Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

I read and liked The Verifiers okay and decided to give this a try as well to see if I enjoyed it, but I felt like it was, in so many ways, just a repeat of book one. It is incredibly well written and the cultural dynamics are interesting and fun to read but the actual main plot of the book wasn't gripping enough for me especially for a semi detective novel.

This is the second in what is being called the Claudia Lin series, the first being the very successful The Verifiers which I read and enjoyed.

Picking up where the first book left off, Claudia is co partner with two others in Veracity which, while maintaining a low, secretive profile, provides a service that investigates if those who post in online dating sites are truthful in their interactions with potential partners. When they uncover a possible AI plot by one of the sites which may also involve murder, they work to untangle a web of deceit.

Similar to The Verifiers, this is a very contemporary story that is so much more than just a mystery. There are family relationships, cultural stereotypes, information about the internet dating industry and the negatives encountered in our online, AI influenced world, as well as a homage to classic mystery and espionage stories. I did think that it wandered around a bit in the middle but redeemed itself in the end. Those more in the know about all things tech than I am may not feel so lost.

The Rivals was a great follow up to The Verifiers, and I really hope there will be a book 3! Jane Pek does an excellent job of creating a noir atmosphere that's set in the tech world of today's online dating companies. The tensions within her family, and with Becks, her colleague/love interest are as interesting as the ongoing case they're working.

The novel presents an interesting concept with its blend of mystery, technology, and romance, but unfortunately, it falls short in execution. The protagonist, Claudia Lin, is an engaging character on paper—a mystery novel enthusiast who lands a job at a dating detective agency—. Still, her journey feels somewhat predictable and lacks the depth that could have made the story more compelling.

The idea of uncovering a far-reaching AI conspiracy within the world of online dating is intriguing, yet the plot never fully capitalizes on its potential. The pacing feels uneven, with certain sections dragging while others rush through crucial developments. The supporting characters, like tech-savvy Squirrel and the enigmatic Becks, offer some moments of interest, but they, too, remain underdeveloped, making it hard to invest in their stories entirely.

The romantic subplot, which involves Claudia’s growing feelings for Becks and a target of their investigation, sometimes feels forced, distracting from the main narrative rather than enhancing it. The tension and suspense that should drive a mystery novel are somewhat lacking; the twists are predictable, and the stakes never feel as high as they should.

While the novel has a unique premise and some entertaining moments, it doesn’t quite live up to its potential. The story could have benefitted from a tighter plot and more nuanced character development. It’s an enjoyable read for fans of light mysteries.

I did not realize that this was book 2 in the series. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the story set in the world on online dating. I might seek out the first book to understand the connective thread between the two books.

A good sequel that answers some things yet still brings up more questions. Like who will die next? Will she do it? Will he do it? All the while making you feel like you're in the New York City landscape. While your heart hurts a bit as you figure out what to do about your dysfunctional family.

The second book in the series, The Rivals hums with suspense and espionage. The book is quite clear that Spy meets Spy here, and the main character was a reluctant but thorough secret agent.
huge
I received a NetGalley copy, but I was already huge a fan.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, finding it to be a fun mystery with a very particular voice, and I was able to jump right back into this next one despite having read the first quite some time ago. I think you'll know from the first chapter whether this one is for you, because you immediately get a sense of who the narrator is and the world of dating mysteries she inhabits. It is, to be clear, definitely for me. (I also really love the cover, FWIW.)

this was a very good sequel!

i got an arc for the verifiers when it first came out, back in 2022, and i liked it! it was a very interesting concept, one that i definitely was not familiar with, but it hooked me. i reread it a couple days ago, and when i found out that a sequel was coming out this year, i requested it eagerly. i think overall that the rivals is better than the verifiers, and that i'm really eager to see where this series is going.

this book follows claudia lin, new partner at veracity, a dating detective agency. she and her partners, becks and squirrel, are working to uncover the secrets behind the synthetic accounts on dating profiles, and the stakes are upped from the last book. it also follows claudia's relationship with her family. i thought this book was written better than the first book; i found myself a bit confused while reading the first book, and i think this book was more clear and straightforward in its writing. i thought the plot was really inventive as well; all these loose threads were weaving together.

the protagonist, claudia, is someone who's quite easy to root for; her voice is so interesting and she is a compelling character, especially with her relationships to her siblings. i really like how her and becks' relationship was developed throughout the book; the scene at the concert??? i was rooting so hard for them.

i think this sequel is really quite good and a fitting sequel to the first book. i would definitely reccomend this to mystery and thriller fans, and i can't wait to see how the story concludes. four stars!

thanks to netgalley and knopf for the arc!

