'The Family Experiment is an eerie and darkly addictive thriller that will have your mind whirling throughout.' - Culturefly Some families are virtually perfect . . . The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, breaking point has arrived. 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 subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality tv show. It will follow ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen but 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.

The Family Experiment is an eerie and darkly addictive thriller that will have your mind whirling throughout., Clever, compelling and terrifyingly plausible. A near future nightmare that grips from the first page and never let’s 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!, John’s creative, high-concept thrillers never fail to keep me furiously turning the pages and The Marriage Act is no exception. Pacy and packed full of tension, the book kept me constantly guessing as the thought-provoking plot about marriage and everything that comes with it unfolded in the most sinister of ways . . . dark, immersive speculative fiction at it’s very best!, A page-turning and thought-provoking read

John Marrs is an author and former journalist based in Northamptonshire. After spending his career interviewing celebrities from the worlds of television, film and music for numerous national newspapers and magazines, he is now a full-time author. He is the bestselling author of: The One, The Passengers, The Minders, The Marriage Act, What Lies Between and When You Disappeared.