I am full on obsessed with this book. Claudia Lin is young woman chock-full of intelligence, wit, and endless curiosity. I basically want her to be my best friend. Jane Pek has created a tech match-making world that is frighteningly possible, if not probable. I appreciated her attention to detailed storytelling - all the bike riding/drama/specificity I was living for - while keeping the suspense moving. I did not want this book to end and am stoked for so many different age groups and demographics to get their hands on it. It is truly a spectacular, and smart read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Verifiers.

I'm a huge fan of mysteries and an Asian American so I was excited to see an Asian American heroine featured in The Verifiers.

Claudia Lin is a smart, savvy, resourceful young woman; she's the youngest of three, not your typical Chinese daughter (she doesn't like to dress up, bikes everywhere and prefers girls), and loves mysteries.

When a client is found dead and is discovered to not be who she claimed to be, Claudia immerses herself in an investigation that brings into sharp focus what it means to live and love in a digital world where nothing is ever private anymore.

There were many things to love about The Verifiers; the writing is good, Claudia is a relatable, very likable character especially when she talks about her family and the struggles her mother and siblings went through as immigrants.

I loved the descriptions of the Asian foods they ate, NYC and Queens, though perhaps I'm biased as a born and bred local New Yorker.

There were only a couple of things I wasn't a fan of; first, the mystery was tech-y and not very interesting or compelling to me.

Second, in the beginning I enjoyed Claudia's constant references to a mystery series she loves and learns from but after the 11th reference, this got old.

Claudia began to sound a bit childish and immature. She's young, I get it, only 25, but her constant references became tedious.

I did like the ending, which means a sequel is in the works. I'm looking forward to the next book!

A fresh take on the classic mystery novel, The Verifiers is a gripping, thrilling debut that you won’t want to put down.

MV Rating: 7/10
* Set in NYC in the height of the online dating scene, Claudia finds herself with a new exciting job, and a dead client.
* Like Claudia, I can’t just drop something once I’m intrigued, and the wild ride that follows is worth the slow burn build.
*There are coming of age within your family elements, but overall the story is a simple, engaging mystery with a very satisfying ending.

Overall this one is a must-read here at GMTA! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This was a really grounded mystery - not a lot felt outlandish or crazy and I think that worked both for and against the enjoyability of the book. Claudia is a fun character who actually has brain cells (!!!) which is always a perk in mystery novels. The writing wasn't anything spectacular but it was enjoyable to read. All the characters are interesting although I think the book's strongest point was the themes it covered. The mystery itself is ehhh but the ending was super intriguing.

Absolutely loved this modern mystery book!

This book is fun and cozy, but it most importantly felt realistic. The main "case" revolves around who's telling the truth in the online dating world (who hasn't wondered if that perfect match is really who they say they are?!). So many mysteries these days feel over-the-top and forced, by Jane Pek managed to write one that's twists, turns, and final resolve come naturally and feel rooted in reality and today's technology.

The Verifiers is filled with diverse, fully formed characters (the main character Claudia is Asian and LGBTQ) that each have their own needs, desires, and issues. The setting of NYC feels relatable to how most people live in NYC, with roommates living in outer boroughs. It was easy to imagine this book as a tv series in my head because the characters and their world are so well-crafted.

I want to spend more time with The Verifiers, and it seems like we can expect Pek to deliver a sequel based on where we end. If so, I'll be pre-ordering because I want to be friends with Claudia and to continue to follow her detective work.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Vintage . and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Quirky, quaint, fun!

As a lifelong mystery fan and a Chinese-Canadian, words cannot express how refreshing it was to read about a protagonist that shares my heritage (and university major). Disenchanted with police procedurals and tired of the plain homogeny of the mystery space, Claudia Lin is everything I wanted in an up-and-coming detective. Smart, ambitious, and ready to kick model minority stereotypes to the curb, Claudia is someone that I can both see both echoes of myself in and could see being one of my friends . Jane Pek does an excellent job portraying the second-generation immigrant experience, with laugh-out-loud cultural blunders, nagging parental expectations, and incredibly powerful sibling relationships driven by both love and jealousy. With an impressive cast of deeply drawn characters, and an addictive locked-room mystery that speaks to our technologically driven times, Pek's debut novel kept me enraptured and left me hungry for more!