Okay, I finished this one in basically two sittings and I’m not even embarrassed about it. The Fine Art of Lying is Alexandra Andrews‘ second novel, and her debut Who Is Maud Dixon? was already one of those books people press into your hands and refuse to let you give back. She’s done it again. This is May 2026’s Reese’s Book Club pick, and honestly, good call, Reese.
It’s set in New York’s art world, which Andrews renders as equal parts seductive and completely rotten. The protagonist Clare is one of those characters you spend the whole book wanting to shake by the shoulders and also kind of rooting for anyway. If your book club is reading this one, clear a whole evening. Things will get heated, in the best way.
The Fine Art of Lying by Alexandra Andrews
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What It’s About (No Major Spoilers)
Clare Bast grew up in upstate New York, fell in love with art, made it to Manhattan, got a PhD candidate spot at Columbia, then abandoned it when she had a baby and married into serious money. Now she’s a stay-at-home mom on Park Avenue married to Jed, who is lovely and devoted and thoroughly, thoroughly out of her original social class, which she has never quite stopped feeling weird about.
When Jed’s boss’s glamorous wife starts bringing Clare into her circle, gallery openings, art world dinners, a very attractive French dealer named Gabriel, Clare starts feeling like herself again for the first time in years. Then Gabriel turns up dead, a major painting goes missing, and Clare was there that night. And cannot tell anyone she was there.
What follows is a twisty, fast, genuinely funny (in a dark way) thriller about art fraud, class anxiety, marriage, desire, and what happens when someone who has spent years pretending to belong somewhere suddenly has to perform that lie under actual pressure. Kirkus called it “a mystery bound up in astute social satire.” That’s exactly right.
Book Club Questions for The Fine Art of Lying
On Clare: Who She Is and Who She’s Pretending to Be
- From the very first pages, Clare describes herself as a secret imposter in Jed’s world. Did you find that relatable, annoying, or both? How much sympathy did you have for her at the start and did that change?
- Clare gave up her PhD when Sadie was born. Do you read that as a sacrifice she made for her family, a choice she quietly resents, or something more complicated than either? Does the book take a position on it?
- Art is the thing that pulled Clare out of her upstate life and toward something bigger. Has anything played that role for you, a subject, a place, a person, a passion that cracked the world open a little?
- Clare is described as “refreshingly self-aware” in reviews, but she also makes some spectacularly bad decisions. Can you be self-aware and still be your own worst enemy? Does the book make that argument?
On the Marriage
- Jed is genuinely a good husband, loving, present, not a villain. Does that make what Clare does harder to justify or somehow easier to understand? Would the story feel different if he were awful?
- The book is full of small daily deceptions that most of us probably recognize, performed enthusiasm, omitted details, the version of yourself you show at a dinner party. At what point do normal social lies curdle into something that actually damages a relationship?
- Clare keeps massive secrets from Jed throughout the novel. Is there a category of thing a partner simply has the right to know, regardless of consequences? Or is that too absolute?
- The ending of the book, specifically Clare’s decision about her marriage, divided a lot of readers. Where did your book club land on it? Did it feel earned, or did it come out of nowhere?
On the Art World
- Andrews worked as a journalist in New York and Paris and clearly knows this world. Did the art world scenes feel glamorous to you, grotesque, or some unnerving mix? Did the book change how you think about expensive art at all?
- The painter at the center of everything, Blake Webley, is mysterious, elusive, difficult. We’re drawn to artists like that, in fiction and in real life. Why do you think that is? Is there something about inaccessibility that makes art feel more valuable?
- Art forgery is central to the plot. Here’s a genuine question for your group: if a forged painting is indistinguishable from the original, is it worth the same thing? Does authenticity matter if no one can tell? This one will probably spark a fight. You’re welcome.
- The novel has been called “astute social satire.” What exactly is it satirizing, the art world specifically, or something broader about how wealth and taste and cultural capital work together?
On Class and Money
- Clare grew up working-class and married into the one percent. Does her outsider background give her clearer eyes about the people around her, or does it make her more susceptible to being dazzled by them?
- Tasha Wolfe, Jed’s boss’s wife, is one of those characters who’s never quite a villain but never quite safe either. How does she use her social position in the book? Is she ultimately sympathetic?
- The hedge fund world, the art world, and shadowy Russian money all intersect in this story. Is Andrews suggesting something specific about how elite networks work, that crime and respectability exist on a spectrum rather than as opposites?
On the Thriller Itself
- Andrews has been compared to Agatha Christie, “monied Manhattan’s very own Agatha Christie” specifically. Did that feel right to you? What does she share with Christie’s style, and where does she go somewhere different?
- The pacing in this book is relentless. Did you read it fast or did you make yourself slow down? What kept you turning pages, the mystery, Clare’s voice, the setting, or something else?
- Without giving away the ending for anyone still reading: did the twist land for you? Twists are tricky. They can feel like the whole book suddenly clicks into place, or like the author cheated. Which was this?
- Andrews has said the book came from her own love of art and her experiences with motherhood. Can you feel those two threads, artistic longing and the ambivalence that can come with early parenthood, running through Clare’s story?
The Big Ones
- The title is doing a lot of work. By the end of the book, who do you think is the most skilled liar? And is lying presented as straightforwardly destructive, or is there a version of it the novel treats more kindly?
- Clare investigates the crime herself instead of going to the police, which, to be clear, is a completely unhinged decision given the circumstances. Why does she do it? What does that choice reveal about her?
- If you could ask Alexandra Andrews one question about this book, something you genuinely want answered, what would it be?
- What book does your group nominate to read next, and what does it have in common with this one?
A Few Book Club Night Ideas
The setting basically demands a gallery opening vibe. Wine, good cheese, maybe pull up a few images of the actual New York art world, Gagosian, Hauser and Wirth, the kinds of galleries Clare would move through, and have them open on someone’s laptop. It makes the world of the book feel more real and gives you something to look at during the “does authenticity matter in art forgery” argument, which will definitely happen.
If anyone in your group has been to a major art museum recently, ask them to share one piece that stopped them. It’s a good warmup question and it gets people into the headspace of the novel before you dive into the heavier discussion questions.
If You Loved This, Read These Next
- Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews – Her debut, just as twisty, also about identity and reinvention. Start here if somehow you haven’t read it.
- Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez – Art world, power, women, New York. Another Reese’s pick that your group will also fight about, in the best way.
- The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave – Same propulsive pacing, same domestic-life-explodes energy. Dave actually blurbed this book, which tells you something.
- All That Life Can Afford by Emily Everett – Wealth and ambition in New York, another recent Reese’s pick, great for back-to-back discussion.
- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt – A complete tonal shift but great if your group wants something warmer and stranger for next month.
About Alexandra Andrews
Alexandra Andrews worked as a journalist, editor, and copywriter in New York and Paris before publishing her debut Who Is Maud Dixon?, which came out in 28 languages and landed on best-of-year lists at the New York Times, NPR, Time, and Entertainment Weekly. She lives in Brooklyn. The Fine Art of Lying is her second novel and, if anything, confirms that her first book was not a fluke.
Did your book club read this one? I’d genuinely love to know which question caused the most chaos. Drop it in the comments.
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