Verity
by Colleen Hoover
Struggling writer Lowen Ashby is hired to complete the remaining books in a bestselling thriller series after its author, Verity Crawford, is left incapacitated. While staying at the Crawford home, Lowen discovers a manuscript that Verity clearly never intended anyone to read — a disturbing autobiography that reveals horrifying truths about the woman behind the books. And then there's Jeremy, Verity's devoted husband, who Lowen is falling for despite herself.
The review
Verity broke my brain a little, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment.
This is the book that made me understand why people stay up until 4am reading. It's propulsive in a way that feels almost chemical — once you're in, there's no comfortable stopping point.
CoHo does something genuinely impressive here: she writes a dark romance that is also a genuinely unsettling psychological thriller. The romance between Lowen and Jeremy works because it's wrapped in so much darkness and ambiguity. You're never sure if you should be rooting for them or horrified by them.
The manuscript chapters — the ones purportedly written by Verity — are the dark heart of this book. They are deeply disturbing. If you have triggers around harm to children, please read the content warnings carefully. But they're also masterfully crafted: whether or not you believe them, they do exactly what a thriller device should do: they make you question everything you thought you knew.
The ending is the most divisive thing in the book. Readers fall into one of two camps, and I won't spoil which camp I'm in. But I will say: both interpretations are supported by the text, and that ambiguity is the point.
This is a book that makes you complicit in what you're reading. It's smart, it's dark, it's romantic in the most twisted possible way. Five stars.
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