I read the first book and really enjoyed it. I was hoping this book would be just as good and I was pleasantly surprised that it was! I love that the main character is a queer detective. I also love that this book is so much more than a mystery, it includes family issues and relationships. I also laughed a few times throughout the book. This is a well rounded book that I recommend!

WOWWWWW!
I didn't realize this was a book 2 but was still able to follow along and have already purchased book 1.
In Jane Pek's The Rivals, we meet Claudia Lin, a queer, Asian-American, detective novel fan weighed down by bills and family responsabilities.

Claudia is now working at Veracity, a company that verifies prospective dates in New York City. It's a fun and fast moving job that keeps her on her toes and close to the mysterious Becks, her co-president. In the Rivals, Veracity is approached by a young man who thinks his ex is punishing him by creating a clone entry in the matching company that employs him. The Veracity team isn't sure what can be done but dig in further following the client's death.

What happens next includes lots of family issues, love issues, every day dating issues as well as a look at what technology can do to the human race. Jane Pek writes with a light hand and pivots through mystery and thriller plot points while including laugh out loud throwaway comments and uniquely written observations on life. Pek is one of a kind and this is a book not to be missed!
#Knopfpantheonvintageanchor #vintagebooks #vintage #janepek #therivals #theverifiers

What a fun, well-written, and fundamentally baffling book. That is, I loved the characters and their complicated relationships, the New York setting that made me feel as if I was there, and the style, which combines sassy humor and insight with a dose of occasional gravity. Brilliant.

The plot - well, it's possibly my fault for being too lazy to really concentrate on following the twists and turns, and I kept having to push away a nagging thought (really? dating sites, when the much more complete and unfiltered data gathering comes through other sites, like Google search and other places where we aren't necessarily showing off?) Adding the body-monitoring software helped with that skepticism, but I have to admit to being a bit of a skeptic that data-devouring companies actually wield as much power as they claim to advertisers, because honestly, they don't work nearly as well as they say. But hey, it's fiction. Just like those prospectuses. And it's fine with me to make these outfits villains. Because they are, even if they don't perform as advertised. The link between video game zombies and data doubles is really thought-provoking.

Apart from not always knowing what the heck was going on, I was especially taken with the family drama roiling in the background. Clearly, there's a third book in the works given the way this one ended. I'm sure I'll have to read it if only to find out what is up with that long-lost father. And what happens to Charles?? I need to know.

I want to start by saying I was thrilled to be able to read this before its release— I was a huge fan of The Verifiers. People like to say that sequels are never as good as the original, but The Rivals absolutely surpassed expectations. I enjoyed it as much, if not more than, the original. I will be preordering the book to have the hard copy when it comes out in December!

Claudia Lin is back to solving mysteries in this sequel to The Verifiers. With Komla gone, she is now a co-owner of Veracity, the mostly-secret detective agency that “verifies” their clients’ online dating matches. The mystery from the first novel continues— there’s more of the high-tech corporations and their conspiracies, more deaths, and more people who aren’t exactly as they seem.

There is something about Jane Pek’s writing that I love. It’s just sophisticated enough to still be accessible, with colorful and vivid prose. I am charmed by all of the characters she writes, and enamored with Pek’s ability to write an engaging mystery, because I think that writing a good mystery is hard to do. The plot is layered and unique and totally unlike other modern mystery novels—in the best way. Even the way Pek weaves into the book scenes and witticisms from Claudia’s cherished Inspector Yuan novels (a fictional detective series that impresses upon its readers the importance of filial piety) is genius and so fun. Plus, The Rivals is set in New York City in a way that feels so intentional (à la NYC being the fifth character in Sex and the City), and I really enjoyed that.

The publishing industry continues to churn out mystery novels, and yet, most mystery novel protagonists are still pretty homogenous. But Claudia stands out. Not only is she a Chinese-American lesbian, she’s also a genuinely intriguing character with a likable personality and interesting backstory. Her internal dialogue is biting and funny, her flaws (one of which, in her words, is her “elastic treatment of time”) are relatable and even charming, and given that she’s smart and detail-oriented, she’s very believable as a normal-woman-turned-detective.
I also enjoyed reading more about Claudia’s relationships— with her family, with new character Amalia, and especially with Becks. Very eager to read the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the ARC.

