20 Suspenseful Books Like Verity

I absolutely loved Verity by Colleen Hoover for its fast-paced storyline and abundance of suspense.

The whole time I was reading, I kept asking myself a series of questions; But WHY!? What is happening!? What happened to the little girls and is Verity really that much of a psycho?

From start to finish, I was hooked. And when it ended, I wasn’t ready to give up on the suspense.

If you’re like me and you’re after books like Verity with suspense, mystery, and a little hint of thriller and romance, then you’ve come to the right place.

In this guide, I’ve listed my top similar books, for those who are unsure what to read after Verity.

Quick Answer: Top 3 Picks

Need a book fast but don’t have much time? Don’t worry, I hear you! Here are my top three favorite books like Verity…

Summary of Verity

But before we go into what to read after Verity, let’s quickly recap the story so we know what to look for in similar titles. Don’t worry, I won’t reveal any spoilers if you haven’t finished reading it yet.

Lowen is a struggling author who is soon to be evicted. When one day, she is asked to attend a meeting with her publishers for a special, secret assignment.

She is tasked with writing the last three books of Verity Crawford, an acclaimed author known for writing thriller novels from the villain’s perspective. She is told that Verity was in a car accident and is unable to complete the novels.

Lowen is unsure about the assignment but agrees.

She moves into the family home to go through Verity’s notes. As she stays in the home, she begins to learn more about Verity and the family, especially her husband, Jeremy.

Lowen stumbles upon a manuscript for a biography written by Verity. The manuscript reveals some of the darkest truths in Verity’s life.

The question is, should Lowen show the manuscript to Jeremy?

20 Best Books Like Verity

1. The Guest List – Lucy Foley

The first book like Verity that immediately comes to mind is The Guest List.

This suspenseful story is about family members, past grudges, and old friends who arrived on the spectacular beach to join the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater. The wedding day is meticulously portrayed in the story. 

On the beautiful day, people gathered to celebrate the young couple’s new beginning. While the guests enjoy the wedding on the mesmerizing morning, the story takes a new direction when someone attending the ceremony is found dead. 

The wedding cake has barely been touched. Members attending the wedding are in shock and feeling anxiety. Now everyone is trapped in an unexpected circumstance. 

A question arises, who did not want the couple to get married? And most importantly, why did the culprit choose the wedding day to kill someone? 

2. The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair (Marcus Goldman Series) – Joel Dicker

Marcus Goldman is a twenty-eight-year-old writer whose debut novel has sold two million copies. However, when it comes time to produce a new book, he finds himself struggling with writer’s block.

He traveled to Somerset, New Hampshire, to visit his mentor, Harry Quebert, one of the country’s most respected writers. He hoped that meeting his old friend would help him recapture the inspiration he lost a few months ago.

Marcus’s plans are disrupted when Harry is sensationally implicated in a cold murder case. Nola Kellergan went missing in 1975, and Harry was found to be having an affair with her.

The investigation into the death of Nola reveals a mystery that leaves one asking more questions as the plot unravels.

3. The Lost Girls of Willowbrook – Ellen Marie Wiseman

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook is a novel about an infamous mental institution called Willowbrook State School on Staten Island, New York, which was exposed as a dumping ground for unwanted children in the 70s.

The story follows Sage Winters who lost her twin sister at the age of 10 to pneumonia, and her mother passes in a car crash at 16.

Her stepfather now bares her the responsibility of looking after her, but soon the shocking secret of what really happened to Rosemary comes to light – she’s not dead, she’s incarcerated at Willowbrook.

Hellbent on finding her sister, she sets out on a mission to find her in the notorious school.

4. The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Shadow of the Wind is the first book in a series (The Cemetery of Lost Books) of four books set in Barcelona, however, the first book has a concluding story so you don’t have to read the remainder of the series.

It follows a young boy named Daniel and his coming-of-age journey. After his mother passes, his father takes him to a place known as the Cemetery of Lost Books where he is told he can pick one book to take home.

