Relatable novel mixes up humour with plenty of twists

IT SEEMS as if Faiza has the perfect life. The yummy mummy from Wimbledon has great friends, a handsome, rich, loving husband and children whom she adores.

She has the best designer clothes, a home which is the envy of anyone that visits, privately educated children and good friends. Her dream life is a medley of salon trips and looking after her family, including parents. She has to do all this while balancing a mix of two cultures, the white side of her husband’s heritage and her own Pakistani background.

When Faiza’s husband Tom loses his banking job in the city, Faiza is distraught because she has secretly spent £75,000 of the family savings without telling him. Faiza now has six weeks to replace the money, otherwise there is going to be big trouble.

The entertaining debut novel from British Pakistani Aliya Ali-Afzal is a gripping, funny, relatable page-turner which leaves you laughing, crying and on the edge of your seat, wondering how far she will go. The melting-pot of relatable emotions is what will connect this book to a wide cross-section of readers, especially those who are in long-term relationships.

The author skilfully adds an extra layer to the novel by discussing things like mixed-race marriages and the impact it has on children. How both sets of parents eventually come around and the fact that their respective children chose an unexpected life partner is another interesting aspect.

Would I Lie To You is full of unexpected twists, which means you really don’t know what will happen until the end and that makes this a special debut. It is one that once we’re able to travel, you’ll really enjoy reading at the beach with a nice cold drink in your hand. It is a highly-recommended novel.