The Rivals 🕵️♀️
- The_Secret_Bookreview
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
By Jane Pek.
Claudia Lin is back and this time, the lies go deeper, the stakes are higher and the world of digital dating is darker than ever.
The Rivals is Jane Pek’s sharp and smart follow-up to The Verifiers, and it manages to be a gripping mystery, a tech-thriller and a deeply personal story all at once.
Now co-running Veracity, a boutique dating detective agency in New York, Claudia is no longer just vetting dodgy online daters. She’s investigating full-blown corporate espionage and AI conspiracies, alongside her ever-cool colleague Becks and the tech genius Squirrel.
This time, they’re up against "synths", AI-generated dating profiles so realistic they’re fooling real people. It’s creepy, clever and exactly the kind of Black Mirror-adjacent concept I can’t get enough of.
What makes this book really sing is Claudia herself. She’s a brilliant, book-loving amateur sleuth with a keen sense of justice and a wonderfully dry sense of humour. She’s also messy, vulnerable and unsure of herself at times, especially when it comes to her family and love life.
The romantic tension with both Becks and target-turned-maybe-more Amalia is deliciously complicated without ever feeling forced.
There’s a lot going on, a murder investigation, an insider leaking secrets, sibling drama, and an undercurrent of “can we ever really know who we’re talking to online?”
But Jane Pek handles it all with precision. The pacing is tight, the plot twists are satisfying and the commentary on tech, dating and identity feels fresh and thoughtful without being heavy-handed.
One of my favourite elements is how Pek explores the idea of truth. Claudia is in the business of verification, yet she often struggles to be honest with the people she loves. There’s a real tension between the digital masks we wear and the truths we hide in plain sight, which adds emotional depth to the fast-paced plot.
If you liked The Verifiers, you’ll love The Rivals. If you haven’t read The Verifiers, you could jump straight in here but I’d recommend reading both for full Claudia immersion.
A whip-smart literary mystery with queer rep, family drama and a tech conspiracy you’ll want to unravel chapter by chapter.
Thank you to Frances and Jane for including me in this book-tour! The book is due to be released on the 21st August and is available now for pre-order.
Click here to read my review on The Verifiers.