He picks up a book by Julian Carax called ‘The Shadow of the Wind.’ It’s the most beautiful book he has ever read, and he treasures it for many years.

When one day he decides to find other books by the author, he learns that someone is trying to destroy all of Julian Carax’s work.

Determined to stop this from happening, and to learn more about the author, Daniel seeks to track down the author. Only doing so unravels more mysteries to solve…

5. Miracle Creek – Angie Kim

Miracle Creek is an Edgar Award-winning novel for the Best First Novel and has been described as a “gripping page-turner” by Time Magazine.

Set in a small town in Virginia, the story follows a group of people who met as part of a special treatment center.

The hyperbaric chamber is said to cure various conditions such as infertility and autism. But when the chamber explodes and two people are killed, it turns out the explosion was no accident.

Told through the perspectives of each character, who each has secrets and betrayals to hide.

As you go through each chapter, alliances change, and evidence is gathered.

Who do you think is behind it?

6. The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides

One of the most compelling books similar to Verity is The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides.

It seemed like Alicia Berenson had a perfect life. She was a famous painter who was married to one of the city’s most influential photographers.

They lived together in a beautiful house in one of the nicest neighborhoods in London. Everything was perfect, from the outside.

When Alicia’s husband returns home from work one night, she shoots him 5 times. After that, she doesn’t speak another word. Alicia’s act became one of the biggest mysteries in London.

Psychotherapist Theo Faber is determined to find out the truth about that night, eventually becoming obsessed with uncovering the answers to this mystery.

7. The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield

The Thirteenth Tale is probably the most similar book to Verity since it’s also about an author who decides to write a chilling biography.

The story follows the reclusive and famous author, Vida Winter, who has evaded talking about her life, until one day she decides it is time to reveal her life story and write a biography.

She enlists the help of Margaret Lea, an amateur biographer, who upon reading Winter’s story, Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation, she notices the book contains only twelve stories.

The thirteenth story, it seems, would be the life of Vida Winter.

Winter has gone through turmoil in her life. She learned from the ups and downs, which she tries to portray in her stories. 

The tale features the Angelfield family. A gorgeous Isabelle, and feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a topiary garden, a ghost, and a governess. The story intensifies when a devastating fire occurs, and everything changes.

Diane Setterfield keeps many readers on their toes with her brilliant storytelling skills. The Thirteenth Tale keeps you guessing and wondering. Small moments make you breathless while satisfying your nerves.

8. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is about a famous movie star, Evelyn, who is a popular name in the movie industry. She decides to tell the story of the ups and downs in her career and relationship.

She unravels the truth of her glamorous and scandalous life in her biography. Surprisingly, when choosing the writer to tell her story, she decided on an average, unknown magazine reporter named Monique Grant. 

When Evelyn offered her the job to write her story, Monique was stunned. Monique was going through a tough time in her professional life. 

Her husband left her in the past, so she lived alone, and her life was not going anywhere.

Evelyn has determined to work with Monique on her biography regardless of all these odds. Monique accepted the offer and decided to use this opportunity to restart her career. 

Evelyn summoned Monique to her luxurious apartment. She started explaining how she had gone through ruthless ambition, friendship, and forbidden love.

Monique found a connection between her life and Evelyn’s story. Somehow she felt the pain and suffering Evelyn has undergone in her life.

9. The Couple on Cedar Close – Anna-Lou Weatherley

Cedar Close residents were enjoying the annual summer festival with a barbecue. The tables were loaded with delicious food and wine flowing in glasses.

Cedar Close was a peaceful place to live. No noise, criminal activities, or any conflict with the neighbors. It was heaven in the middle of a busy town.

Laurie mill was taking part in the event for the first time, meeting her neighbors. On the same day, she discovers her husband Robert is having an affair.

One late evening, Robert Mills was found dead in his house, and things turned into chaos. Downstairs in the kitchen, Roberts’s wife Laurie was sitting alone in the darkroom, holding her head in her hands.

She tried to convince others that she didn’t kill Robert, but no one believed her. She doesn’t remember what happened in the past twenty-four hours.

10. The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins

The Girl on the Train was a huge success when it came out. I remember reading Verity and thinking it was like The Girl on the Train because both stories contain a psychotic main character and a suspenseful plot.

Rachel commutes from the train every morning. She knows every passing view, signal, and when the train stops.

Rachel watches the back garden passing near the railway track. She even started recognizing people live in one of the houses. Rachel calls them “Jess and Jason.”

These people are happy all the time, and their lives appear perfect. Rachel also feels that her life could become happy like people living across the railway track. She was thinking about them, and suddenly she got shocked. 

The train moves again, but the view is enough to touch her soul. Now everything in Rachel’s life has changed.

She gets the chance to join the lives of people she used to see every day. Now she is more than just a girl on the train.

This book has scenes of domestic violence that some readers find distressing. This award-winning psychological thriller book like Verity won the Goodreads Choice Award for best mystery and thriller in 2015.

11. The Woman in the Window – A. J. Flinn

There is a scene in Verity where Lowen thinks she is going mad by seeing Verity move when she’s supposed to be brain damaged. Jeremy is convinced she’s hallucinating, but Lowen is sure of herself.

If you found this aspect of the storyline of Verity interesting, then you’ll love The Woman in the Window.

The story follows Anna Fox, who lives in her apartment in New York City home. She is a recluse who tries to keep her distance from society.

Anna spends her day alone at home drinking wine. She enjoys watching old movies and recalling her happy days. Sometimes she spies on her neighbors.

Russells moves into his house located across the street. Russell, his wife, with a teenage son, was relocated to this house.

His family was looking happy and enjoying their time together. One night while Anna was gazing out her window, she got scared. Her whole world suddenly started fading, and everything scrambled around her. 

She was not able to tell what was real? What is imagined? Is this an illusion? All of these questions begin bothering Anna, and the tale of Anna takes a new turn.

This is a fast paced psychological thriller book like The Silent Patient with lots of suspense and plot twists.

12. The Wife Between Us – Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks

The Wife Between Us is the story of two women who both love the same man and want to marry. The tale portrays the act of jealous ex-wives.

Vanessa is obsessed with her replacement. She observes every move the young woman, Nellie, is doing to try to enter her ex-husband’s life. 

A love triangle takes many directions when they both interact with each other. The authors make you think about the anatomy of unusual love. 

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen’s The Wife Between Us are trying to showcase the complexities of marriage.

This complex and twisted psychological thriller novel highlights the dangerous truths of love and marriage that we generally ignore.

13. Three Hours – Rosamund Lupton

This isn’t like Verity in the romantic sense, but it’s another book that has major suspense like Verity.

Three Hours is a thriller story of a school siege that’s taking place in a school in rural Somerset, UK. The whole novel spans over a time frame of just 180 minutes and is told through multiple perspectives.

From the wounded headmaster in the library to the Syrian refugee who cares only about keeping her brother safe to the love-blind teenager Hannah and the parents outside.

This multi-perspective story tells of anguish, fear and courage during a three-hour event.

As the students take refuge inside the school, readers are taken on a journey of the most terrifying 180 minutes of the students life.

With themes of radicalization, extremism, and hate, this novel like Verity is not for the faint-hearted. It was nominated for Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2021.

14. The Wife and the Widow – Christian White

The Wife and the Widow is a suspense thriller set in a rural island town, where after a body is washed up, two women are forced to confront that the man they called their husband, has been living a double life.

Kate lives in Melbourne with her husband John and daughter. Each summer, they would visit this sleepy island where they have their holiday home.

When they visit their holiday home but realise that John did not return from the business trip, they realise something is wrong.

At the same time, Abby has been living on the island all her life with her husband and two kids. When Ray does not come home one day, they are immediately worried.

