Unmatched

Things don't always go according to plan. That's but one gem to be gleaned from UNMATCHED, a novel that explores the minefield of relationships in the Internet age. Happily married with a fun and flourishing career writing features for a local daily and dispensing sage yet savvy advice in her syndicated column, Roxanne Browne gets more than she bargained for when she convinces Walker, her husband of fourteen years, to join an Internet matching service to test claims that it can create lasting relationships using its research-based interpersonal compatibility matrix. Working from the assertion that the system matches users based on common values and other qualities of winning relationships, Roxanne reasons that if it works, she and Walker will be matched immediately. When, to her surprise they are not, she attributes it to flaws in the system and sets out to find them. Over time, however, the normally confident and composed Roxanne starts to unravel as she comes to suspect that it's not the system but her and Walker's relationship that's faulty. Anxious to know for sure, she delves deeper only to unearth an issue she thought had been resolved long ago... Populated by a crew of friends and relatives who keep Roxanne on her toes--and occasionally render her speechless--UNMATCHED ponders themes like compatibility and commitment (in platonic and romantic relationships alike) and takes a lighthearted look at the choices people make and the mosaic of needs and emotions that drive them.