Editorial Content for Verity

From New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover comes VERITY, a tense and steamy tale of psychological suspense that combines her signature talent for romance with an utterly fresh and original take on the thriller genre.

Following the tragic --- and costly --- death of her mother, writer Lowen Ashleigh is on the brink of mental and financial ruin. An affair with her agent has run its course, she’s out of book ideas, and her savings are dwindling to a terrifying new low. So when her agent asks her to meet with a publisher, she’s hoping it will mean a book deal…or at least a decent royalty check. True to form, Lowen’s day starts off rough. She witnesses a brutal car accident that leaves her and her business-friendly attire covered in blood, a horrifying experience that is only moderately balanced out when an attractive man helps her clean up in a nearby coffee shop. Arriving late and frazzled, Lowen is shocked when she learns that she’ll be meeting not only with her agent and the publisher, but also with the man from the coffee shop: Jeremy Crawford.

"VERITY is an explosive, sexy thriller full of chilling admissions, incredible twists and turns, and some seriously creepy plotlines. I can honestly say that I’ve never read another thriller quite like it."

Jeremy’s wife, Verity, is the incomparable, bestselling author of a series of books centered on the seven deadly sins --- think Danielle Steel levels of success --- who recently has suffered an accident. Verity is unable to write the remaining three books in her series, and her fans are ravenous for more. Her publisher and husband believe that Lowen is the best woman for the job. Not only is her writing style similar, she loathes public events and is essentially a ghost herself, making her the perfect ghostwriter for someone in Verity’s condition.

After a tense round of bargaining and compromising (in which Lowen is helped, surprisingly, by Jeremy), Lowen agrees. Lucky for her, Jeremy has kept all of Verity’s notes and outlines preserved in their home office, and he encourages her to root through them and start her own work. With her lease wrapping up and the aforementioned money issues (not to mention the intimidating task of impersonating a beloved writer), Lowen agrees to visit the Crawfords’ mansion.

Upon arrival, Lowen is struck by the bizarreness of the experience --- and her lingering attraction to Jeremy. She is surprised to learn that Verity still lives there, immobile and mentally unreachable, cared for round-the-clock by Jeremy and a nurse, and visited often by their young son. Verity was injured in a car accident shortly after the deaths of her twin daughters (on the estate, no less), and there’s a tangible air of creepiness throughout the mansion, in Lowen’s interactions with the family and in her efforts to unpack years of Verity’s work and life. But that’s nothing compared to what Lowen uncovers when she begins digging through Verity’s office. In addition to notes on her bestselling series, Verity has left behind an unfinished manuscript that details her relationship with Jeremy, the deaths of her daughters, and the very sinister mind of a resentful woman.

Hoover alternates chapters between Lowen’s daily life with the Crawfords and passages from Verity’s memoir, each as breakneck as the other and utterly riveting. As Lowen reads about the steamy and obsessive early relationship between Verity and Jeremy, her own attraction to Jeremy grows…and he seems to reciprocate. Still, as she dives deeper into the mind of Verity, she starts to feel like she’s being watched. Strange events in the house lead her to wonder how present Verity really is, and how much of Verity’s life story is still being written.

VERITY is an explosive, sexy thriller full of chilling admissions, incredible twists and turns, and some seriously creepy plotlines. I can honestly say that I’ve never read another thriller quite like it. Hoover’s courage on the page is unparalleled, and her characters are all so deviously, deliciously flawed that every development is more compelling than the last. She packs a real punch here, and her pacing is perfectly matched by her control of her narrative, making for an unputdownable but still surprisingly deep and thought-provoking read (and did I mention steamy?). The novel is exquisitely, exceptionally tense, and her use of a dual narrative propels the reader faster and faster through each chapter until the book’s shocking conclusion, one of the best I have ever read.

Be warned that VERITY is a truly disturbing novel, but clearly one that Hoover had a lot of fun writing. Although I hate to use this term, it is an excellent guilty pleasure read for anyone who enjoys a villain’s point of view.