Characters
The struggling writer hired to finish a bestselling series.
Who is Lowen Ashleigh?
Where Lowen moves so she can work closely with Jeremy’s family.
What is the Crawfords’ house?
The “found document” that changes how Lowen sees Verity.
What is Verity’s manuscript/autobiography?
The genre blend readers often describe this book as.
What is romantic thriller / psychological suspense?
The manuscript’s overall tone/style.
What is a confessional, tell-all autobiographical account?
The husband who brings Lowen into the Crawford home.
Who is Jeremy Crawford?
The place Lowen finds the hidden manuscript.
What is Verity’s office?
The shocking possibility Lowen starts to believe about Verity.
What is Verity may be faking her condition?
The child whose safety becomes the most immediate concern.
Who is Crew?
What the manuscript claims about Verity’s feelings toward motherhood.
What is resentment/hostility toward her children?
The incapacitated author whose series Lowen is hired to complete.
Who is Verity Crawford?
The city where Lowen’s chance encounter with Jeremy happens early on.
What is New York City?
The item used in the climactic confrontation to kill Verity.
What is a knife?
The type of “evidence” Lowen thinks she’s found (even though it’s just writing).
What is a confession?
The manuscript’s alleged purpose (according to the bonus reveal).
What is a writing exercise to craft the “villain” version?
Jeremy and Verity’s surviving child.
Who is Crew Crawford?
The physical condition Verity appears to be in for most of the book.
What is a catatonic/vegetative state?
The “bonus” reveal suggesting a different version of events.
What is a letter claiming the manuscript was fiction?
The object/text that becomes the final piece of controversy after Verity’s death.
What is the letter?
Why Lowen keeps reading despite being horrified.
What is it feels like the key to understanding what happened—and what might still be happening?
The deceased twin daughters at the center of the family tragedy.
Who are Harper and Chastin?
The real purpose of Lowen living in the house (beyond finishing the books).
What is to access Verity’s notes/materials and observe the family up close?
The central unresolved question the ending leaves readers debating.
What is whether Verity was truly evil or framing herself (truth vs. fiction)?
The theme that best describes the book’s core tension.
What is truth vs. narrative control (who gets believed)?
The biggest danger of the manuscript as “evidence.”
What is it may be unreliable (manipulative/fictional), but it shapes real decisions anyway?