Best Intentions: A Novel

by Emily Listfield

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2009

About the author

I’m fascinated by how well we can ever truly know another human being — whether it’s a romantic partner, a best friend, or our own child.
My new novel, Reasons to Lie, pushes three mothers and best friends to confront this question when a student is murdered on a class trip all their teenagers were on. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect. And everyone is lying. How far will they go to protect their kids? How far would YOU go?

I grew up in New York City, raised my daughter here, and set the book in an elite Manhattan private school. Having navigated this world firsthand, I had a front-row seat to rich people behaving badly — and it was too good a story not to share! .

This is my eighth novel and I’m thrilled that Oprah Daily named it one of the most anticipated books of 2026.

I love hearing from readers and the conversations that stories create long after the last page. So get in touch!