Mr. Wrong Number is a contemporary romance novel by Lynn Painter. The novel was originally published in March 2022 by Berkely, a division of Penguin Random House. Mr. Wrong Number is a contemporary reimagining of the 1998 film You’ve Got Mail starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. In the film, anonymous strangers meet and start talking in an AOL chat room. In Painter’s book, anonymous strangers start communicating via text message when Mr. Wrong Number accidentally texts Miss Misdial.

Olivia Marshall gets a suggestive text from Mr. Wrong Number shortly after she moves in with her brother and his friend Colin Beck. In need of a friend, Olivia starts communicating regularly with the anonymous stranger and finds their text exchange diverting and entertaining. However, her feelings for her texting buddy get complicated when she and Colin start spending more time together. Meanwhile, Olivia works hard to rebuild her life after a recent breakup and job loss. The novel is written from both Olivia’s and Colin’s first-person points of view and explores themes including the Evolution From Friendship to Romantic Love, Self-Discovery During Times of Transition, and The Challenge of Balancing Personal and Professional Goals. 

This guide refers to the 2023 Berkley Romance paperback edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

The novel opens in Omaha, Nebraska. Twenty-five-year-old Olivia Marshall has just moved back to her hometown after leaving her life in Chicago, Illinois behind. On the day she lost her job at the Chicago Tribune, she discovered her boyfriend Eli was cheating on her with her best friend. That night, Olivia tried burning Eli’s love letters and ended up burning down her apartment building, forcing her to accept her brother Jack Marshall’s invitation to stay with him and his roommate Colin Beck at their Omaha condo.

On Olivia’s first nights in the condo, Jack and Colin aren’t home. As she spends the evening drinking, listening to music, and reflecting on her life, she receives a text from someone she doesn’t know. She starts calling him Mr. Wrong Number, and they send flirtatious messages.

The next day, Olivia decides that she needs to focus on finding a job and moving out of Jack and Colin’s home office where she’s sleeping on an uncomfortable air mattress. She and Colin get into regular spats, which makes Olivia wonder if Colin still sees her as his best friend’s annoying little sister. Olivia also continues to text Mr. Wrong Number, who’s playful, funny, and flirtatious. She doesn’t want to meet him in person but enjoys communicating with him.

Olivia starts running every morning. She also applies for numerous writing jobs and goes on several interviews. One day she meets with the Times editor Glenda Budd. Glenda admires Olivia’s previous writing work and hires her to write a parenting column called 402 Mom. Olivia isn’t sure what to do but knows that she needs the job. She lies and says that she does have kids, hoping that because the column is anonymous, no one will discover the truth. Meanwhile, she publishes arts, culture, and entertainment pieces for the newspaper. To celebrate her success, she cooks dinner for Jack and Colin and promises to find her own place soon. After dinner, she texts Mr. Wrong Number. Colin notices her phone and is shocked to discover that she is Miss Misdial, the woman he accidentally started texting one night. He decides not to tell her the truth and to stop texting her.

Olivia starts looking for apartments online. One night, Colin joins her while she’s researching rentals in the area. He suggests that she check out the studio spaces in the same building as his and Jack’s condo, since she loves living downtown. Olivia decides to apply for one of the spaces although she doubts her application will be approved. Colin goes into his room and sends the building manager a recommendation on Olivia’s behalf. Not long later, Olivia learns that she got the apartment. When she goes to tell Colin the news, they end up kissing. Jack returns home, interrupting them.

Colin, Jack, and Olivia’s family help her move into her new apartment. After they leave, Olivia dances around her space, glad to be alone. However, she wishes that Mr. Wrong Number hadn’t stopped texting her. She continues sending him messages in hopes that he’ll resurface. Colin receives the messages and feels bad for ignoring Olivia. He takes out an old phone and starts texting Olivia from that number, saying it’s Colin. Over the following days, the two start communicating regularly. Olivia soon realizes that she doesn’t miss Mr. Wrong Number as much anymore.

Colin buys Olivia a mattress and brings her linen sheets. After they make the bed, they kiss and have sex. In the morning, Olivia gets a call from Glenda, who fires Olivia for lying about having kids. Olivia blames Colin, as he’s the only one who knew about 402 Mom and kicks him out of her apartment.

Olivia eventually discovers that Colin didn’t report her to Glenda. She texts him her apologies and they make amends. They have sex again and go out on an official date. During dinner, Olivia excuses herself to the bathroom to text Mr. Wrong Number. She wants to have a conversation with him about their relationship. She has feelings for Colin and doesn’t feel right continuing to talk to Mr. Wrong Number. Colin receives her message and worries about how to handle the situation. Later, he tells Olivia that he wants to be exclusive with her, and she agrees. They continue dating in the weeks following, and both Colin and Olivia feel that their relationship is close to perfect.

Not long later, Olivia spends the night at Colin’s apartment. In the morning, she texts Mr. Wrong Number explaining that she is seeing someone new and she doesn’t think they should continue talking. While she’s texting, she notices Colin’s phone light up and is shocked to discover that he’s Mr. Wrong Number. She confronts him, accusing him of lying to her and making a joke of their relationship. They split up.

In the weeks following, Olivia settles into another new job. She’s now writing an advice column for Feminine Rage called Oh, Olivia! She loves the work but often misses Colin. Colin writes to Oh, Olivia! asking for advice on their relationship. When Olivia goes to her parents’ house for Thanksgiving, Jack informs her that Colin is so heartbroken over her that he’s selling his condo and moving to Chicago. Afraid of losing him, Olivia races to Colin’s apartment. She tells him she forgives him and they profess their love for one another.