Ben Owen’s is a true crime podcaster who has come to town to investigate Savvy’s murder that happened years ago. Her best friend Lucy is not sure if she killed her or not but wants to help solve the crime. This was a very gripping story full of interesting characters and I hated to put it down. Thanks NetGalley and Celadon Books for this ARC that will be released March 5, 2024!

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt for the eARC! What a fun mystery/thriller! Dripping with dry humor, southern charm and sarcasm this novel was addictive. The podcast inclusions and overall plot had me hooked, there was the perfect balance of characters, mystery, and elements to figure out that this felt fresh and enjoyable. I am absolutely stunned that this is a debut. What a gem! I’ll be anticipating the next book from Amy Tintera!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HenryHoltandCompany for the ARC #ListenForTheLie by #AmyTintera. I love listening to a podcast version of a book. It always gives so much more to the story. This book is great with all the drama-past and present, the small town games and the finger pointing. Highly Recommend.

A fast moving mystery that pulls you in immediately with it's wit and memorable characters. A smug podcaster and a could be murderer connect in a small Texas town to solve the murder of her best friend. Did she do it and repress the memory as everyone but her grandmother suspects? The author builds up the clues through podcast interviews and there is a satisfying Aha moment when it all comes together.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I LOVED this book! I couldn’t put it down. I loved the characters and loved the podcast part of it. I will definitely recommend this book this book to friends.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this!

. #NetGalley

This was my first narrative/podcast book, and I found it to be an enjoyable read. At turns thrilling, darkly funny, and biting, I found the change of perspective from investigator to someone involved with the murder in question to be interesting and important. I very much enjoyed Lucy’s voice, and loved how in dealing with everything, her first instinct was to respond with sarcasm (definitely something I can relate to). She’s a messy character, understandably, and I loved watching her growth throughout the story.

Amy Tintera deftly weaves the narrative threads together to examine many themes, the first of which was the toll such a violent murder took on everybody, from family and friends to the community, and very importantly, on Lucy. This and the additional examinations of female friendship, abuse, misogyny, small-town dynamics, and who makes a “perfect victim” that occur along the way, make for a searing portrait of the worst ways that people, from societies to communities to individuals, respond to heinous crimes. And while this book maybe wasn’t the strongest indictment of society’s true crime obsession, it wasn’t exactly a full-throated endorsement either. This novel ultimately gives us a lot to think critically about.

I thoroughly enjoyed Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera. I think I would have read it in one sitting if sleep had not interfered. I was hooked from the first page to the last. A plausible story revolving around Lucy Chase, a young woman who either witnessed or murdered, her closest friend, Savanah Harper. The police never determined what happened that night as Lucy was injured too, and had absolutely no recall as to what happened.
It's five years later, and Lucy returned to her hometown for her Grandmother's 80th birthday party. Her love for her Grandmother is the only motivation that could get Lucy there as most of the town's residents never accepted the amnesia defense, and firmly believe that Lucy is a murderer. Unbeknownst to Lucy, her Grandmother, who has always believed in Lucy's innocence, has agreed to work with a podcaster, Ben Owns, to prove it. Hold onto your seat from there as things heat up; Lucy is not happy, yet reluctantly agrees to work with Ben.
Listen For The Lie is a very well crafted novel, with characters, that for the most part, I found very believable. It is a fast-paced page turner with a gripping storyline. I highly recommend Listen for the Lie. 4.5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book; that in no way influenced my review.

4⭐️

Lucy has no memory of what happened the night that Savvy died. She remembers being at the wedding and then leaving the reception and then nothing until she was found wondering the town covered in blood. It’s been years since the night her best friend died and while Lucy still has no idea what happened that night, the whole town is convinced she killed Savvy. That’s why Lucy had packed up and left her home town, and her so called perfect marriage, behind.

Lucy had no plans of ever returning to her home town, but then her grandma guilted her into coming home for her birthday. Once she gets there, she learns that her grandmother had ulterior motives. A true crime podcaster had come to town and had started looking into Savanah’s death. As more is uncovered about that night, Lucy starts to find that nothing was really what she thought about that night.

This was really interesting. I’m a true crime podcast fan, so I always enjoy a podcast tie in to a book and Ben seemed to really do his research. I liked the interludes between chapters that were clips of the finished podcast. I also love a small town mystery. I grew up in a small town myself, so the gossip between the citizens of the town and the secrets being kept felt really authentic.

