The Lies We Trade is a compelling domestic thriller that expertly weaves together high-stakes Wall Street intrigue with the complexities of family life. Meredith Hansel seems to have it all—a successful career, a loving family, and a promising future—but the cracks beneath the surface soon start to show in shocking and dangerous ways.

The novel brilliantly captures the tension of juggling career pressures, personal secrets, and the fear of losing everything. When Meredith receives a cryptic threat from a trusted colleague, the story takes a sharp turn into a suspenseful cat-and-mouse game full of twists and unexpected revelations.

What I appreciated most was how the author balanced the fast-paced corporate drama with deeply emotional moments, making Meredith a relatable and compelling protagonist. The exploration of trust, betrayal, and resilience felt authentic and gripping.

If you enjoy women’s suspense novels that combine workplace secrets with family drama, The Lies We Trade is a must-read. It’s perfect for book clubs too, with thought-provoking questions to discuss after.

This was a great read! There were so many twists and turns and kept me on the edge of my seat! I couldn’t put it down!

A career high for Meredith Hansel quickly sinks to a career low when her sales manager and trusted ally Betsey is fired right as she's in the spotlight for the innovative funds she's created as a portfolio manager at a competitive Wall Street firm.

Right as things start to crumble at work they also start to crumble at home with her marriage strained to the point of breaking and her teenage daughter's behaviour taking a mysterious turn.

As things continue to unravel it's clear to Meredith there is people at the firm that can't be trusted and that her family is at risk too. Meanwhile Betsey keeps popping up despite a restraining order, and Meredith has to question whether she's the enemy she's been made out to be?

***
This is a great story, but a little slow. The significant amount of financial lingo may also make it less thrilling for the average reader. But the plot itself is really well done.

Meredith Hansel emerges as a promising figure in the finance sector, enjoying the façade of an enviable lifestyle characterized by a prosperous career and a seemingly idyllic family life. However, her circumstances begin to deteriorate as she gains notoriety for her innovative strategies as a portfolio manager. The pressures from her personal life intensify, highlighted by the decline of her marriage, her daughter’s concealed struggles, and unsettling incidents such as vandalism to her residence. In her pursuit of clarity, as Meredith investigates recent events, she suspects that the turmoil in her life is not merely coincidental. She begins to link her personal adversities to deeper issues within her investment firm.

This domestic thriller, notable for its absence of violence yet rich in intrigue and suspense, provides an engrossing exploration of the high-stakes financial landscape. It has a gripping, relatable style that plunges you into the everyday life of Meredith, before it begins to unravel. It caters to readers who favor narratives centered on psychological tension rather than physical confrontations. I look forward to reading future novels by Kristine Delano.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my review.

A great read with a twist. When a mystery mingles with the making of funds you will not want to put this book down!

I requested this book on NetGalley without even knowing anything about the Wall Street, just the basics. However, this was such a good book for a debut novel! Kept me up on my toes. I just had a trip in reading the digital copy because it was only available through PDF!

If you want to read a thriller with no violence, this is one that you should pick up! It's a good insight on how the financial world works without it boring you. The mystery is also good as it will want you to read until the end and see if Betsey is really a friend or foe.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the author for giving me an eARC to review. All opinions are mine.

Meredith is a wife and mother who works at a Wall Street firm as a portfolio manager. One of her coworkers mysteriously falls under scrutiny at the firm and has been let go. At the same time, Meredith's daughter starts to encounter some harassment online. Meredith does her best to juggle her attention between home and work. When Meredith's coworker starts secretly reaching out to her, she soon starts to discover that everything might not be on the up and up at the law firm but is uncertain of who she can trust. But what exactly is going on? Could the home and work problems be related?

Even though I know next to nothing about Wall Street, this story was fast-paced and kept my attention throughout. Kristine Delano does a great job of simplifying the subject matter.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Lies We Trade by Kristine Delano

Meredith Hansel, portfolio manager of a prestigious Wall Street firm, should be riding high on her success, but her life is falling apart. Her home has been vandalized, her marriage is falling apart and her teenaged daughter is in trouble. Her job is in jeopardy and perhaps even her family’s lives are at stake. Betsey, her coworker, has been fired but keeps reappearing trying either to threaten or warn Meredith. She must sort through the debris to look for clues as to what is happening and why.

This book was unusual in that it covered the life of a woman working on Wall Street. Because of that, there were some parts of it that went over my head. Still, the action was fast-paced and contained enough drama to keep me reading to try and figure out what would happen next.

It was a very clean read and had some elements of faith, especially when Meredith remembered her grandmother’s example. As the story resolved, faith played a bigger part in Meredith’s life.

I am grateful to the publisher for this complimentary arc in exchange for this, my honest review.

