Would I Lie to You?

DEBUT Ali-Afzal’s debut has a chick lit vibe but also broaches serious issues like racism (Faiza is Pakistani Muslim, and Tom is white) and depression (adult and adolescent). Thanks to Tom’s finance job, he, his wife Faiza, and their children live in London’s affluent Wimbledon Village. When he’s laid off, he figures he’ll find another job quickly; if not, they have enough in their emergency fund to cover expenses for a while. But Faiza dipped into the fund to try to fit in with her rich friends and to spoil herself and the kids a little. Or a lot. Tom has no idea that the money is gone, and now Faiza either has to ’fess up about draining their savings or tell him a little lie and figure out a way to quickly replace the money. She goes with the latter, and one little falsehood leads to a mountain of lies that could cause her to lose everything.