Would I Lie to You?
A Novel
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Apr 21, 2026
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
Would I Lie to You? is a thrilling spy-next-door story that may have you cheering for all the wrong people, perfect for fans of Finlay Donovan and Killers of a Certain Age.
What if a covert, high-stakes cat burglar is given one last job before she can retire, but the gig is to steal the classified code to an innovative genetic editing tool her unaware husband is developing?
Ask anyone about Lucille “Lu” Barlow and they’ll tell you that she’s a loving wife and mom, fire-body Pilates studio owner, and kind neighbor. But none of them know the true Lu. Because Lu is a liar and a thief—albeit reluctantly lately. She’s been part of a dangerous, deeply covert crime syndicate for the last thirty years, with a string of incredible, international heists under her belt and a shoebox full of fake passports, weapons, cash stacks, and skeletons.
But when her unsuspecting husband, Harry, accepts a lucrative job at the nation’s leading biotech company, it means moving the family from her familiar Brooklyn base to the well-heeled New England town of Partridge Hollow. Lu sees it as her shot to finally retire from crime life, something she’s wanted since her son’s birth eight years ago. But Partridge Hollow isn’t what it seems either. Lu quickly discovers that her new Stepford Wives–esque neighbors each have their own secrets hidden inside their mansions, into which she occasionally creeps.
She also uncovers the most scandalous truth of all: that this move for her husband's career was orchestrated by her illicit employer. Worse, she’s tasked with stealing the heavily protected code for a tool Harry is developing.
Fans of Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, Counterfeit, and Killers of a Certain Age will devour this book!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This scattershot comic thriller from Blades (Have You Met Nora?) centers on a middle-aged thief whose latest job puts her in direct conflict with her scientist husband. Lu Barlow, 48, is happily married to researcher Harry, with whom she has a precocious eight-year-old son. She's also, unbeknownst to her family, an accomplished burglar who has been stealing rare items and valuable intelligence for a shadowy crime organization called the Atlas since she was a teenager. When Harry is offered a job at biotech giant Kastille, the family leave their Brooklyn apartment for Partridge Hollow, Conn., the "second wealthiest in the country's northeast region." At first, Lu is elated, seeing the move as a way to close the door on her life of crime. The Atlas, however, has other plans: Lu's next and—hopefully—final assignment is to steal details about a gene editing program from her husband's job at Kastille, which it turns out the Atlas got him in the first place. Blades has fun with her Mr. and Mrs. Smith–style premise and renders the narrative in crisp, polished prose, but erratic pacing and two-dimensional characters keep things from taking flight. It's a letdown.
