Hearts and Strangers

Rosie, a young woman recovering from a heart transplant, and Morgan, a widowed author, are brought together by the heart of Morgan's late wife, Daphne, now beating in Rosie's chest. Their initial contact is through DonorConnect, an anonymous messaging service for organ recipients and donor families. Both are haunted by loss—Rosie by her failed engagement and near-death, Morgan by the sudden, suspicious death of his wife. Their tentative, awkward messages soon become a lifeline, each finding in the other a strange, necessary comfort. The heart that once loved Morgan now keeps Rosie alive, and both wonder what, if anything, of Daphne's love remains.

Ghosts in the Bridal Shop

Rosie manages her parents' bridal salon, a place where hope and heartbreak coexist. She meets Edith, a devastated bride returning her unused wedding dress after a breakup. Their instant connection is forged in shared pain—both have been left at the altar, both haunted by the ghosts of what might have been. Rosie's own unworn wedding dress hangs in her closet, a symbol of her interrupted future. The shop becomes a microcosm of the book's themes: the persistence of hope, the weight of loss, and the ways women are expected to move on, even when their hearts are broken.

The Donor's Dilemma

As Rosie and Morgan's correspondence deepens, they share more of their personal histories. Rosie reveals her heart failure and the emotional devastation of her broken engagement; Morgan opens up about Daphne's quirks, passions, and the trauma that shaped her. Both are drawn to the idea that a heart can carry more than blood—it can carry love, memory, and pain. The question of what is inherited, and what is left behind, becomes central. Rosie wonders if she's living for herself or for the woman whose heart she now carries.

Messages Across the Divide

The anonymous messages become increasingly personal, blurring the line between support and infatuation. Rosie, isolated by illness and heartbreak, becomes fixated on Morgan's life, following his social media and cataloging his habits. Morgan, lonely and guilt-ridden, finds solace in Rosie's empathy and wit. Their connection is both healing and dangerous, as each projects their needs and desires onto the other. The digital divide offers safety, but also fuels obsession and misunderstanding.

The Instagram Connection

Rosie's fascination with Morgan grows as she stalks his Instagram, piecing together details about his life and Daphne's death. She notes odd comments accusing Morgan of murder, and rumors swirl online about the true nature of Daphne's demise. Rosie's best friend, Nina, warns her about the dangers of obsession and the unreliability of online personas. The tension between public image and private reality intensifies, as Rosie's research uncovers inconsistencies in Morgan's story and hints of darkness beneath his charming exterior.

A Dress, a Scar, a Secret

Rosie's scar from her transplant is a constant reminder of her mortality and the woman she replaced. Her unworn wedding dress becomes a symbol of both hope and shame. As she tries to move forward, she is pulled back by memories of her ex, Brad, and the trauma of being labeled "crazy" for loving too much. The dress, the scar, and the secret of her connection to Morgan intertwine, making it impossible for Rosie to separate her own identity from Daphne's legacy.

The Other Rosie

As Rosie and Morgan's relationship teeters between fantasy and reality, a new complication arises: someone else is impersonating Rosie, using her name and pink hair to date Morgan in person. This "Other Rosie" leaves traces—pink hairs, burner phones, and a trail of confusion. The police become involved when Morgan is found murdered, and Rosie is thrust into the center of a criminal investigation. The boundaries between self and other, truth and deception, are shattered.

Rumors and Red Flags

Online rumors about Morgan's involvement in Daphne's death intensify, and Rosie's own actions—her obsession, her lies, her proximity to the crime—make her a suspect in Morgan's murder. Her friends and family begin to doubt her, and Rosie is forced to confront the ways her longing for love and connection have blinded her to danger. The "Other Rosie" is revealed to be Edith, who impersonated Rosie out of desperation and loneliness, but Edith insists she is not the killer.

The Writer's Wife

Through poetry, podcasts, and interviews, Rosie uncovers the truth about Daphne's life and marriage. Daphne's poetry reveals a woman haunted by trauma, gaslit by her husband, and stalked by someone who wanted to become her. The lines between inspiration and invasion blur, as Morgan's novels are shown to be built on Daphne's pain. The question of who really killed Daphne—and why—becomes central to unraveling the mystery of Morgan's death.