I am so happy I received this ARC. I was so hyped after reading The Verifiers and I was not disappointed. Claudia is still on her murder mystery kick but now it's mixed with a spy feature. New characters come into her life while some try to cut themselves out. I love Jane Pek's writing and I can't wait to soak up everything she writes

The Rivals is a fun sequel to The Verifiers, continuing the mystery and adding more of a spy/espionage element to this one. I liked getting more backstory to Claudia’s family, that definitely added to the suspense and intrigue. I’m very curious where the next one will go, if another new genre is added, and what happens with Claudia and Becks!

I wish every book I read was as exciting and intricate as this series. I read the first book over a year and a half ago and Jane Pek did an excellent job at jogging my memory while simultaneously moving the story forward. There are definitely parts where things get a little confusing, but they are made more clear as you read along. Also, there are a lot of subplots going on here, but they do all connect in the end. I am already excited for the 3rd book, and this one didn’t even come out yet! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC :)

Thrilled I got to read the sequel so soon! Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.

This was a more polished novel compared to very enjoyable “Verifiers.” In her novel, Jane Pek does a great job of weaving together a tapestry of plot knots where, once you untangle one, you get three more. But I never felt confused or frustrated with what was revealed; I just wanted to learn more.

In “The Rivals,” we find out there’s more that’s fraught in the online dating industry that goes beyond the ambitions of a handful of people from the last novel compared the the last novel. There are lot of details about what could be possible with AI and machine learning - not just within online dating (are we the zombies?). Pek really went into the weeds on some of these details without ever feeling confusing or overly jargony.

As interested as I was in Claudia’s case though, I was just as invested in her relationships with her family, her friends, her colleagues, and her romantic prospects. I’m starting to love all of these quirky, complex people she has in her life.

The only thing that I couldn’t connect with was the motivations of one of the nefarious characters in the book. I felt like there weren’t enough details about their personality or what happened in their past to make what happened in the end feel…understandable, I guess? Maybe we learn about them in another book (which I’m hoping comes out soon after this one), but that seems unlikely.

This ended up being such a fun book and I’ll be sure to recommend it to everyone. Again, thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers for the early access!

The Rivals by Jane Pek is a sequel to The Verifiers, featuring Claudia, a twenty something who works as an online investigator of sorts. She and Becks co-own Veracity, a company that verifies the honesty of online profiles in the matchmaking world. They also are wannabe real detectives and work to sort out suspicious deaths and conspiracies within their online community.
This is very smart (almost too smart for those of us who aren’t tech savvy), witty and cynical. Claudia and Becks are likable characters. I do feel some of the details of how online systems work were above my head, and it was also somewhat frightening to realize how creepy it is online with geolocating. But overall, the story is a lot of fun.
I missed the deeper sibling relationships we got in The Verifiers with the three C text thread but we do still get some major side plots with Charles and Coraline. I love Claudia’s voice. She is funny and judgemental and sarcastic.
It ended with multiple cliffhangers that ensure a third book must be in the works. Which is fine by me! Thank you to Net Galley and Knopf,Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for my ARC. Read this is you are a fan of the current Sherlock series (Benedict Cumberbatch) or want a modern day Nancy Drew.

I enjoyed this book despite never really buying into the threat the matchmaker companies present.Claudia is impulsive, enough to really be a liability to an investigation company of any sort, but her risk taking does move her team along towards new, sometimes useful information. The world-building in this book is fun, a near future that does seem possible, though realistically humans are still lazy enough to meet, befriend and date the people nearby, enough that the premise of the matchmaking companies being so powerful seems unlikely.Still, if you suspend disbelief enough to accept that these companies are that powerful and do in fact present a significant threat to society, this story is fun, nicely paced and creative.

The Rivals is a follow up to Pek's novel the Verifiers.
Claudia is involved in a matchmaking, classic spy novel this time. It crosses into the techy, sci-fi arena but is overall a classic detective story.

The language is sublime, with keen observations of human nature and the plot is fascinating. I did get lost a bit with all of the threads going - especially the technology that I wasn't familiar with.

That said - it is a terrific book and if you love The Verifiers you will love this book too. Both books do stand alone