I loved every last thing about this book. Everything! I simultaneously could not put it down, but also did not want it to end. Best combination ever, right? How can I even convince you to read this, since it is a mystery and therefore must keep things short? I'll try.

The first thing you need to know is that the voice of our narrator, Lucy, is everything. She is hilarious and sarcastic and messy and just so readable. She was so entertaining that I kind of wanted to stay in her head forever. She remembers nothing of the night that her best friend Savvy died, and everyone in town thinks she is the guilty party. She has a lot of feelings about this, and they are just so fun to read about! She heads home at the behest of her beloved grandmother, under the rouse of her 80th birthday party. The truth, however, is that Grandma wants her to meet up with Podcast Ben, who is in town to do a story on Savvy's murder and wants to interview her. Sidenote here, I adored Lucy's grandmother in ways I cannot properly communicate.

Anyway, Lucy comes back, and Ben has been digging around and unearthing all kinds of secrets about literally everyone in town. Lucy finds herself wanting to know, once and for all, what happened the night Savvy died, and ends up meeting with Ben. And this is when things get bananas, and where I cannot tell you anymore. They uncover all kinds of mysteries, and I was unable to put this book down, beyond eager to find out what happened to Savvy (and all the other juicy gossip they unearth along the way).

Bottom Line: In love, will be buying for friends and family.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, Celadon Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the adult debut novel by Amy Tintera - 5 stars!

Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy's blood. Lucy has no memory of what happened, but everyone in their small town thinks she's a murderer. She moved to LA to get away from everything and everybody and started a new life. Then, true crime podcaster Ben Owens comes her her Texas town to investigate Savvy's murder for his second season. Lucy is forced to return to TX to help solve Savvy's murder, even if it turns out that she's the guilty party.

All the buzz around this book is spot on - it's perfect! Lucy is the best of characters - she's snarky, full of sass and dark humor, and her Grandma is the same. You will find yourself laughing out loud more than you'll ever do in a thriller. Plus, I love books that incorporate different media to tell the story, and this one uses Ben's podcast episodes to give us backstory and insight into Lucy and Savvy's relationships and her murder. Plus, Lucy keeps hearing Savvy's voice in her head telling her to kill. There are plenty of questionable characters that will keep you guessing as to the real story. Listen for the Lie is just a phenomenal read - I couldn't flip the pages fast enough. Highly recommended!

This is one of those gripping thrillers that you can’t put down! I was hooked from the chapter.

Lucy Chase is found wandering down the streets of her hometown Plumpton, Texas. When she is found, she is covered in her best friend Savvy Harper’s blood. The town quickly shows sympathy for Lucy as she’s the presumed survivor of a brutal attack that had cost Savvy her life. Lucy is not able to remember much from that horrific night, but tell the police what she can remember. Once they are not able to find any other suspect for the crime, feelings for Lucky turn to suspicion and then certain guilt.

Lucy decides to relocate to Los Angeles to start over, but Lucy’s past soon catches up to her when she hears of a podcast called “Listen for the Lie”.
The podcast host, Ben Owens, decide to investigate Savvy's murder. Now Lucy is forced to confront her memories, or what she can remember to help Ben solve the murder. Lucy reluctantly returns to Plumpton, determined to finally uncover the truth of what happened to Savvy, even if Lucy did murder Savvy. Has this small town been covering up a multitude of wrongs? Or did Lucy’s neighbors have it right five years ago when they said that Lucy was the culprit?

Listen for the Lie is one of the best thrillers I've read in a while , and I have no doubt it will be all the buzz this year in Thrillers. I would highly recommend to read this one. You do not want to miss out on this must-read for 2024!

Thank you to Amy Tintera, Celadon Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Listen for the Lie.

Handsome podcaster, Ben Owens, visits a small Texan town to do a podcast to try and solve the murder of Savannah "Savvy" Harper. One of the suspects at the time was Savvy's best friend, Lucy Chase who was also severely injured at the time Savvy was murdered.

This is a hard book for me to review since I did like some parts of it but, for the most part, I did not like it. The characters are all mostly unlikeable, except for the grandmother. The main character, Lucy, was very sarcastic and very unlikeable. This book is more like a YA and if it had been listed as such, I would not have requested it. I was glad when I finally finished it.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC of this book.

