Would I Lie to You?

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 [town] 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. Agent: Carolyn Forde, Transatlantic Agency. (Apr.)