea. All those who think giving more control over things to the government should listen up.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good Listen

Overall this is a great book. The only neg. for me was that it got to be a little lengthy. I would recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Could not stop listening!

This story grabbed me from the beginning! It was a long listen but well worth it! The Cast of narrators was excellent! Scary stuff regarding our current technology! Makes you think….the idea may not be so far off from our futures….

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting read for sure!

Thanks John for once again showing us how things are changing in the world. Enjoyed this novel as well as the narrators.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

John Marrs is brilliant.

I've listen to a string of mediocre audible books lately. I moved into this one forgetting how incredible John Marrs is. I LOVE his integration of his former stories and the evolution of our current technology. Both felt purposeful and creates this rich history/ current state of his fictional world. The character development was excellent and the weaving of stories throughout masterful. The execution of his dystopian ideas- from systemic challeneges down to smallest details were so thoroughly described they felt imminent in our real world. Having this many narrators can be a challenge to listen to, but in this case, each narrator nailed it. I devoured this book. Incredibly well done all around. Sad it ended!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

I loved the development of the characters in this story. The story was absolutely believable for a future of the government being in charge of our love lives. It was a very unnerving twist on politics today. I definitely recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good

The story was good but didn’t blow me away. Had a few surprises at the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!