I have a feeling that we're going to be seeing Listen for the Lie everywhere this spring and summer. In a market where so many of the over-hyped books just don't live up to the anticipation, this one does. Not only did Amy Tintera grab me right from the very first line, but she kept me riveted until the final one. I absolutely loved the podcast interview style of moving the story forward, and Lucy is a fantastic character who is dark and gritty, but also full of snark and wit. For sure, Listen for the Lie is one I'm going to be recommending to all my thriller-loving friends.

This alternates between a pod cast and the voice of Lucy, a woman who might have killed her best friend Savvy, Did she? How reliable is she as a narrator about that night? Ben, who has decided to make a pod cast about that night clearly has his doubts, Lucy is fond of sarcasm and she conveys as younger than she is. She also makes arguable bad decisions. There's a twist so no spoilers from me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read,

I know this is getting a bunch of hype, and at least it’s not actually offensive like some of the thrillers I’ve read recently. It’s still not good, though, and I’m kind of annoyed at the blurbs from good authors in the marketing materials. Guess it helps knowing the right people; that’s what sells books, I suppose.

The narrator is supposed to be 29, and she acts like she’s 16. She’s constantly horny, and despite dealing with literally the worst kind of trauma (her best friend was murdered AND everyone is sure she did it), she’s too busy trying to bang every dude in the book. Including her abusive ex? Ridiculous.

The voice was snarky but not in a fun way. She’s super annoying, and it’s really obvious the author writes YA. This is basically a YA novel where she added like 12 years to the characters and called it a day.

The pop culture references were random and irritating.

Mystery-wise, this plot has been done like 1000 times before. I’m also sick of podcasts; unless you’re using that in a way that impacts the story, it’s just a lazy way not to write a third person book.

I don’t know. It’s just mediocre, and I’m irritated by the hype.

unfortunately, this book was archived way before the pub date so i was not able to download or read it. i look forward to seeing it on shelves and getting my hands on it!

This is my first Amy Tintera book, and apparently it’s HER first adult thriller. (In the acknowledgments I learned she has previously authored Young Adult titles.) I really enjoyed reading it! Even though I don’t follow true crime podcasts, that focus in the book was a great method of introducing characters and moving the story forward. And what a story! While I enjoyed Lucy’s character and her interactions with podcaster Ben, there were a large cast of characters to keep track of— and to consider as suspects. A heads-up for parents of interested teen readers: With much discussion of graphic murder methods, along with adultery, sex, and domestic abuse- this title is definitely adult content.

First book I’ve read by this author and enjoyed from first to last page.The true crime podcasts that were interspersed were really entertaining and Lucy with her snarky sarcastic personality was my favorite,Will be reading more by this author.#netgalley #listenforthelie

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I was blown away. I love the podcast episodes within the book. I’m usually a fan of mixed media, so that was no surprise to me.

Lucy was such an unreliable narrator it was fun to question her and her motives. I was very interested in her relationship with her family members. Her intrusive thoughts were interesting to say the least.

This book had more twists and turns than I was expecting. The ending was jaw dropping to say the least.

What a fun read and light mystery. Plenty of twists and a sassy lead character kept things interesting. Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company, Celadon Books for allowing me the opportunity to read an eARC in exchange for my review. 4/5 stars.

This book was such a compulsive read…like I could truly not put this book down!

It truly has everything…
✨a murdered “girl next door” who everyone loved
✨a homicidal day dreaming main character, who is the main suspect in her bffs murder that happened years ago according to the small town of Plumpton, TX
✨a true crime podcast/podcaster who’s here for the truth
✨an eccentric family of the main character, who she thought she escaped when leaving her home town
✨Small town drama
✨Lots of tea being spilled☕️☕️☕️
✨and much much more….

I think the only thing that could make this book better would be listening to it via audio!!! I think that would really bring more life into the writing so I’ll definitely be listening to that on pub day!

