Search History

The truth could be just a scroll away…

A woman’s obsession with her new boyfriend’s dead ex fuels this sharp and honest debut novel, a send-up of modern dating and love

My fingers itched to put his name into the search bar. Once I’d found him, I’d have the cheat sheet.

After fleeing to Melbourne in the wake of a breakup, all Ana has to show for herself is an unfulfilling job at an overly enthusiastic tech start-up and one particularly questionable dating app experience. Then she meets Evan. Charming, kind, and responsible, Evan is a complete aberration from her usual type; Ana feels like she has finally awoken from a long dating nightmare.

As much as she tries to let their budding relationship unfold IRL, Ana just can’t resist the urge to find Evan online. When she discovers that his previous girlfriend, Emily, died unexpectedly in a hit-and-run less than a year ago, Ana begins to worry she’s living in the shadow of his lost love. Soon she’s obsessively comparing herself to Emily, trawling through her dormant social media accounts in the hope of understanding her better. Online, Evan and Emily’s life together looked perfect—but just how perfect was it? And why won’t he talk about it?

Perceptive and original, full of both pathos and humor, Search History explores the contradictions and uncertainties of twenty-first century romance. Ana’s journey down the Internet rabbit hole of modern dating asks the question: Which is our “true” self—the one we show to the world online, or the one we keep to ourselves?

Story Locale: Melbourne, Australia; Perth, Australia; Bali, Indonesia