41 pages • 1 hour read
Verity
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Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
The novel begins with the narrator, Lowen Ashleigh, witnessing the brutal death of a man on a New York City street. Lowen sees the man hit by a truck and stumbles away from the scene covered in blood. A concerned stranger named Jeremy Crawford stops her and ushers her into a nearby bathroom to clean up. He gives Lowen his shirt to wear. Lowen feels an instant connection to Jeremy. They both divulge their experiences with grief: Jeremy’s daughter drowned five months ago, and Lowen’s mother passed from cancer the previous week. Lowen served as her mother’s primary caregiver for the past year. As they exit the bathroom, Lowen notices a wedding ring on Jeremy’s finger. Lowen prepares for her meeting in 15 minutes with her publisher.
Chapter 2 Summary
Lowen received notice about the meeting with her publisher the previous night from her literary agent and former lover, Corey. Lowen contemplates her difficulty with forging relationships with other people. She attributes this to her mother’s isolation of her “because she was afraid of what I might be capable of during my many sleepwalking episodes” (12). Lowen unveils that she is behind on her rent and needs to sign this potential new deal with her publisher for the money. In the publisher’s building, Lowen encounters Jeremy once again. They discover that they are attending the same meeting.
The deal presented to Lowen asks her to finish three books in a series. The author is unable to finish the series due to a medical issue. Lowen agrees to sign a non-disclosure agreement before hearing the specific details of the series. She learns the author is Verity Crawford, a successful writer and Jeremy’s wife. The deal offers Lowen $75,000 per book and asks that Lowen become the new public face of the series.
Lowen initially rejects the offer. She prefers to remain anonymous and removed from the public. Jeremy requests to speak with Lowen alone. He explains that Verity’s medical issue is the result of a car accident, that Verity was a fan of Lowen’s work, and that they tragically lost not one daughter but two within the span of six months. He advises Lowen to ask for more money and convinces her to accept the offer with conditions that grant her the privacy she desires. Jeremy also requests that Lowen journey to his home in Vermont to gather notes from Verity’s office.
Chapter 3 Summary
Corey visits Lowen later that evening to celebrate the new contract. He notices the eviction notices taped to Lowen’s front door. Lowen must vacate her apartment in two days. She plans to store her belongings as she waits for approval for a new apartment. She reveals her plan to stay at the Crawford home in Vermont. Corey expresses reservations about this plan because he suspects that Jeremy may have played a role in the tragedies that have befallen his family. Lowen has done her own research on the deaths of Jeremy’s two daughters and discovered that one died at a sleepover from an allergic reaction and that the other drowned. Corey reveals the suspicious nature of Verity’s car accident. Lowen grows frustrated at Corey’s concerns regarding Jeremy and is relieved when he leaves.
Chapters 1-3 Analysis
The novel begins with a scene of violent death both as a foreshadowing of what is to come in the novel and as a means of uniting Lowen Ashleigh and Jeremy Crawford. The two recognize a mutual grief in one another that ignites an undeniable chemistry between them. In this way, Hoover initially lays the foundation of Lowen and Jeremy’s relationship outside of the influence of Verity Crawford before they spend time with each other in the Vermont house paid for with the money from Verity’s successful writing career. In addition, New York City is a fitting location for Lowen and Jeremy’s first meeting as they feel an instant kinship in the anonymity provides. Lowen recognizes immediately that Jeremy “wants to be invisible in this city. Just like me” (7). This desire for anonymity as well as their common experiences of grief bond them throughout the novel.
Lowen attributes this sense of disconnection from others and the world to her mother’s disregard for her. This isolation fuels her inability to trust others and herself. Lowen carries guilt and shame over her sleepwalking. The unconscious acts she commits when she sleepwalks haunt her as she fears what she is capable of when she is not in control. This leads to Lowen holding herself back as a writer as she fears the public attention she will garner. She prefers to maintain a strict anonymity despite how it keeps her from tapping into her full potential as a writer.
The details surrounding the succession of tragedies that have befallen the Crawford family remain unclear. Hoover employs the character of Corey to present his suspicions surrounding Verity’s accident when he details how “I read there weren’t any skidmarks. Which she either fell asleep or she did it on purpose” (38). He also hints at Jeremy’s possible involvement. Although Lowen rejects Corey’s suspicions, she carries them with her on her journey to Vermont. Chapter 3 also signals the official end to Corey and Lowen’s romantic relationship, which has remained undefined. She feels relief when Corey leaves and expresses that “I have a feeling our relationship is finally as it should be. Agent and author. Nothing more” (39). This renders Lowen unattached as she ventures to Vermont and sets up a potential romantic relationship between Lowen and Jeremy.
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By Colleen Hoover