I liked how Savanah was tied into the present day story and the way she was basically a sounding board for Lucy to bounce things off of as she started to remember that day. I think the only ting I really didn’t get and maybe I need to go back and reread the last little bit was the final chapter and Lucy’s conversation with her grandmother.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing this ARC to me!

Told in alternating time lines with multiple plots and well developed characters, this is a consuming and suspenseful read! I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

5 years ago, Lucy was found wandering in the woods, covered in blood and her best friend, Savvy found dead. The whole town thinks Lucy killed her but Lucy has no memory of that night. 5 years later, Ben, the creator of Listen For the Lie Podcast, is creating a series on the death of Savannah. He wants to get to the truth if it really was Lucy or someone else. Lucy returns to her hometown for her grandmas birthday and comes to find Ben is there. As the story goes on, we find out little clues about what really happened. Was it Lucy or someone else?

I loved the audio of this book! There is a past and present storyline with a podcast too. Listening made me feel like I was actually listening to the podcast and book at the same time. This book was a page turner and kept me guessing till the end! I couldn’t put this book down, definitely add it to your list to read when it comes out on March 5, 2024!

Thank you to Amy Tintera, @netgalley and @celadonbooks for an arc of Listen For the Lie in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Lucy and Savannah (Savvy) were best friends. One day Lucy is found walking down a street in a daze, a gash on her head and covered in Savvy's blood. Savvy is found dead and Lucy is blamed for killing her. She can't remember anything about the night in question, but there was no hard evidence to link her to the crime. After several years in LA, she returns to her hometown when Ben Owens, a true crime podcaster host, investigates Savvy's death.

LISTEN FOR THE LIE was a great book! There were some moments that were funny, serious and even believable. I enjoyed the podcast element, it kept the book interesting and was really my favorite part. Overall, I would recommend grabbing a copy.

Many thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for my gifted copy.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

Lucy has been running from the past and living in LA for this reason for the past five years but now that a popular podcaster is doing a whole season about why she was the main suspect in her best friends murder ends life as she knows it in her new city. What makes it really unfair is Lucy doesn’t remember the night of the murder at all. So when her grandmother calls and says she’s throwing herself an 80th birthday and she wants Lucy to be there Lucy agrees and flies back to Texas. Lucy‘s arrival back in Plumpkin goes as expected stairs, gossip and it doesn’t help that the podcaster is sculking about looking for guest for his show. Something he gets in spades it seems everybody is eager to tell their opinion about the big murder in pumpkin not only about the murder but things people didn’t know about each other like the affair Lucy‘s mom head the affair her husband Matt head and on and on it doesn’t stop Lucy from starting a relationship with been the podcaster nor does it stop Lucy from making out with other people as well. Lucy doesn’t remember the murder but when she sees been really just wants to find the murderer and not prove she is the murderer she gives it the old college try. During their investigation it brings up lots of things that shocking to not only Lucy but the town of pumpkin but not her memories. Can Lucy remember what happened and if so will it prove her guilty or someone close to her? this book was so quirky and good. It was so complicated and I didn’t know how the author was going to bring it all together but boy did they. I think a great book especially a mystery is when you cannot figure out the end and trust me when I say you will not figure the end of this one. With the great narration by January Lavoie and Will Damerin definitely makes this a stellar unputdownable book. I spent all of Saturday listening to it and to be honest I was supposed to be doing something else lol! I want to thank McMillan audio and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I absolutely could not put down Listen for the Lie.

Told in a partial podcast format, Listen for the Lie follows a woman who was found wandering the road in a bloody dress after a wedding. It's later learned she was the last person with her best friend before she was bludgeoned to death. Years later, there is still a lot of questions surrounding Savvy's death and Lucy's part in it. Her small town thinks she's guilty although she was never charged. Lucy has no memory of what happened that evening after she arrived at the wedding. When a podcast focuses on Savvy's death for their newest season, Lucy returns home, under a rouse from her grandmother, and helps the podcaster determine what happened to Savvy.

The storytelling was extremely propulsive with the dual narrative format. There are a lot of unlikeable characters in this, which I don't normally enjoy, but that didn't deter me in this story. Although I figured out the ending before everything was tied up I still enjoyed it a lot. I have no doubt this is one a lot of people will be talking about in March 2024, when it's released. Listen for the Lie is Amy Tintera's first adult novel and I hope she'll write more in the future.

Thank you to Celadon and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for the free e-book in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first read by this author and it will not be my last! I looked for every opportunity to continue listening to this one! I love authors that have the ability to completely pull you into the story that time and responsibilities become irrelevant!

Lucy was found wandering in the woods with no memory of how she got there...and was covered in her best friend's blood. The whole town thinks Lucy killed Savannah and yet she was never charged. Fast forward 5 years where Lucy is scraping by in LA. Returning home for her grandmother's birthday, Lucy finds out that the podcaster hot on her trail also has come to her hometown to set up shop and interview everyone about the night Lucy cannot remember.

Told in alternating time lines with multiple plots and well developed characters, this is a consuming and suspenseful read!

5 stars - Highly recommend!!!

I love books that work podcasts into the story (like Night Swim) since it's combining two of my favorite things. Super fast paced, did not want to put it down. Loved the characters, Lucy was so unique. Great read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in advance of publication.

Thanks to Henry Holt and NetGalley for the ARC. Wow. I had never heard of this author. About half into the book I was loving the writing style and decided to find out why I had never read her. This is her first book in this genre and I really really hope she continues to give us more. Great book,

Eek! Did I just cheer out loud?!

Five years ago, Lucy Chase was found staggering along a highway with a welt on her forehead, make up running down her face, and her best friend’s blood all over her dress. So, how did she go from “fellow victim” to the only suspect in Savannah’s murder?

Lucy claims that she cannot remember what happened that night, but everyone in the small town of Plumpton, TX thinks that she is lying ( including her own parents) despite the fact that there isn’t enough evidence to convict her.

And, that has convinced her that maybe it’s true, and she did kill her friend.

Once sufficiently recovered from her physical injuries, she moved to Los Angeles and she now writes romance books under a pseudonym, because “nobody would want to read them if they knew she was a suspected killer.” L.A. seems like the perfect place to be anonymous for a girl who continually makes poor decisions, and keeps hearing her friend Savvy’s voice in her head saying “LET’S KILL”!

But, you can’t hide forever.

Ben Owens has just decided to make Lucy Chase the subject of the second season of his popular podcast, “LISTEN FOR THE LIE” .

So when Lucy’s grandmother Beverly calls insisting that she come home for her 80th birthday celebration, she can’t say no-especially her “scene stealing” Grandma is the only one who ever believed in her innocence. Also, the announcement of the Podcast just cost her, her “day job” and her “boyfriend” who suggested that she not return after her visit to Texas-so she may as well return home to see what the podcaster digs up.

But, “What If The Truth Doesn’t Matter?”

The story unfolds mainly from the the first person POV of Lucy and she is a hot mess! If you appreciate SARCASM, SNARK, and DARK HUMOR like I do, you will LOVE her! I laughed out loud several times, and that rarely happens when I read a book.

Her chapters occasionally alternate with the “Podcast interviews” so the residents of Plumpton can “shed light” on the crime “as they know it”. And, in this book, the podcast chapters work well and are an integral part of the narrative.

The pace is FAST, with never a dull moment as tempers flare and hormones rage-yes, the men and women of this town love secrets, sparring and sex in equal measure!

SO MUCH FUN!

And, what had me cheering out loud at 95%? (No peeking!!🫣) Just one of my favorite scenes EVER in a mystery/suspense book! 📕

Mark your calendar for March 5, 2024 or pre-order now!

Thank You to the Publisher and NetGalley for the gifted copy. It was my pleasure to share my candid review!

This book was enthralling. I really enjoyed the podcast element, as well as the memory loss. I will be recommending this to others!

Listen for the Lie is my first read by author Tintera. I am always hesitant to pick up a new author because of fear of disappointment. I'm set in my ways with authors I enjoy but Oh man am I glad I gave this book a chance. The title sucked me in and then the description sealed the deal for me. I dove in a couple days ago and let me tell you, it has been A WHILE since I finished a book in just a couple days time. I was upset when I had to put it down and go to work. I was angry when bedtime came around. Last night, I woke up and could not stop thinking about the book so I picked it back up and finished in the middle of the night. No regrets despite my tired mind today.

If you like podcast thrillers, you will highly enjoy this book. The series of events was laid out in a way that created suspense and enough curiosity at the end of each chapter to make you want to read "just one more chapter." I LOVED the characters and their different personalities. I loved the portrayal of trauma and what it can do to the mind. It is not uncommon for victims of trauma to hear or see things that aren't there. It wasn't too in your face but the perfect amount of hallucinatory events. I also liked the humor which was totally up my alley. The grandmother was a riot and wish I could adopt her. I really cannot say a bad thing about this book. It was perfect. I will be on the lookout for Tintera's next thriller. Hands down five stars.