John Marrs is a British author of psychological and speculative fiction. He is best known for The One (2017), which became a Netflix original series in 2021 and was translated into 35 languages. He has also received the International Thriller Writers award for What Lies Between Us (2020) and was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize for The Vacation (2021).
John Marrs was born in Northamptonshire, England. He began writing at the age of 18, contributing to local newspapers in Northampton, Daventry and Peterborough. After moving to London, John worked as a freelance journalist for two decades. He interviewed film, music and television celebrities for The Guardian, Empire, Total Film, Q and OK!. Magazine, and The Independent, among others.
He started writing fiction to challenge himself. "I read an article in a magazine that made it clear to me that this was a great concept for a book," he stated. His first novel, The Wronged Sons, was self-published in 2013 and later reissued as When You Disappeared in 2017. After being rejected by 80 agents, it found success on Amazon and attracted the attention of Thomas & Mercer, selling over 350,000 copies.
His third novel, The One, was also self-published before being acquired by Penguin. It was an international bestseller and was released as an eight-part Netflix series in 2021. "It was surreal," he stated. "I had this crazy idea and now they're all here because of it."
In the same year, Pan Macmillan republished his second book, Welcome to Wherever You Are, under the title The Vacation. His 2017 thriller The Good Samaritan was a global No.1 bestseller. His later novels include Her Last Move (2018), The Passengers (2019) and The Minders (2021), all of which are speculative fiction.
His psychological thrillers include What Lies Between Us, which sold over 300,000 copies and attracted interest from Renée Zellweger's production company. He followed it with Keep It In The Family (2022) and The Stranger In Her House (2024), both of which TV producers have optioned for adaptation.
In 2023, he released The Marriage Act, followed by The Family Experiment in 2024. Another thriller, You Killed Me First, is scheduled for release in 2025.
John Marrs writes stand-alone novels in two genres: speculative fiction and psychological thrillers. He draws inspiration from daily life, newspaper articles, dreams and conversations. He wrote his first five books on commuter trains, but now writes at home and in cafés, aiming for 2,000 words per day.
Photo credit: www.johnmarrsauthor.com