After the two wives learn of John/Ray’s body washing up, the two conspire to figure out what happened and why he was living a double life.

15. All Of This Is True – Lygia Day Penaflor

If you’re looking for something more young adult similar to Verity, then All Of This Is True is a good books to read next.

This suspenseful novel follows four teens who befriend their favorite novelist, except that when her new book comes out, their deepest and darkest secrets are revealed. And the consequences are devastating.

Told through a series of interviews, journal entries, and even passages from the book within the book, you’ll be taken on a gripping journey through a scandal that has you hooked from start to finish.

16. The Ghostwriter – Allessandra Torre

The Ghostwriter is another novel like Verity about a ghost writer who is thrown into a thrilling situation.

The story follows Helena Ross, a writer who has15 romance novels under her belt, many of which have become bestsellers.

She’s about to write her final book, but it’s not a romance, it’s a confession.

Filled with secrets and gripping suspense, the novel reveals a secret Helena has kept hidden for four years. But not anymore…

17. Misery – Stephen King

Stephen King is one of the greatest thriller and novel writers of all time, so when I tell you he has a thriller novel about a writer who just killed off his protagonist and then mysteriously ends up in a car crash – you can bet it’s going to be an epic story.

After the crash, best-selling novelist Paul Sheldon’s body is broken, and he finds himself being cared for by the most frightening of rescuers – his number one fan, Annie Wilkes. 

Annie is not happy about Paul killing off his main character, Misery, and demands he brings her back to life in the next novel.

Now that he’s a prisoner in her isolated house, he can do just that. And if he needs persuasion, well Annie has some very persuasive and violent methods.

18. Rebecca – Daphne duMaurier

If you’re ever wondering where Colleen Hoover got the idea for Verity, the chances are it’s probably from this novel.

Rebecca is a novel by an unnamed narrator who talks about a romance she started with a widower called Maxim de Winter. But the ghost of his ex-wife, Rebecca, is still present.

When they marry and move to Cornwall, Rebecca comes with them. But this is no romance story, it’s full of secrets, suspense, and dark twists. Especially concerning what happens to Rebecca…

19. Things We Never Got Over – Lucy Score

You wouldn’t expect it from the cover, but Things We Never Got Over is a single-parent romance book about a bearded barber called Know who prefers to fly solo. Until a runaway bride comes along.

Just like Verity, Things We Never Got Over is about a man trying to raise a young kid alone when in walks in a young and attractive women.

In this case, it’s Naomi. She wasn’t just running from her wedding but trying to rescue her twin from the rough town of Knockemout, Virginia, where disputes are settled in bar brawls.

But Naomi’s evil twin hasn’t changed and stole her car and cash. She also leaves her with something unexpected, her niece, who she didn’t know she had.

Now she’s stuck with no car, no money, no job, and no home, with an 11-year-old to take care of.

Knox doesn’t do high-maintenance women, but as Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, he decides to help her out. So much for living a solitary life…

20. Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl was an international sensation when it came out and it’s easy to see why. This dramatic and fast-paced thriller story has you on tender hooks throughout.

It follows the disappearance of Amy Dunne, who mysteriously vanished on her fifth wedding anniversary. Only, husband Nick, is dangerously on the edge.

The story follows Nick as he is contronted by the police and media pressure to speak about what happened to Amy, who everyone clearly believes he murdered her.

Only Nick doesn’t help himself with his evasive and odd behaviour, and obvious resentment towards his wife. But is he really a killer? and what happened to Amy? 

Like this post? Don’t forget to save it on Pinterest.

Final Word on Books Like Verity

So there you have it, those are 20 books like Verity and as you can see, there are a lot of great options to choose from!

While some of these options are very similar books like Verity, some of them are a little more obscure – but all of them are packed full of drama and suspense!

Do you have any more books like Verity to add to this list? Let us know in the comments!

Disclaimer: This website uses affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through a link at no extra cost to you.

Last Updated on March 26, 2023 by Louisa