Something wicked this way comes...

Readers may have read the famous poem ‘The Listeners’ by Walter de la Mare. The poem tells the story of an unnamed traveller approaching an abandoned house seemingly inhabited by ghosts. The poem leaves many questions unanswered. Colleen Hoover’s ‘Verity’ vaguely reminds one of ‘The Listeners’.

Lowen Ashleigh finds an unfinished manuscript for an autobiography. The pages detail the intimacies of Verity and Jeremy’s relationship, her dark thoughts, and a series of shocking admissions around Verity’s role as a mother. So far so good. But when the plot of a thriller like this proceeds at a funereal pace, readers tend to lose interest. But that said, an eerie spookiness pervades the pages of this thriller and a palpable feeling of ‘what next’ permeates it. Though the graphic and explicit descriptions of lovemaking can make a few readers feel squeamish, these aren’t wholly incongruous and have been woven into the plot quite seamlessly. That apart, some aspects like harm to kids, abuse and suicide heighten the sense of darkness as well as uneasiness.

Nowadays, writers write with a strong foreknowledge of their readers’ inclinations, tastes and proclivities. In a way, it’s good as it makes their works relatable to a new generation eager to consume ‘frothy reads’.

There’s an element of ghastliness in the book which may be a new experience for those who have read Colleen Hoover’s earlier works. The author is basically a romance novelist who has made an attempt to reinvent herself. And in the final analysis, she has not done a bad job of it.