Would I Lie to You?

By: Aliya Ali-Afzal

Narrated by: Aysha Kala

Wife and mother Faiza is about to find what happens when you have your dream life and are about to lose it...but only if you're caught.

At the school gates, Faiza fits in. It took a few years, but now the snobbish white 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 fashion and vacations and haircuts. You'd never guess, seeing her at the trendy kids' parties and the leisurely coffee mornings, that her childhood was spent being bullied and being ashamed of her poor Pakistani immigrant parents.

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. Creating the perfect life and raising the perfect family comes at a cost - and the money Tom put aside has gone. Faiza will have to tell him she spent it all.

Unless she doesn't....

It only takes a second to lie to Tom. Now Faiza has mere weeks to find $100,000. 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 live someone else's idea of the dream life?

©2022 Aliya Ali-Afzal (P)2022 Grand Central Publishing

Critic reviews

"I just fell into this and couldn’t stop...the writing is so fresh and light; funny in places, but moving in others.... I just can’t believe it’s a debut! Ali-Afzal writes brilliantly and Faiza is so warm and relatable as a protagonist that you feel every one of her emotional ups and downs alongside her as you turn the page. The story is sharp and witty and so well-paced that I devoured this book in only two days. A total page-turner and one I’ll be recommending to everyone I know." (New York Times and Sunday Times best seller and Reese’s Book Club pick February 2021 Sarah Pearse, author of The Sanatorium)

"A fresh take on domestic dynamics and moral dilemma. Great for book clubs! I really enjoyed Would I Lie to You?” (Clare Mackintosh, New York Times best-selling author)

"Would I Lie To You is a warm, intelligent, light yet poignant story of trying to keep up with your neighbors. Aliya Ali-Afzal depicts the moneyed, suburban world of south west London with a brilliantly wry, observational eye, and keeps up the tension right till the end." (Sophie Kinsella, New York Times best-selling author of I Owe You One)