WOULD I LIE TO YOU?

Faiza has it all: a handsome husband, three beautiful children, and an idyllic lifestyle in Wimbledon Village. But when she gets a phone call from Tom telling her he's lost his job, her world starts to crumble. He thinks they have their emergency savings fund to fall back on, but Faiza knows better: she's spent it. This debut novel was longlisted for The Bath Novel Award and the Mslexis Novel Competition.

Faiza lives in Wimbledon Village with her family, and she loves her life. Sure, there's the bitchy alpha-mum Julia who never fails to put her in her place. And of course, there's the awkwardness she feels when her childhood friend, Amina, prods her for sending her kids to an expensive private school. Plus the occasional unpleasant overheard comment about her background, given her son is the only Desi kid in his year. But apart from that, she really does have it all. Until midway through a botox appointment (her first), her husband calls her to tell her he's lost his job. But she's not to worry: their emergency savings fund will carry them through until he finds something.

Only Faiza knows that she's spent that money. In the process of trying to put it back, can she find the Faiza she used to be, before the trappings of her life overwhelmed her? And as she desperately tries to keep her secret hidden, she starts to realise that she's not the only one whose perfect life hides something much darker.

Comparable to writers like Liane Moriarty, with a splash of SHOPAHOLIC, and a diverse, British, cast of characters, it was important to Aliya to write a novel with a British-Pakistani lead, whose background, faith and family are intrinsic to who she is, but to write a novel which wasn't about racial or religious struggles. WOULD I LIE TO YOU? is hugely pageturning, and will also appeal to anyone who's ever hidden a credit card statement, or pretended that if they don't look at their bank balance, it'll all be fine.

Her next novel, THE FUNERAL BOOK, is about 24-year-old Zara who is planning a wedding, at the same time as her beloved Nani is planning her funeral.

Aliya Ali-Afzal lives in London and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is an Alumna of the Curtis Brown Creative Novel writing course, and her writing has been longlisted for The Bath Novel Award, The Mslexia Novel Competition, The Mo Prize Hachette UK, and The Primadonna Prize. Aliya has a degree in Russian and German from UCL, University of London. She has always lived in London, since moving there from Pakistan as a young child. Aliya worked as a City head-hunter and then retrained as an Executive MBA career coach.