Verity
Colleen Hoover, 2018
Mystery, thriller & crime RomanceContemporary fiction
A broke writer takes a job finishing another author's novels and finds a manuscript that was never meant to be read. A broke writer's discovery of a hidden manuscript gives the pages a tense, curious pull, with dread and dark satire close behind.
Feels like dread and curiosity. About death.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy contemporary crime and romance tangled around a writer's unsettling professional dilemma. Be aware that the death-heavy manuscript material and dread may not suit you if you want a light, purely romantic read.
Why read it
For a contemporary crime-romance with dread and dark satire, it gives you a tense, curiosity-driven story about finishing someone else's work and reading what was never meant for you.
A page from the book
Some people keep a darker world on hand so the real one stays bearable.
I needed for the imaginary version of my world to be darker than my real world. Otherwise, I would have wanted to leave them both. Colleen Hoover.Hoover worked as a social worker before self-publishing her first novel in 2012; Verity first appeared self-published in 2018, before a major publisher acquired it.
Books that feel like this
More by Colleen Hoover
Ugly Love
Colleen Hoover, 2014
A nurse restarting her life falls for a man who offers only sex and no past—and discovers how much pain can hide behind a closed door.
November 9
Colleen Hoover, 2015
A scarred former teen actress and a stranger who poses as her boyfriend make a pact to meet every year on the same date.
Maybe Someday
Colleen Hoover, 2014
A music student who hides her own songwriting listens every night to the guitarist across the courtyard — until he catches her watching.
Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is Verity for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy contemporary crime and romance tangled around a writer's unsettling professional dilemma. Be aware that the death-heavy manuscript material and dread may not suit you if you want a light, purely romantic read.
- What is Verity like?
- A broke writer's discovery of a hidden manuscript gives the pages a tense, curious pull, with dread and dark satire close behind. Feels like dread and curiosity. About death.
- What should I read after Verity?
- If you liked Verity, try The Crash (Freida McFadden), The Perfect Marriage (Jeneva Rose) and And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie).
A taste of the feed
What a person tells themselves right before crossing a line.
I’ve never killed anyone before. I’m not a murderer. I’m a good person. I don’t lie. I don’t cheat. I don’t steal. I hardly ever even raise my voice. There are very few things I’ve done in my life that I’m ashamed of.
The Crash · Freida McFadden
What it costs to make yourself unnoticeable in a crowded room.
She was trying to make herself as small as possible, blending into the background, going unnoticed. But to me, she was the only person in that room.
The Perfect Marriage · Jeneva Rose
A house with no shadows at all, and every guest locking a door.
The others went upstairs, a slow unwilling procession. If this had been an old house, with creaking wood, and dark shadows, and heavily panelled walls, there might have been an eerie feeling. But this house was the essence of modernity. There were no dark corners - no possible sliding panels - it was flooded with electric light - everything was new and bright and shining. There was nothing hidden in this house, nothing concealed. It had no atmosphere about it. Somehow, that was the most frightening thing of all. They exchanged good-nights on the upper landing. Each of them went into his or her own room, and each of them automatically, almost without conscious thought, locked the door....
And Then There Were None · Agatha Christie
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