Blood on the Floor

Rosie is attacked in her own home by a masked intruder, barely surviving thanks to Edith's intervention. The attack is clearly linked to Morgan's murder and the campaign to frame both Rosie and Edith. The police arrest Edith, but Rosie is convinced of her innocence. The real killer remains at large, and Rosie must piece together the clues before she becomes the next victim.

The Imposter's Game

Rosie and Blair, Morgan's best friend, join forces to investigate the case. Blair's own obsession with Morgan and rivalry with Daphne come to light. As Rosie digs deeper, she realizes that Blair has been manipulating events from the shadows, driven by jealousy and unrequited love. Blair's need to be the center of Morgan's world led her to sabotage his relationships and, ultimately, to murder.

Buttoned In, Locked Out

Rosie is trapped—literally and figuratively—by the legacy of the women before her. She wakes up in her wedding dress, buttoned in by someone else, a chilling message from the killer. The sense of being watched, impersonated, and hunted becomes overwhelming. Rosie's struggle to free herself mirrors her fight to reclaim her own identity and agency.

The Truth Unraveled

The final confrontation with Blair exposes the full extent of her crimes: she killed Daphne in a jealous rage, then murdered Morgan when he rejected her. Blair's manipulation of Rosie and Edith was an attempt to deflect blame and maintain control. In a tense, violent showdown, Rosie survives by fighting back, aided by her best friend Nina and the police. Blair is arrested, her web of lies finally destroyed.

The Best Friend's Betrayal

Nina's faith in Rosie wavers under the weight of suspicion and fear, but in the end, their bond endures. The novel explores the complexities of female friendship—its power to heal, its capacity for hurt, and its necessity for survival. Rosie learns to forgive herself and Nina, recognizing that love, in all its forms, is both a risk and a reward.

Surviving the Darkness

In the aftermath, Rosie and Edith support each other as survivors, forging a new friendship out of shared trauma. Rosie lets go of her unworn wedding dress, symbolically releasing the past and embracing the future. She acknowledges the darkness she has endured, but also the strength she has found in herself and others.

Love, Loss, and Letting Go

Rosie comes to terms with the limits of romantic love and the importance of self-love, friendship, and community. She recognizes that her worth is not defined by a partner or a wedding, but by her resilience and kindness. The heart she carries is both a gift and a burden, but it is hers to protect and cherish.

A Good Heart Endures

The novel ends with Rosie walking her dog, Bumper, contemplating the future with cautious optimism. She is no longer haunted by the ghosts of the past, but guided by the lessons she has learned. The heart in her chest—once Daphne's, now hers—beats on, a testament to survival, forgiveness, and the enduring power of hope.

Characters

Rosie Lachlan

Rosie is a thirty-year-old woman whose life is defined by loss: a failed engagement, a near-fatal heart condition, and the constant fear of running out of time. She is sensitive, empathetic, and prone to intense attachment, often accused of being "too much." Rosie's journey is one of reclaiming agency and self-worth, learning to distinguish between healthy love and destructive obsession. Her relationship with Morgan is both a lifeline and a danger, forcing her to confront the ways she has been shaped by trauma and longing. Rosie's development is marked by her struggle to separate her own identity from those she has lost, ultimately finding strength in vulnerability and friendship.

Morgan Thorne

Morgan is a successful thriller author whose wife, Daphne, died under mysterious circumstances. He is charming, self-deprecating, and deeply lonely, using writing as both escape and confession. Morgan's relationship with Rosie is complicated by guilt, grief, and the unresolved questions surrounding Daphne's death. He is both a victim and a perpetrator—of emotional manipulation, of self-delusion, and, ultimately, of his own tragic story. Morgan's inability to confront the truth about his marriage and his own actions sets the stage for the novel's central mystery.

Daphne Whittaker Thorne

Daphne is the heart donor whose life and death haunt every page. A poet and professor, she is remembered through her writing, her trauma, and the conflicting stories told by those who loved and envied her. Daphne's poetry reveals a woman struggling to reclaim her narrative from those who would use it for their own ends. Her legacy is one of both inspiration and warning—a reminder of the dangers of erasure, gaslighting, and the violence that can lurk beneath love.

Blair Hawkins

Blair is Morgan's lifelong confidante, secretly in love with him and consumed by jealousy toward Daphne and any woman who threatens her place in his life. Intelligent, witty, and deeply wounded, Blair's need for control and validation drives her to sabotage, manipulation, and ultimately murder. Her psychological unraveling is both chilling and tragic, exposing the dark side of unrequited love and the destructive power of envy.

