Spoiler-Free Book Summary for Verity by Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover’s Verity is a gripping and thought-provoking novel that delves into the complexities of deception and truth. The book is a masterful exploration of the power of words and the consequences of keeping secrets, leaving a lasting impact on the reader.

Verity Book Summary

Verity is a novel by Colleen Hoover that tells the story of Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer who is offered a job completing the last three novels of a popular book series. The original author, Verity Crawford, was in an accident and is now alive but unresponsive. Lowen moves into the Crawford house to go over Verity’s notes, where she finds herself attracted to and falling for Verity’s husband, Jeremy. Strange occurrences make Lowen suspect that Verity is faking her medical condition.

As Lowen begins to read Verity’s book series called The Noble Virtues, she discovers that the series is written from an antagonist’s point of view. This revelation piques Lowen’s curiosity, and she starts to investigate Verity’s background. In Verity’s office, Lowen finds an autobiographical manuscript that Verity wrote that reveals her dark nature. The manuscript describes Verity’s resentment towards her twin daughters, Chastin and Harper, as she believed that Jeremy loved them more than her. Verity also admits to loving one of her daughters (Chastin) more than the other (Harper), and she has a dream that Harper will someday kill Chastin.

The story takes a tragic turn when Chastin, at the age of 8, dies from her peanut allergy while at a sleepover with Harper. This event breaks Verity’s heart and pushes her to the brink of insanity. Verity admits in the manuscript to murdering Harper six months later. She purposely took Crew and Harper out on a canoe, caused it to capsize and then only saved Crew.

Lowen is initially unsure whether to tell Jeremy about the manuscript, knowing it will only hurt him more. By now, she and Jeremy are sleeping together and discussing a possible future together. However, when Lowen thinks she sees Verity move, she tells Jeremy in order to protect him and Crew.

Jeremy confronts Verity, who finally admits to faking her medical condition. Jeremy then attacks Verity, and Lowen at first tells him to stop, but then she advises him to make it look like an accident. Verity is killed.

Months later, Lowen is pregnant and they are all living in a new house. The old house is due to be sold off. As they clean out the last of the stuff, Lowen discovers a letter that Verity wrote after her accident. The letter describes how Verity wrote the manuscript as a writing exercise to practice her antagonist point of view that she uses for her novels. She also writes about how Jeremy knew about the manuscript and had forced her into the “accident” because of it.

Afterwards, Lowen destroys the letter. However, the book ends with her being unsure as to whether the letter was true or just another manipulation from Verity. The novel is a psychological thriller that explores the themes of love, family, and the darker side of human nature. It keeps the reader guessing until the very end, and raises questions about the reliability of narrators and the blurred lines between reality and fiction.

Throughout the novel, the reader is pulled into the world of Verity Crawford, her family, and the characters of her book series. The story is a rollercoaster of emotions, and the reader is left questioning what is true and what is not. The novel is written in a way that makes the reader feel as if they are part of the story, and it is hard to put down. It is a novel that will stay with the reader long after they have finished it, making them question the power of the written word and the secrets that people keep.

Happy reading! ❤️