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Does anyone really know what time it is?

Cover of The Verifiers
A review of The Verifiers by Jane Pek

Claudia Lin is living a double life. Her mother and siblings think she's still working a low-level corporate job (found for her by her brother). In reality she's quit that job and taken an entry level investigative position with Veracity; a firm that investigates dating app misbehavior (not showing up for dates, cheating, lying, ghosting, etc). The work in her new job is extremely confidential, but that's not a problem for Claudia who is used to keeping secrets. Not only has she not told her family about her new job, she's also not told her Chinese immigrant mother that she's a lesbian, which is kind of awkward as her mother keeps expecting her to find a "nice Chinese boy" with whom to settle down. Claudia's personal drama aside, she's determined to be successful at her new job and eager to take on a larger investigative role with Veracity. So when a client, after several mysterious investigative requests, dies by apparent suicide, Claudia can't let it go. She wants to prove herself and she's convinced that the woman client did not kill herself. The more Claudia surreptitiously investigates, the more convinced she becomes that something far larger and more sinister is happening.

I loved this debut from author Pek and I loved Claudia Lin. She makes some mistakes in her quest, but she's smart enough to know when she's in trouble and competent enough to see it all through. The supporting cast, her bosses and her family, were all fully-developed and the plot involving the business of dating apps was actually kind of fascinating. All good stuff and I look forward to seeing Claudia again (fingers crossed there's a sequel in the works).

Jan 19, 2022