Edith Cole

Edith is a heartbroken woman who impersonates Rosie to date Morgan, desperate to escape her own pain and find connection. Her actions are misguided but rooted in loneliness and longing. Edith becomes both a red herring and a mirror for Rosie, illustrating the ways trauma can distort identity and drive people to desperate measures. Ultimately, Edith is a survivor, forging a new friendship with Rosie in the aftermath of violence.

Nina Burke

Nina is Rosie's best friend and emotional anchor, fiercely protective but also frustrated by Rosie's self-destructive patterns. She is pragmatic, loving, and sometimes harsh, pushing Rosie to confront uncomfortable truths. Nina's own stability and happiness serve as both a comfort and a source of envy for Rosie. Their friendship is tested by suspicion and fear, but endures as a testament to the power of forgiveness and support.

Jackson Dean

Jackson is the lead investigator on Morgan's murder case, initially suspicious of Rosie but ultimately sympathetic. He is methodical, empathetic, and haunted by his own family history. Jackson's relationship with Rosie evolves from adversarial to supportive, and he becomes a symbol of hope and new beginnings.

Piper Bell

Piper is a librarian and former friend of Daphne, deeply suspicious of Morgan and convinced of his guilt. She is sharp, opinionated, and driven by loyalty to Daphne's memory. Piper's role as an investigator and accuser complicates the search for truth, highlighting the dangers of bias and the difficulty of distinguishing fact from interpretation.

Brad

Brad is Rosie's former partner, whose rejection and accusations of "craziness" leave lasting scars. He represents the societal tendency to dismiss women's pain and label them as unstable. Brad's absence is as powerful as his presence, shaping Rosie's fears and insecurities.

Bumper

Bumper, Rosie's family dog, is a source of comfort and stability throughout the novel. His presence underscores the theme that love—pure, uncomplicated, and loyal—can be found in unexpected places.

Plot Devices

Dual Narratives and Epistolary Structure

The novel's structure alternates between Rosie's first-person perspective and the digital correspondence between her and Morgan. This device creates intimacy while also introducing ambiguity, as each character's version of events is filtered through their own biases and needs. The use of emails, texts, and social media posts blurs the line between public and private, truth and performance.

Unreliable Narration and Misdirection

The story is rife with unreliable narrators—Rosie's memory lapses, Morgan's self-serving confessions, Edith's impersonation, Blair's duplicity. Red herrings abound, with suspicion cast on multiple characters before the true killer is revealed. The reader is kept off-balance, forced to question every account and motive.

Symbolism of the Heart and Dress

The transplanted heart is both a literal and metaphorical engine, driving questions of identity, inheritance, and survival. The unworn wedding dress symbolizes hope, shame, and the burden of expectations. Both objects are sites of violence and healing, tying together the novel's themes of love, loss, and self-discovery.

Foreshadowing and Parallels

The novel is rich in foreshadowing—comments about "crazy" women, references to true crime, and the recurring motif of doors and thresholds. Parallels between Rosie and Daphne, between Blair and Edith, reinforce the cyclical nature of trauma and the difficulty of breaking free from destructive patterns.

Psychological Suspense and Gaslighting

The story explores the ways women's realities are distorted by those around them—lovers, friends, society at large. Gaslighting is both a plot device and a theme, with characters doubting their own memories, motives, and worth. The suspense is as much internal as external, rooted in the fear of not being believed.

Analysis

Cross My Heart is a psychological thriller that interrogates the boundaries between love and obsession, self and other, truth and fiction. Through its layered narrative and complex characters, the novel explores how trauma, grief, and longing can distort perception and drive people to desperate, even violent, acts. At its core, the book is a meditation on the dangers of erasure—of women's stories, pain, and agency—and the insidious ways society labels women as "crazy" to dismiss their suffering. The heart transplant is a powerful metaphor for the ways we carry the past within us, sometimes willingly, sometimes not. The story warns against the perils of seeking validation solely through romantic love, urging instead the importance of self-acceptance, friendship, and the courage to confront darkness—both within and without. Ultimately, Cross My Heart is a testament to survival: the good heart endures, not because it is unbroken, but because it is brave enough to keep beating.

Last updated: June 9, 2025