I requested this ARC because it was by award-winner Kristine Delano, not because I know anything about Wall Street or the financial world. Now I know enough to know I'd never want to work there. 😆 Kristine does a good job explaining things for us who know nothing so we at least know, "oh, whatever happened here made the character scared/proud/frustrated" when we newbies couldn't have made those connections ourselves. So I was able to follow the emotional plot, which is my favorite part of books anyway, and learn a little, expanding my world. There's a light touch of faith and a struggling marriage and family that work their way to healing. You won't know who to trust and can't help but be surprised!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the eARC so I could write an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a new Author for me and holy whizz, I was hooked from the first few pages, the story is full of scandal, twists and many lies. I loved the characters and the things we will do and lengths we will go to for keeping things hidden is so evident in this diabolical read. Perfect for Summer reading. Happy Binging!

I’m so sad I have no read more books by Delano sooner, because her writing brought chills! This book was intense and crazy until the last page! I was shocked by the ending.

Be prepared to read carefully. This wasn’t a light or breezy read. There was a lot of stock market and financial talk that made it hard for me to really get into the story. I had to slow down and reread parts just to keep up with the twists and shifting alliances.

That said, the story was definitely layered and well thought out. If you enjoy thrillers that make you think and don’t mind a challenge, this one might be for you just know every detail matters.

The Lies We Trade is an intriguing suspense story that deals with the intricacies in the world of finance. I was intrigued by the premise of this story and it lived up to what I was hoping for.

Meredith, an established big wig at a major wall street firm, has it all and is living her best life, until everything starts to fall apart. Her marriage, her children, her trusted coworker, all she holds dear start spiraling and Meredith can't stop any of it. When disturbing acts against her start occurring, she must dig deep into what the actual root of all the problems are. Could it all be connected to something sinister going on at her investment firm?

This is a fast paced thriller with very deep characters. It is filled with many suspenseful twists and an unexpected ending. I liked that Meredith was portrayed as such a strong female character able to juggle a satisfying career and family.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tyndale House Publishers for the advanced copy

A thought provoking book, it required some level of concentration to follow the stock trading system but was worthwhile and enjoyable to read. A huge reminder that you can make positive choices and change relationships.

I could not put this book down!

Meredith Hansel is a rising star in her Wall Street firm. From all appearances, she has everything – until everything starts unraveling.

There are so many things I loved about this story – characters I felt like I knew by the end of the story, a mystery I couldn’t unravel, and a setting I know little about. It’s an excellent insight to the world of trading and mutual funds and to the glamour and cutthroat competition of Wall Street without it being boring.

This is a domestic thriller – no violence, but plenty of intrigue and some suspense. Think, John Grisham’s The Firm – only a financial firm instead (and no shooting). For readers who love those kinds of stories and want clean/no violence/no romance stories, this one is for you!

This is a clean read, with a hint of a faith aspect in the epilogue.

I can’t wait to read more books by newcomer Kristine Delano.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

This novel was a challenge for me.. With an interesting premise, it was a quick but often chaotic read, stumbling through under and over-explaining financial terms and situations, pacing like a mystery but including so many details that distracted rather than acted like breadcrumbs for figuring out what was happening, and leaving many of the characters reading more like sketches than fully developed characters.

Suspenseful story about a woman working as a portfolio who becomes involved in scandal, which also threatens her family. I didn't understand all the financial information, but the story was well-paced and interesting.

I liked The Lies We Trade! Kristine Delano’s suspense novel likely delves into truth and faith, with engaging characters and unexpected twists, reflecting her Wall Street background.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy!

The Lies We Trade is a tangled web of secrets, betrayal, and emotional reckoning that had me hooked from the very first chapter. Kristine Delano crafts a compelling psychological thriller that asks one haunting question: how well do we really know the people we trust?

The characters are layered and flawed in the most human ways, which made the unraveling of their lies all the more devastating. Delano’s pacing is tight, and just when I thought I had it figured out, another twist knocked me sideways. I found myself flipping pages late into the night, desperate to know how it would all end — and that final reveal? Perfectly executed.

This is a story about choices, consequences, and the fine line between truth and survival. If you love domestic suspense with emotional depth and unpredictable turns, this one’s for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Meet Meredith Hansel, she's at the height of her Wall Street career, with no signs of slowing down. Her recent success with a series of groundbreaking innovation funds has put her firmly in the spotlight. But while her professional life appears flawless, her personal world is falling apart. Her marriage is unraveling, her daughter is growing distant and rebellious, and she's been forced to file a restraining order against Betsey—her once-trusted ally at work. As Meredith scrambles to uncover the documents Betsey is demanding, she begins to question everything about the recent success and stability of her innovative funds. Is Betsey trying to frame her—or is she actually trying to save her?

Okay, I liked this book, I thought it was suspenseful and thoughtful. However, I truly got lost at times in the nuances of finance and wall street things. I had a general knowledge of the things they were talking about; however, i did lose the plot sometimes when speaking of important documents or meetings, etc. It was a very fast paced novel and moved from setting to setting quickly for me. What I expected going into the novel was slightly different than the novel itself. I think it is great writing, it was just not my favorite and I did get rather confused at times. Lots of characters and lots of things to remember.

3/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Kristine Delano for allowing me to read an eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.