4.5⭐️

⭐️LISTEN FOR THE LIE, comes out MARCH 5TH⭐️

Special thanks to NetGalley @henryholtbooks and @celadonbooks for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

#listenforthelie #amytintera #celadonbooks #henryholtbooks

One night Lucy is found wandering the streets with her best friend Savvy's blood on her. After Savvy's body is discovered, everyone blamed Lucy but no one could prove anything. Years later, Lucy returns to her home town, running into true crime podcaster Ben Owens who is determined to solve Savvy's murder.

This was definitely my favorite thriller I've read this year! Here's what I loved:

The humor. This book was hilarious at times. Lucy has perfect sarcasm. I loved her inner dialogue and quick one liners with her family and friends. I was so engrossed in this story and Lucy was the number one reason why.

Romance. I love thrillers that give me a little romance and this one did just that. There are many men around Lucy and you can see a relationship with them (some very unhealthy). This added romance gave the book even more depth.

The mystery. I really wanted to know what happened to Savvy and there were so many different ways it could have played out. I will say that I was satisfied with the ending.

The podcast. Loved the way this book was structured. You get chapters from Lucy's POV and chapters of the podcast that Ben is recording. They are perfectly cut together.
All in all, this was such a good thriller.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

This book busted my book slump! Pulled me right in at the beginning of the novel. The main character of this book is snarky and sarcastic, which is entertaining. The ending was surprising but looking back I could see hints to what happened. Part of the novel takes place in podcast format, which I LOVED! If you like true crime podcasts you’ll like this novel!

This is a book about how easy it is for men to be believed and how hard it is for women to be. Everyone in this book was terrible except for the main character, her grandma, the podcast guy and her dead best friend. I liked the podcast element, but I almost always love any form of mixed media.

4.5 stars for this superb thriller! Lucy Chase is a woman with a deadly secret...that she can't even remember. She has spent years away from her hometown of Plumpton, TX, where one night her best friend Savannah "Savvy" Harper, was found murdered in the woods. Lucy was found on the side of the road, covered in blood and bruises, Savvy's skin under her nails. Everyone thinks Lucy did it but so far no one has been able to prove it, though Ben Owens hopes to find answers with his popular true crime podcast, "Listen for the Lie." After Lucy reluctantly returns to Plumpton to attend her grandmother's 80th birthday party, she's determined to avoid Ben and his probing questions. However, Ben proves rather persuasive and incredibly attractive.
The POV shifts between Lucy and Ben's podcast transcripts. Lucy is a snarky, laugh-out-loud anti-hero that you'll root for from the first line. Even if she may be a murderer.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for this e-arc.*

This is an interesting mystery with a podcast element to add to the intrigue. While I found many of the characters to be quite unlikeable, Grandma was a gem. I’d read a whole book based on her character alone. If you’re in the mood for a fast-paced whodunnit, this is for you. And you’ll likely be surprised by the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the advanced copy.

Lucy is lured back home for her beloved grandmother's birthday party, supposedly. But at the same time, a true crime podcaster has started looking in to the case of Savvy's murder 5 years prior. The murder that everyone in the small town thinks Lucy committed, the night Lucy can't remember. Lucy is also hearing voices telling her to kill everyone and she spends a whole lot of time thinking of how she would kill each person. (I'll be honest, I think this was my favorite part. I'm not sure whether it was supposed to provide comic relief or not, but frequently I had to chuckle at her internal dialogue.) Is she the murderer? Is she mentally unstable? Despite being resigned to her fate as an unconvicted murderer, Lucy teams up with the podcaster to discover the truth, even if it means finding out she killed her best friend. Stacked full of lies, deceit, and twists, this was a seriously sordid look at the dark side of a small town and the unraveling shocks everyone including Lucy! What a solid page turner!

The story follows Lucy who is living in LA hiding from her past. That past quickly catches up to her as the whole world learns she was accused of murdering her best friend 5 years ago when the case becomes the subject of a true crime podcast. With a cast of characters you can’t (and won’t) trust this book will have you forming countless theories before the end. There’s some GREAT humor (which can be really rare with this genre) and some super relatable moments (someone coming up and hugging me is also my worst nightmare) that really add to the already well thought out mystery that we are trying to solve along with Ben, the podcast host. This is a fast read perfect for anyone who is a fan of true crime podcasts or even just thriller novels. *slight spoiler* I especially appreciated the focus Tintera puts on the reality of being abused by a man that is so well loved by everyone.