Tinder for corpses. That is indeed the premise of Sarah G. Pierce‘s upcoming debut novel, For Human Use.
Online dating is rough, a fact we know all too well in the year 2025. But what if, instead of sorting through the social muck of the living, we turn to the dead for company? A corpse that doesn’t talk back, doesn’t have strong opinions, or doesn’t ghost. That’s entrepreneur Auden White’s vision, a service called Liv where the living match with the dead. It sounds absolutely audacious, especially to Tom Williamson, a venture capitalist who is (unfortunately) tied to this app/service through his employer’s investments. As the money begins to flow, Tom realizes things are even more dire than previously thought. Perhaps the only silver lining is meeting Mara Reed, a woman in Auden’s circle who may just see things the way Tom does. What starts out as a weird social practice snowballs into a monstrous shift in public attitudes, habits, and rhetoric, affecting Tom, Auden, and Mara in unthinkable ways.
I’ll be the first in line to admit the premise of this novel seems rather open and shut, a plot without much room to run. Matching with corpses? Creating space for necrophilia? Hard no. No way that could work. But, I’ll also be the first to loudly admit my wrongness in this presumption as Pierce expertly crafts a social situation of horrifically believable proportions. What makes this seemingly outlandish set-up even more plausible is the darkly comedic moments of stark realization, the political interests that reveal themselves in true dramatic fashion, and the interpersonal drama bubbling beneath all of this. Mara, Tom, and Auden are written with an easy relatability, a familiarity that makes reader investment paramount. All of this is just bloody brilliant.
Even more stunning is Pierce’s unspoken dialogue with all advancements, social, technological, or other, that have emerged in recent years without guardrails. While For Human Use may use the shock factor of dead bodies to usher a response of disgust, the same arguments being made in this text can be applied to the out-of-control growth of AI, the unchecked landscape of the internet, autonomy, and so much more. For Human Use is a smart book, one that combines comedy and shock to oh-so-frighteningly point out that we aren’t so removed from this fictional reality as we think.
Audacious, darkly satirical, and absolutely gripping, For Human Use feels like the most entertaining social study of our current culture, a sandbox where gruesome castles are built under Sarah G. Pierce’s masterful hand. This is a debut novel that feels timely, deeply original, and oh so, captivating through a culmination of real-world anxieties, romantic dramas, and macabre social alternatives. Utterly enthralling and a true achievement, For Human Use is the exact kind of horror we should be reading in 2026, a shining beacon in daring, modern fiction.
For Human Use by Sarah G. Pierce hits bookstores everywhere on February 10, 2026 from Run For It. The audiobook is available for preorder via Libro.fm!
