Would I Lie to You?

By: Aliya Ali-Afzal

Narrated by: Aysha Kala

Faiza has always wanted to fit in. She has her banker husband, three beautiful children and gorgeous house in a sought-after corner of London, but behind the expensive clothes, make-up and furniture lies a big secret. Faiza has been dipping into the family savings account in her attempt to belong, promising herself that one day she'll put the money back. Now Faiza has six weeks to put it all back before her husband or her friends notice she is penniless. And as the clock ticks down, a different Faiza emerges: one who will learn things about her family, her identity, her hopes and desires that she never knew before.

©2021 Aliya Ali-Afzal (P)2021 Head of Zeus

I almost gave up on this book so many times.

In the end I finished it, but thought it was way too long and the main character infuriated me way too many times. To be honest, I didn't really like her - she seemed entitled, absolutely everything had to be about her and what she wanted and how she felt - and the other characters were quite one dimensional as a result. She was incredibly shallow, and made decisions that made no sense to any intelligent human being so I had trouble picturing her in the role she apparently was perfect for. Was it irony that it was in the financial world? The whole thing was so unlikely - in this day and age, the villain character was so over the top it was like the novel was written in 1984 when the world was a different place, and at the end, so saccharine with everything so perfectly tied up, I kinda wished I hadn't wasted my time but I was curious how it was all going to end up. In saying that, there were parts that were okay and I liked the narrator.