The Verifiers

By: Jane Pek

Narrated by: Eunice Wong

ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST'S BEST MYSTERY BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Introducing Claudia Lin: a sharp-witted amateur sleuth for the 21st century. This debut novel follows Claudia as she verifies people's online lives, and lies, for a dating detective agency in New York City. Until a client with an unusual request goes missing....

“The world of social media, big tech and internet connectivity provides fertile new ground for humans to deceive, defraud and possibly murder one another.... Well rendered and charming.... Original and intriguing.” —The New York Times Book Review

Claudia is used to disregarding her fractious family’s model-minority expectations: she has no interest in finding either a conventional career or a nice Chinese boy. She’s also used to keeping secrets from them, such as that she prefers girls—and that she's just been stealth-recruited by Veracity, a referrals-only online-dating detective agency.

A lifelong mystery reader who wrote her senior thesis on Jane Austen, Claudia believes she's landed her ideal job. But when a client vanishes, Claudia breaks protocol to investigate—and uncovers a maelstrom of personal and corporate deceit. Part literary mystery, part family story, The Verifiers is a clever and incisive examination of how technology shapes our choices, and the nature of romantic love in the digital age.

©2022 Jane Pek (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR • THE WASHINGTON POST • BOOKRIOT • SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL • NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

LONGLISTED FOR THE VCU CABELL FIRST NOVELIST AWARD
FINALIST FOR THE JOSEPH HANSEN AWARD FOR LGBTQ CRIME WRITING
NOMINATED FOR THE LEFTY AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT MYSTERY

ONE OF THE YEAR'S MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS! Harper’s Bazaar • Good Morning America • BuzzFeed • USA Today • Electric Lit • Literary Hub • Book Riot • Bustle • CrimeReads • Medium • Alma • Lambda Literary • LGBTQ Reads • PopSugar • Publishers Weekly

“Pek’s engrossing debut novel gives us a thoroughly modern twist on classic detective fiction.”
—Editors’ Choice, The New York Times Book Review

“I loved this book. I'm a huge fan of Veronica Mars, and I was a big Nancy Drew fan as a kid, and it really scratched that same itch.”
—Natalie Escobar, NPR's "Weekend Edition"

“A cool, cerebral, and very funny novel. . . . Claudia is the seductive protagonist in a tale that delves into the dark heart of contemporary technology, not to mention the foibles of the human heart. With an inquisitive, clever, and curious narrator, this adventurous mystery is both scary and hilarious.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Amateur sleuth genre with amateur editing

Well thought out plot blending tech, privacy family and mystery. At times the narrative was clumsy, potentially improved by crisper editing. The diversity of the characters was appealing.

Fresh and fun

Told in the first person, the narrator is a literate, articulate commentator on a murder , and on our societal dive into the dangerous swamp of social media. the Verifiers is witty and wise, if a tad overwritten and repetitive. I'll look forward to Pek's next

Started out good, but…

Well written book with a delightful protagonist and excellent narrator. So why only 4 stars? I found the final third or so of the story to be disappointing and almost boring. Maybe I’m not as interested in AI as I should be?

Brilliant, fun, original

Very clever take on the mystery novel, brought bleeding-edge current with dating technology and privacy issues. Top that with a sharp NYC millennial wit and a heartbreakingly humorous window on the intimate complexities of a semi-broken Asian family, and you have an irresistible page-turner.

I haven’t this much fun and engagement with a novel in months, and can’t wait for what Jane Pek will treat us to next!

A Charming Lovable Heroine in an Engaging Whodunit

A dynamite debut novel from Jane Pek, who's a bit like several characters in this book.

Claudia is a totally lovable heroine who is well drawn as are the other characters in this engaging, funny, quirky whodunit. Her family, her colleagues and the people she meets doing her job are all delightfully flawed. The mystery, the characters and Claudia's reliance on guidance from her favorite mystery novels definitely kept my attention.

Eunice Wong's voice and total understanding of the characters adds to the overall effect of the story.

I hope Jane Pek will write more stories with Claudia as the heroine. I'm ready to go on more adventures with Claudia, on or off her bicycle.

Fresh and Fun Modern Day Mystery

This book was charming and managed to create a whodunnit in New York City with a plucky Taiwanese-American heroine. It hits the mother-daughter and immigrant tale buttons as well.

The first half of The Verifiers is a fun book.

The first half of The Verifiers is a fun book. The second half is tedious.

The protagonist is a bit too obsessive about the murder mystery she is solving and that is "cute" for the first half. In the second half the obsessive actions, dialogue, blah blah get repetitive and annoying. After a while listening to the character go on and on about the murder is like listening to a friend who just "won't shut up" about their EX.

I did like The Verifiers but I couldn't finish it. The book could have used a haircut to make the story shorter which would have kept the reader engaged without becoming annoying.

The reader was best part

The book seemed to be unfolding well, but then got really confusing. The last part, where the mystery is revealed was so complicated and went so fast I couldn’t keep up. It was all shoved into a short part of the story. Many of the characters were not useful to the story and ones who were important were not developed.
I was ultimately disappointed.

Engaging modern mystery!

Definitely a new favorite that I would listen to again!
Narrator captured the main character well & good characterizations of the others.
Enjoyed the detecting activities around New York that seemed believable and the interesting dynamics with her family/colleagues - would read more.

Too many literary references

The story was good but the references all the time to characters from books and what they would do made the story drag.