Colleen Hoover is everywhere. TikTok, the ‘trending now’ table in seemingly every book shop, and the Goodreads feeds of friends. Known most widely for It Ends With Us which is set to be made into a movie, Hoover’s works list consists predominantly of romance. Verity, published in 2018, stands apart and gives Hoover fans a slightly edgier tale than they’re used to.
Verity tells the story of Lowen, a shy and somewhat reclusive writer who is hired to finish a series of books by Verity Crawford, a famous author who was paralysed in a car crash and is therefore unable to finish them herself. To help write the novels, Lowen visits Verity’s house, where she lives with her husband and son, Crew. Lowen, hired by Verity’s husband Jeremy, is immediately attracted to him. She spends weeks in the house, sorting through the piles of notes in Verity’s chaotically organised office. It is here that she finds an explosive autobiography written by Verity which reveals disturbing truths about her family and the deaths of her two daughters.
As time goes on, Lowen becomes more and more suspicious of Verity, and not without reason. It becomes clear that Verity cannot be trusted, but as time passes you begin to wonder, could the same not be said about Jeremy and Lowen too? In true psychological thriller style, Hoover builds up the intrigue and suspense, which will have you wanting to scream at Lowen to just GET OUT OF THAT HOUSE!
Despite consistently holding readers on the edge of their seats, the ending falls somewhat flat. A final confrontation, explosive moment, or showdown would have been a satisfying conclusion to the suspense felt throughout the entire book, but instead we are left with a very short, and predictable, reveal. However, the moment is kept short, and it feels as though readers are not left with much of a reward for their patience.
However, when you think the story is over, Hoover treats readers to one final twist that makes you wonder if you should second-guess everything you have read.
I won’t give any spoilers, but I would recommend going on the Q&A section of the book’s Goodreads site to see what others made of the ending. Purposefully left open ended and with yet another twist in the very final page, there is no closure for the writer, nor the protagonist. This means that you, the writer, are left to piece together parts of the novel and decide for yourself what is really true. Everyone has a different opinion, and many reviewers have left insightful reasonings for theirs, which definitely shaped my own views on the events and characters.
Overall, Verity is a fast-paced, suspense-filled novel. While the ending, at first, frustrated me, I realised that since putting the book down I have not been able to stop hypothesising about the fate of the characters, which, I suppose, is the sign of a successful thriller.