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redur's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A very good book that illustrates a very real problem: constant surveillance. It's interesting how that complete violation of privacy and consent gets so smoothed over with a fun-toned cozy mystery and leaves the moral quandary up to the reader. It feels on purpose, like the way it hand waves the deep family trauma as well. The book touches on really dark material that people really suffer with but in a way that tries its best to ignore it, much like Claudia must do to just get through the day. It's like a pop song that has a danceable melody with really dark and troubling lyrics.
Claudia is *not* a good person but seems to justify her use of total surveillance technology by using it for "good". She also goes on tobreak and enter and steal "for good", justifying those crimes and violations of privacy and autonomy as well. I'm interested to see how far Claudia continues to slide down this slippery slope of vigilantism in future stories and whether the author will show these moral failings with anything other than ignoring it. And whether Claudia can reckon with what she is doing. And then everything is happy in the end with all the means justified.
We certainly have real world examples of this, so it's certainly something to keep on your radar.
https://www.wired.com/story/how-pentagon-learned-targeted-ads-to-find-targets-and-vladimir-putin/
Claudia is *not* a good person but seems to justify her use of total surveillance technology by using it for "good". She also goes on to
We certainly have real world examples of this, so it's certainly something to keep on your radar.
https://www.wired.com/story/how-pentagon-learned-targeted-ads-to-find-targets-and-vladimir-putin/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death and Lesbophobia
librarianeno's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Bullying and Emotional abuse
jialianyang's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A modern day mystery where the protagonist is a young Taiwanese American lesbian who cares deeply about her family and is a romantic at heart. She yearns for answers and takes the initiative to seek them out. She has a sense of adventure and is looking for purpose.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Violence, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness and Medical content
pey333's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Abandonment
Minor: Racism and Stalking
stevie's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Murder, and Abandonment
criticalgayze's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
While reading The Verifiers, I found myself mentally comparing it to How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu, who provides a blurb on the back of the book.
Like Yu's novel, The Verifiers also addresses technology and devotion to potentially toxic family relationships. Unlike Yu's novel, it does so without much of the inventive style and playful tone.
What you get with The Verifiers is what feels to be the first entry in a new mystery series. As such, the plucky upstart detective, in this case an amateur sleuth, must both be revealed to the reader and put to the test. Often, this means a slim case and lots of backstory. Where this novel struggles most to me is in giving us lots of character backstory but also a details-heavy plot, which leads to a book overly mired in description and explanation without a lot of the fun propulsion the best mysteries should have and with a couple too many unnecessary plot tangents.
By the end of the story, I do believe you come around to the main character and her inner circle in a way that leaves you wanting a sequel to get to know her better. I just wish I didn't have to drudge through so much to get there.
Quotes:
I remind him of the universally acknowledged truth that a single person in possession of a superlative dating profile must not be lying about anything. (p. 10)
In the world of the murder mystery, your best chances of survival are to eschew all meaningful relationships. (p. 141)
I do enjoy heterosexual flirtation when the odd occasion arises. It feels similar to playing blackjack during Chinese New Year with Monopoly money: easy excitement, low consequence. (p. 317)
Like Yu's novel, The Verifiers also addresses technology and devotion to potentially toxic family relationships. Unlike Yu's novel, it does so without much of the inventive style and playful tone.
What you get with The Verifiers is what feels to be the first entry in a new mystery series. As such, the plucky upstart detective, in this case an amateur sleuth, must both be revealed to the reader and put to the test. Often, this means a slim case and lots of backstory. Where this novel struggles most to me is in giving us lots of character backstory but also a details-heavy plot, which leads to a book overly mired in description and explanation without a lot of the fun propulsion the best mysteries should have and with a couple too many unnecessary plot tangents.
By the end of the story, I do believe you come around to the main character and her inner circle in a way that leaves you wanting a sequel to get to know her better. I just wish I didn't have to drudge through so much to get there.
Quotes:
I remind him of the universally acknowledged truth that a single person in possession of a superlative dating profile must not be lying about anything. (p. 10)
In the world of the murder mystery, your best chances of survival are to eschew all meaningful relationships. (p. 141)
I do enjoy heterosexual flirtation when the odd occasion arises. It feels similar to playing blackjack during Chinese New Year with Monopoly money: easy excitement, low consequence. (p. 317)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Murder
ekmook's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Murder
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