Feeds

Verity is dark, twisted and disturbing, yet a terrific page turner. It's the story of Lowen Ashleigh, a small time author who has run out of money following her mother's cancer treatment. Lowen's literary agent Corey, who was also her ex, brings her an unusual offer - an offer to complete three books in the Virtue series of the best selling author, Verity Crawford. As luck would have it, Lowen meets Jeremy Crawford, Verity's husband, by accident, even before she meets him for the publishers meeting. Initially, Lowen has her own doubts, but Jeremy convinces her that she can do it. Lowen is also desperately in need of money, and has been evicted from her rented apart ment. So she gets invited to stay over at the Crawford's house, a big sprawling property overseeing a lake, to go over Verity's office and plan the outlines for the forthcoming novels. As Lowen starts living in their house, she learns about the tragedies this family has gone through. They have recently lost their twin girls, and now Verity is indisposed following a car wreck. Crew, their five year old boy, seems to be the only thing that brings life to the house. While going through Verity's work, Lowen finds a secret autobiography written by Verity, and she can't resist the temptation of reading it, convincing herself that she will be better able to understand how Verity's mind works, which will help her complete the remaining novels in the series. However, the autobiography turns out to be a dark, twisted and sordid tale, and Lowen begins questioning everything that is happening around her. At the same time, she begins noticing weird things in the house that Jeremy doesn't seem to notice at all. The story flits between Lowen's POV and the chapters between Verity's autobiography. The description keeps us hooked and tense throughout as we keep wondering what exactly happened. The language is lucid and flowing, yet simple. At one point I sort of predicted the end, but I was wrong. So the twist at the end was definitely a surprise for me. There are some very sensitive and graphic scenes described, so the reader has to be mentally prepared to read it. And there is lots and lots of sex. Some of which, I felt, was unnecessary, and distracting. Some part seemed a bit stretched, slightly unbelievable, but still it takes the story forward. But over all, I loved this edge of the seat gripping tale. It kept me awake till I had read the last word. I rate it 3.5 stars.