Join us Saturday, August 30th from 1:30-2:30 p.m. to take part in exclusive Author Talk with Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt on their upcoming thriller Please Don't Lie. 

Christina Baker Kline, whose eight novels include the New York Times bestsellers Orphan Train, The Exiles, and A Piece of the World, is renowned for crafting unforgettable characters and richly textured narratives. Anne Burt has earned wide acclaim for the psychological depth and haunting atmosphere of her literary suspense novel, The Dig. Together, the two authors blended their complementary strengths and talents for their new thriller, PLEASE DON’T LIE (Thomas & Mercer; publication date: September 1, 2025).

Kline and Burt, who have collaborated over the years on a variety of creative projects, set out to write an immersive page-turner that would shock and thrill readers while delving into complex and thorny questions about trust and betrayal and examining the lies people tell themselves to survive. 

Set against the rugged beauty of the Adirondack Mountains, PLEASE DON'T LIE follows Hayley Stone as she attempts to rebuild her life after a series of devastating losses—her parents’ deaths in a house fire and her sister’s overdose. Newly married and deeply in love, Hayley moves with her husband to the remote mountain town of Crystal River, New York, hoping for a fresh start. But the idyllic town soon reveals a darker side. Her once-devoted husband grows secretive and volatile, the locals’ cryptic warnings leave her unsettled, and the free-spirited couple living on their property appears to know more than they let on. As Hayley struggles to make sense of their increasingly suspicious behavior, she convinces herself that she’s overreacting. But as winter closes in, the isolation becomes suffocating—and Hayley begins to fear that in fleeing her past, she might have stumbled into something far more dangerous.

A taut exploration of betrayal and survival, PLEASE DON'T LIE unravels the devastating truths we keep from others—and ourselves—when everything is at stake. Book clubs will find plenty to discuss in Hayley’s journey as a sister, friend, and wife, and the haunting regrets that linger over the choices she’s made—and those she didn’t.

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