In Jane Pek's debut novel, THE VERIFIERS, protagonist Claudia Lin was inspired by her favorite fictional sleuth, Inspector Yuan, which ultimately informed her own amateur detective work. In THE RIVALS, Claudia finds herself reluctantly turning to the fictional world of the Somnang Files, a series of spy films, as her world increasingly resembles an espionage thriller.

Claudia is now part owner of Veracity, a detective agency whose (ostensible) mission is to uncover the lies told by users of online dating sites so that prospective partners can know if their matches are trustworthy. In THE VERIFIERS, however, Claudia and her colleagues stumbled onto much bigger deceptions being committed not only by individuals but by the online matchmakers themselves --- deceptions that resulted in murder.

"Not all the loose ends are tied up here, which is a good thing, since the novel’s conclusion sets up for an exciting (and somewhat surprising) third installment."

This part of Veracity's work isn't publicly known, and although Claudia and her partners intended to spend more time secretly investigating the deceptive tactics of these online dating sites, they haven't gotten very far. That is, until one very peculiar client, Pradeep Mehta, alerts them to the fact that someone seems to have created a fake online profile, using a different name but all of his information --- including information that he never shared on his own dating profile. The Veracity team can't figure out how to help him and reluctantly sends him on his way. But just a couple of weeks later, they learn that he was killed in a cycling accident.

Claudia's investigation of Pradeep's death leads her to Matthew Espersen, Pradeep's former boyfriend, who also happens to be a matchmaking employee willing to share secrets about his employer's unethical practices. At the same time, Claudia is growing uncomfortably attracted to Amalia Suarez. She was once assigned to investigate Amalia on behalf of a different client who happens to be a big fan of the Somnang Files. Claudia knows she's crossing some ethical lines of her own by getting involved with a target. Is she setting herself up for heartbreak, or a different kind of double-crossing?

In THE RIVALS, Jane Pek cleverly uses tropes from spy novels and films, even as she continues to build her own unique tech-driven narrative. There's plenty of substance here, ranging from computer programming and corporate espionage to tense family dynamics and Claudia's ever-growing attraction to her prickly colleague, Becks. But the book also doesn't take itself too seriously, thanks to Claudia's hilarious narrative voice and the occasionally self-referential tone (for example, in the first chapter, Claudia compares Becks to "the character saddled with bringing the reader up to speed in chapter one of a sequel").

Not all the loose ends are tied up here, which is a good thing, since the novel’s conclusion sets up for an exciting (and somewhat surprising) third installment. Readers will be wondering which new genre Claudia's story will resemble next.