★The Many Lies of Veronica Hawkins. Kristina Pérez. Pegasus. Sept. 2024. 400p. ISBN 9781639367719. $27.95. SUSPENSE

Pérez’s adult fiction debut (she’s the author of the YA “Sweet Black Waves” trilogy) is a twisty, glamorous thriller set among the rich and powerful in Hong Kong. The first section is a memoir of a friendship and the experience of grief when one friend dies. Martina Torres came to Hong Kong to support her blue-blooded husband Spencer, but she feels lonely and aimless in the fast-paced city. Her gig as a freelance reporter leads her to interview shipping heiress Veronica Hawkins. From their first meeting, Martina is drawn in. As the two women become close friends, Martina’s view of her life and marriage shifts. Even as she’s making changes, she sees that Veronica is struggling personally as well. When a tragedy takes Veronica’s life, Martina picks up the pieces and writes to assuage her grief. In the second half of the book, told in the third person, Martina has seemingly moved past the worst of her pain, but she finds her life upended again when someone threatens to take all that she has gained. VERDICT The setting, characters, and structure of the novel are compelling, and, as the title suggests, there are secrets and lies aplenty. For fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins.