The novel was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance in 2019 and won the British Book Award for Pageturner in 2023 and the Lovelybooks Leserpreis for Romance in 2020.[1][2][3]
Verity is a romantic thriller novel by American author Colleen Hoover. It was originally self-published on December 7, 2018, and later republished by Grand Central Publishing (an imprint of Hachette Book Group) in 2021 following a surge in popularity. [4]The book represents a departure from Hoover’s earlier works, which are primarily contemporary romance. [5]
The narrative follows Lowen Ashleigh, a writer who is hired to complete a bestselling book series after its original author, Verity Crawford, is left unable to continue due to an accident. While staying at the Crawford family home, Lowen discovers an unfinished manuscript that reveals unsettling details about Verity’s past. Colleen Hoover incorporates elements of suspense and psychological tension, with themes including obsession, deception, and the shifting boundaries between truth and fiction in this novel.
Plot
The novel opens with Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer, reflecting on her difficult life and career. She is still processing the death of her mother, which left her emotionally isolated and responsible for her own financial survival. Lowen’s circumstances make her cautious yet eager for any opportunity that could advance her writing career.
On her way to meet Jeremy Crawford for an interview about ghostwriting the remaining books in his wife Verity Crawford’s bestselling series, Lowen witnesses a road accident. Blood splashes onto her clothes, leaving her shaken and distressed. When she finally meets Jeremy, he helps her calm down and reassures her, surprising Lowen with his warmth and compassion.
Lowen learns that Verity Crawford is incapacitated following a severe accident, leaving her unable to continue writing. Jeremy proposes that Lowen ghostwrite Verity’s novels, and she agrees to visit the Crawford home to begin the work.
Arriving at the remote, eerie lake house, Lowen meets the non-responsive and bedridden Verity. Sifting through Verity’s notes, Lowen finds a hidden, unpublished autobiography manuscript labeled "So Be It", in which Verity describes her obsessive love for Jeremy and jealousy toward their twin daughters, Chastin and Harper, whom she viewed as competition for his affection.
Verity's writing admits to faking affection for her children, and wishing for Harper’s death after Chastin’s death due to an allergic reaction in the manuscript. She also admits to witnessing Harper’s drowning without intervening. Lowen begins to believe that Verity may be dangerous and faking her condition.
Lowen starts falling for Jeremy, who appears emotionally broken and vulnerable. They begin a romantic relationship. She does not reveal the manuscript to him right away.
Lowen shows Jeremy the manuscript, saying she fears Verity has been faking. Jeremy supposedly reads the manuscript privately from Lowen; who overhears an outburst from Jeremy. Lowen sees Jeremy physically confronting Verity on the baby camera system. She joins Jeremy in an attempt to stop him from attacking Verity however Jeremy implies that they need to kill Verity so Lowen helps make it appear she died of natural causes.
Later she discovers a hidden letter from Verity beneath a floorboard. In the letter, Verity claims that the manuscript So Be It was a work of fiction written from the perspective of a villain. She asserts that she never harmed her children and explains that she faked her paralysis because she feared for her safety after Jeremy’s reaction to the manuscript.
Lowen destroys the letter, deciding that the truth—whatever it may be—should remain buried.
Characters
Lowen Ashleigh
Lowen is the novel’s protagonist, a struggling writer with financial troubles and little confidence in her career. After her mother’s death, she feels isolated and vulnerable. Her life takes a sharp turn when she is offered the chance to ghostwrite Verity Crawford’s bestselling series. Curious and cautious, Lowen discovers Verity’s chilling manuscript, which draws her deeper into the Crawfords’ dark family secrets. As she stays longer in the Crawford home, Lowen becomes emotionally entangled with Jeremy, raising questions about loyalty, morality, and truth.
Verity Crawford
Verity is a famous author who, after a near-fatal accident, is left bedridden and unresponsive—or so it seems. Before this, she shared a seemingly perfect life with her husband Jeremy and their three children—Chastin, Harper, and Crew.
Her hidden manuscript So Be It reveals disturbing thoughts about her children and an obsessive love for Jeremy, painting her as manipulative and cruel. But a secret letter later suggests the manuscript was only a writing exercise, leaving her true nature uncertain. Is Verity a heartless villain, or a misunderstood woman trapped by fear and circumstance seminarians the plot for the reader to decide.
Jeremy Crawford
Jeremy, Verity’s husband, is presented as a devoted yet broken man who has endured unimaginable loss. With two daughters dead and his wife incapacitated, he tries to keep his family together while protecting his surviving son, Crew. Jeremy’s relationship with Lowen adds complexity to his character—torn between grief, anger, and the possibility of new love. His reaction to Verity’s manuscript and the choices he makes later in the story raise moral questions about his role in the family tragedy.
Crew Crawford
Crew is Verity and Jeremy’s young son, the only surviving child after the deaths of his sisters. Innocent and vulnerable, Crew is often caught between his parents’ fractured world. His presence highlights what is truly at stake and adds emotional depth to the novel’s tense atmosphere.
Chastin and Harper Crawford
The twin daughters of Jeremy and Verity serve as haunting figures in the novel. Chastin dies from an allergic reaction, while Harper later drowns in a lake. In Verity’s manuscript, these deaths are framed as a result of her jealousy and neglect, though the truth remains uncertain. Their absence looms heavily over the family, shaping the narrative’s central conflicts.
Editions
The novel was initially released in Kindle edition on December 7, 2018. Three days later, December 10, 2018, it was released in paperback.[4]
It was announced in 2020 that Amazon Studios would adapt the novel into a film of the same name, with the screenplay being produced by April Maguire and Will Honley.[6]
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