Would I Lie to You? (Hardback)
Aliya Ali-afzal (author)Published: 08/07/2021
Tackling themes of class, race and social expectation with a wicked wit and warm heart, Would I Lie to You? finds a wife and mother prepared to do almost anything to preserve the lifestyle she has painstakingly built up.
From British-Pakistani debut novelist Aliya Ali-Afzal, Would I Lie to You? is a page-turning, warm and funny debut about what happens when you have your dream life - and are about to lose it.
At the school gates, Faiza fits in. It took a few years, but now the snobbish mothers who mistook her for the nanny treat her as one of their own. She's learned to crack their subtle codes, speak their language of handbags and haircuts and discreet silver watches. You'd never guess, at the glamorous kids' parties and the leisurely coffee mornings, that Faiza's childhood was spent following her parents round the Tooting Cash 'n' Carry.
When her husband Tom loses his job in finance, he stays calm. Something will come along, and in the meantime, they can live off their savings. But Faiza starts to unravel. Raising the perfect family comes at a cost - and the money Tom put aside has gone. When Tom's redundancy package ends, Faiza will have to tell him she's spent it all.
Unless she doesn't...
It only takes a second to lie to Tom. Now Faiza has six weeks to find £75,000 before her lie spirals out of control. If anyone can do it, Faiza can: she's had to fight for what she has, and she'll fight to keep it. But as the clock ticks down, and Faiza desperately tries to put things right, she has to ask herself: how much more should she sacrifice to protect her family?
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN: 9781800245662
Number of pages: 448
Dimensions: 228 x 145 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
An uplifting and joyous read... A refreshing new voice in commercial fiction' - Cosmopolitan
Warm, intelligent [...] and keeps up the tension right till the end - Sophie Kinsella
A fresh take on domestic dynamics and moral dilemma... Great for book clubs - Clare Mackintosh
Convincing and compelling - Stacey Halls
A page-turner hinging on financial meltdown - Woman & Home
An engaging, entertaining, smart, and ultimately feel-good novel with huge emotional integrity and balance - LoveReading
Compelling and heartwarming - Happiful Magazine
A brilliant read - Bella Magazine
This book acknowledges moral dilemmas with wit and warmth - Woman's Weekly
This warm-hearted, funny debut is an indulgent page-turner... A gripping, unexpected thriller - Adele Parks, The Sun
[A] dazzling debut - My Weekly
This is warm and genuinely funny, opening as Faiza tries to get out of a 'Botox party' she can't afford, and following her desperate attempts to keep her spending secret. Loved it - The Bookseller
A warm, insightful tale of family, friendship and fitting in - People's Friend
I just loved this... I read this almost in one sitting and I absolutely adored it - Annabel & Grace
Ali-Afzal's witty, sharp, and very funny book will have you cheering throughout - Penguin Random House Blog
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“Thought-provoking and brilliantly plotted drama!”
Would I Lie to You? is not a typical kind of read for me, but I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to read it, because I just fell in love with it! From the moment I met Faiza I was instantly drawn to... More
“A fun page-turner that entertains whilst stealthily addresses important issues.”
An incredibly compelling domestic psychological...thriller, I guess? It's hard to classify this book because it is lots of things- it leaves you on the edge of your seat, but it's warm and funny so it is a... More
“Kept me completely hooked”
Oh Faiza! What a tangled web you got yourself stuck in. She seems like a typical yummy mummy but it's been a struggle for her to fit in with her friends (well, if you can call most of them that). She's just... More
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