A Book A Week

"I think the idea of me is better than the reality of me."

Colleen Hoover is another one of those authors I've always been aware of but have never read for myself. I don't usually gravitate toward romance novels, so I haven't really been drawn to her books. Verity, however, promised to be more of a psychological thriller, my go-to genre. Like many hyped books, I've owned a copy of Verity for a while, just waiting for the right opportunity to give it a read. When a few of my co-workers mentioned they were planning to give the novel a go, I decided to join in the fun. We committed to reading the first five chapters by the end of the week. Within the next two days, each of us had finished the entire book!

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling author who is at a kind of crossroads in her life. For the last several months she cared for her terminally ill mother. Being a full-time caregiver left her little time to work on the novel that she was already late on delivering to her publisher. The money that came from the advance of that undelivered work has dried up, and Lowen isn't sure where her next check will come from. But then the break of a lifetime comes her way, the opportunity to co-author the next book in the bestselling series from acclaimed author Verity Crawford. Verity suffered catastrophic injuries in a car crash, leaving her unable to complete the remaining three books in her series. Desperate to earn some money and curious about the mysterious nature of Verity's injuries, Lowen agrees to write the next books in the series. 

As she arrives at the Crawford estate, Lowen can't help but feel out of place. The home is sprawling, filled with the kind of opulence that Lowen can barely comprehend. Beneath the facade of perfection, though, lies a sense of foreboding and tragedy. Lowen begins to comb through Verity's office. She hopes to find an outline of the series or even just the next book. Amongst the scattered piles of papers and boxes, Lowen stumbles upon a full manuscript. It isn't the next book in the series. No, this is something more personal. It is Verity's memoir, an autobiography that chronicles her relationship with her husband, and the tragedies that have filled their lives. It is clear that Verity never meant this work to see the light of day. With each stunning chapter, Verity reveals her true self, a self that is far more troubling and dangerous than Lowen could have ever dreamed. 

I come away from Verity with a fairly mixed reaction. There's no denying that Hoover has written a page-turner that demands the reader's full attention. My group of work friends devoured this book, hanging on to each shocking twist and turn that came next. Hoover ramps up the suspense, winding her story tighter and tighter until it bursts into a conclusion that matches the shock and awe of everything that precedes it. This book is dark. Much of the momentum in the novel is driven by various tragedies, described in detail. As we are given deeper insight into the psyche of the titular character, we learn the true depravity of her being. Graphic depictions of sexual acts and violent thoughts litter the pages of the book. A few of these moments took things further than I'd normally be comfortable reading, but Hoover's driving plot propelled me through even the most troubling moments. Coming away from this book, I can certainly see why it has taken so many readers by storm. It won't be my favorite read of the year, but it sure kept me glued to the pages for the time I spent with it. 

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2023, 27)