Book summary of Verity by Colleen Hoover is a psychological thriller with a compelling mystery at its heart. It is written from the point of view of its main character, Lowen Ashleigh.
A struggling writer, Lowen Ashleigh accepts the job offer of a lifetime to complete the last books in a successful series that her injured wife is unable to write. But when she finds an incomplete autobiography with bone chilling secrets not meant for anyone to read, she struggles to decide whether to share them with her co-writer Jeremy Crawford.
The Story
The book summary of Verity, by Colleen Hoover, is a fast-paced thriller with multiple twists that will keep you at the edge of your seat. It’s a must-read for all thriller lovers!
It opens with Lowen Ashleigh, a novelist who is struggling with her writing career. She has just lost her mother and is about to be evicted. Her literary agent sends her to meet a man named Jeremy Crawford. He offers her a once in a lifetime opportunity to write the next three books of Verity Crawford’s famous thriller series.
She is excited about the opportunity, as it will help her pay the bills. Unfortunately, she soon discovers that Jeremy is Verity’s husband and that he has a mysterious past. She decides to accept the offer and begins work on the series.
In the process, she discovers a manuscript that turns out to be an unfinished brutally honest autobiography of Verity Crawford. It is filled with her darkest thoughts and secrets.
As Lowen reads the manuscript, she finds herself captivated by Verity’s story and wants to learn more about her life. However, she is unsure if it’s the truth or not. She is even more confused when she discovers that Verity’s wife Jeremy has also been reading her autobiography and has developed romantic feelings for Lowen.
With her twisted mind, Verity is able to convince herself that her sister Harper was to blame for Chastin’s death. She reminisces about their childhood together and how they used to dream of murdering each other. She wishes she had killed her before.
Jeremy also becomes suspicious of Verity and suspects that she was a murderer. He tries to enlist the assistance of his friend, Crew, but Verity resists.
Meanwhile, Verity’s nurse antagonises her further. She believes that Verity is trying to escape her reality and faking her injuries. She makes Verity’s condition seem much more traumatic and dangerous than it is.
In the end, the book isn’t a very original read. It borrows heavily from the plot of thriller movies and is predictable in some key areas. In addition, the dual perspectives of both Lowen and Verity read very similar to each other, leading to confusion about whose side of the story is the truth. It’s a shame, because there are some interesting elements and fascinating characters in this book. It’s just a shame that the author didn’t have more to say about these characters.
The Characters
In a world where women are often expected to behave in particular ways, crime fiction novels have become a megaphone for deconstructing stereotypes. Colleen Hoover’s Verity is no exception. It’s a captivating story that features a strong female lead and a disturbing villain who will haunt you long after the book is finished.
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer who is hired by Jeremy Crawford to finish the final books in a popular series that he owns. As she works on the manuscript, she realizes that there’s more to the story than she originally thought. And that she may have uncovered clues about her own mysterious past.
As a result, she must confront her own fears and insecurities as she embarks on this new journey. She’s determined to find out the truth, no matter what it costs.
Despite her initial hesitation, Lowen ultimately agrees to take on the project and learns more about Verity than she initially expected. In fact, she uncovers a variety of complications that will have her questioning her own identity and motivation.
She also begins to suspect that Jeremy isn’t being completely honest with her, especially after she discovers that Verity’s wife was injured in an accident. When she asks Jeremy about it, he says that he has no memory of the accident, but he knows Verity was pregnant and they had a son together.
Even if Verity’s husband does remember the accident, does that mean that he has been lying to her for years? Suddenly, a mysterious manuscript surfaces and Lowen’s suspicions about her husband’s actions rise to a fever pitch.
The tension in the novel is high and the characters are complex. Lowen is a determined and resilient character who is haunted by her past, and Jeremy is a charismatic and confident man with his own dark side.
As Lowen and Jeremy fall deeper in love, they both begin to unravel their secrets, each discovering more about themselves than they ever imagined. As they work together to uncover the truth, they must face their most difficult emotions and confront their own demons in order to save the ones they love.
The Plot
Verity by Colleen Hoover is a novel that takes a risk on genre. It doesn’t follow the usual route of a romance, instead it’s more of a thriller-mystery. It is a dark and unsettling read that will hold you captive and revolt you in more ways than one.
In Verity, we meet Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling author who accepts a job to complete three books for a popular writer, now incapacitated after an accident. While tasked with sorting through years of notes and outlines, she discovers an autobiography that was never intended for the public to see.
As she reads through the pages, she is captivated by Verity’s retelling of her past. From her painful childhood to the day she conceived Harper, the autobiography is an unsettling glimpse into the darkest parts of Verity’s life.
Jeremy, Verity’s husband, is a grieving father who suffers from depression and anxiety. He is also a devoted family man who worships the ground his son walks on and will do anything to protect him from any further pain.
But when he finds a manuscript in Verity’s office that contains the worst secrets she has ever told him, he begins to have doubts about his wife and their marriage. He starts to suspect that she is lying to him, and the terrifying truth she has written in her autobiography could destroy their relationship forever.
It is a hard choice to make, but Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing it could devastate him. But as her feelings for Jeremy grow, she begins to understand that if she could share his wife’s words with him, it would benefit them both in ways she couldn’t even imagine.
She soon finds a letter in the same room, from Verity, which states that So Be It was just a writing exercise designed to help her practice writing villain characters. It then explains that she had tried to kill Verity, but she faked her injuries and it was a mistake.
Eventually she kills her and she makes it look like an accident. But she doesn’t leave Jeremy alone for long. He then comes into her bedroom and catches her on the baby monitor. Afterwards, she tries to kill him as well.
The Writing
Colleen Hoover, best known for writing romance novels, has branched out into the thriller genre with Verity. The book, which is heavily influenced by Gillian Flynn and Daphne du Maurier, is a dark and compelling page turner that has left readers feeling scared and confused.
Despite being her first novel outside of her comfort zone, Colleen Hoover has managed to pull off the genre beautifully with Verity. The story follows struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh who takes on a job to help complete a bestselling author’s last three books after the author is in an induced coma following an accident.
As she sifts through her notes, Lowen stumbles upon an autobiography written by Verity that reveals dark secrets about the author’s life. The autobiography isn’t meant to be read, but it opens up a Pandora’s box of terrifying family secrets that Lowen can’t seem to get past.
It turns out that Verity, a successful and popular author, had a very dark side. She was a sex-crazed sociopath who murdered one of her daughters. She also had a very odd and weird religious background.
The book was very well written, and it kept me guessing right until the end. I also liked how Verity and her husband Jeremy played different roles in the story. It was interesting to see how Verity viewed herself as an author, and how her husband acted towards her.
Another thing that I loved about the book was that the writing was really detailed and descriptive. It felt like the characters were all very real and I was really invested in them.
I thought the plot was a bit slow at the beginning, but it picked up speed quickly. I enjoyed how Colleen Hoover took a look at the different kinds of authors and how they viewed themselves as writers. It was interesting to read about Verity and Jeremy’s relationship, and how it evolved into something quite unhealthy.
I also liked how the book delved into the mental health of authors, and the way it portrayed them. The book was a great read and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading scary stories and psychological thrillers.
