"The Verifiers" by Jane Pek is a captivating novel that weaves a tale of mystery and self-discovery. The story follows "The Verifiers," a group tasked with uncovering hidden truths and seeking redemption. With a diverse set of characters, the novel delves into their personal growth, emphasizing the power of forgiveness and second chances. Pek's enchanting prose and timely themes make this a relevant and uplifting read. Balancing thrilling mystery with emotional depth, the book leaves a lasting impact, reminding us of the significance of staying true to ourselves and seeking truth in a world that needs it more than ever.

This was an interesting concept for a story. I did not finish it, but it was not because of the book. It is one that I would consider picking up again in the future

Claudia Lin is a keeper of secrets which is ironic since her job entails uncovering the secrets of others. The Verifiers by Jane Pek involves an online dating agency that gets to the bottom of who people really are. When one of their clients go missing, it is Claudia’s job to find out what happened no matter the cost.

#net galley, #The Verifiers, #Mystery and intrigue, #dating apps

A very modern day mystery, with just the right touch of wit, intrigue, and danger. Claudia Lin is is recruited to join Verifiers, an online dating detective agency. When a client goes missing, she investigates (on her own) and begins to uncover layers of fraud and deceit that puts her in danger. Well written, clever, and well developed characters make for an entertaining and intelligent read.

I had heard good things about The Verifiers, but it was still a delightful surprise. The main character is smart, headstrong, and thoughtful, and she's determined to approach life like her favorite detective. The mystery itself is also very timely and conceptually interesting. Claudia works for a company that verifies whether people are telling the truth in their dating profiles, and this gets her investigating and thinking about data collection and privacy. Pek gives the reader a satisfying mystery with a fully developed main character dealing with her own complicated family dynamics and personal life.

I'd give it a 4.5 if I could. My only small quibble with the book was that the ending got overcomplicated.

The uniqueness of this book was refreshing. An online dating detective agency??? Sign me up.

That said, the execution was a bit lacking. The premise was there, the characters were there, but the drama was not. I'm bummed about it.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was on the 2023 shortlist. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2023/01/2023-reading-list-announced-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

I loved the layers of this, the meta of it being a mystery book with a main character obsessed with a fictional mystery detective. It also felt very relevant to see exactly how much tech companies can know about someone at any given moment. One of my favorite parts was also the relationships with the family.

I liked the protagonist and her family, and I kept reading because of the intriguing plot. I wanted to know what happened. Not my favorite book of the year, but an interesting one.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is a good book that keeps your attention. I will definitely be recommending it to my friends and family.

Oh, how I wanted to love The Verifiers by Jane Pek. The synopsis of this one truly drew me in, but I ultimately could not connect with this one. Perhaps, I'll try again at some point, as I generally love female investigator stories.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I thought that The Verifiers was an okay read. Some good mystery and conflict between characters, but I wasn't all that taken with the story. The characters were fine, the lead was okay, but a little boring and delving into the current social aspects of dating and whatnot. This was just not my jam. Big pass for me.

Claudia has a lot of secrets and is also good at finding out what others are hiding. She works for a top-secret company as a detective with an online dating site. Really good premise for a story but didn't deliver.

It wasn't entirely what I had hoped. It led with "sapphic love story in a murder mystery" energy in the description, but it didn't quite deliver. I mean, it did with the murder mystery, but the sapphic love story was very, very brief... annoyingly brief. I also felt like the book didn't have to be so long and include quite as many dinners with her family... I got the gist 100 pages back.

clever book about all things techy. Not meant for my age group but I enjoyed it none the less! Very good debut and looking forward to more from this author,.

I tried to separate times to get into this book, but ultimately the writing style and story just aren't for me.

DNF

*I received an eARC via NetGalley, which is the only reason I'm posting this not-really-a-review review.*

Quirky, humorous, and modern- The Verifiers by Jane Pek is a fun quick read. Claudia Lin is a smart, independent, slightly misguided heroine- sleuthing around New York on her bike while also dodging the rigid roles her Chinese-American family wants to throw on her. Claudia works for a very secretive company that verifies people’s online dating profiles, but there might be more to it then she knows. When the customer she is working for suddenly dies, she is thrown into a convoluted mystery that uncovers a darker side to the whole matchmaking business. Claudia is not only in over her head at work, but she is keeping secrets from her own family; a family that has its own set of secrets. All of this comes together in a fast-paced, funny read. Pek develops her characters with warmth and sincerity, and I could definitely see Claudia going on to sleuth in future series. The one thing that didn’t work for me was Claudia’s sexuality. It was quite a point of contention with her mother at the start of the book, but then nothing really came of it. It seemed like a thread that was left to dangle; it felt like something that was forgotten along the way. Perhaps Pek is planning more novels with Claudia and that thread will be picked up again. Either way, The Verifiers was an entertaining mystery. Random rating system- 4/5. Thanks to @NetGalley for the eArc.

Loved this! I almost decided against reading this because of multiple negative reviews I read, so I encourage you to give it a shot if you are interested because it seems to be divisive and people either love it or hate it. The writing, characters, and plot all worked for me personally.

I think part of what needs to be considered here is genre expectations. The Verifiers walks a line between a traditional mystery and literary fiction. If you go into it expecting either one extreme or the other, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Our main character throws herself into figuring out a mystery and sometimes goes to what might be considered unrealistic lengths to continue. All the while, we are also seeing her life outside of that, with a focus on her familial relationships with her mother and siblings. These stories intertwine slightly plotwise, but moreso thematically. Major focus on the dating app industry and (separately!) a look at different ways that siblings can coexist under the shadow of differing parental expectations.

I had a lot of fun with this one at the beginning and felt that it held a lot of promise, but unfortunately the story dragged and I lost interest. It was hard to keep track of the plot and pushing through didn't feel worth it.

Started off good and seems like a good premise but began to feel like a slog about a third of the way in and obviously, that's never a good thing. Plot got more and more ridiculous until this reader lost interest.