You Like It Darker

Wilson is a detective whose wife, Sandi, constantly admonishes him for his messiness. He tries to ignore her complaints when he’s called to interview a man named Leonard Crocker, who has confessed to killing his wife, Arlene. Crocker claims that Arlene hasn’t been his wife for at least a year. The person he killed was a compelling alien lookalike disguised as his wife. While her blood will likely match Arlene’s, he says, it will include components that prove his claims.

Crocker explains that Earth is in the early stages of an alien invasion, which begins with planting sleeper agents among the human population. He learned the truth on the dark web when someone posted about the lookalikes, describing their behavior as “short-tempered and critical” (281), which signals their intent for domination. He was depressed about his wife’s critical behavior until his phone screen began flashing red, proving that his wife was an alien.

Wilson returns home to more admonishments from Sandi. He receives a call from the police captain informing him that Crocker died by suicide. When Wilson shares the news with Sandi, she laughs when Wilson tells her that Crocker was a plumber. She makes dinner. Later that night, they have sex for the first time in a while.