The Verifiers

De: Jane Pek

Narrado por: 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.

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.