𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒂𝒗𝒗𝒚...𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒓. 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒔𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 (𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆) 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆...𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕.

I've discovered one of my top ten books of the year! LISTEN FOR THE LIE was the perfect blend of some of my favorite things--an unreliable narrator, darkly comedic undertones, and a featured podcast.

Sometimes the truth just doesn't matter. Everyone thinks Lucy killed her best friend Savvy after a wedding. After all, Lucy was found wandering, covered in blood, and Savvy bore bruises and scratches on her body that matched up with Lucy's hands. There wasn't enough evidence to convict her, and Lucy has no memory of the night in question, so she moved across the country to Los Angeles where she floats through her life like a snarky ghost, just relieved to be relatively unknown.

Then her grandma's birthday celebration and the second season of the insanely popular "Listen for the Lie" podcast both convene to lure Lucy home to Texas. Lucy knows that she'll have to reconstruct the events of that night to figure out who killed Savvy, even if it turns out to be her.

Every single character in this book was perfectly developed, and the pacing of the plot was deftly executed. There is absolutely no filler as every word, every scene is important. I was completely surprised by the ending and will definitely be buying a copy of this book when it's published. Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt for this early copy. LISTEN FOR THE LIE will publish March 5, 2024.

True crime podcasts are a huge thing nowadays, and it was fun reading this book that revolves around one. Lucy was accused but never charged of murdering her best friend, Savannah. A new podcast hosted by a man named Ben is coming out about the murder, and Lucy heads home at the insistence of her grandmother. Almost everyone there believes she was the murderer, but Lucy doesn’t remember anything about that night.

I enjoyed the twists and turns of this and how messy of a character Lucy is. She and Ben had fun chemistry, and it was neat trying to figure out what was gonna happen next.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this smart, well paced story. Clues were parceled out slowly, but not too slowly. The flow of the narrative kept me captivated, anxious to see what unfolded next. I read this in two days!

Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt & Company, Henry Holt and Co. for this enjoyable ARC!

Let me start out by saying that I blasted through this book like I was back in Junior High and reading books at the speed of light. This book was super fun and kept me on my toes. Like most everyone (I think) I was trying to guess who the culprit was and looking for hints throughout the book but until the author literally revealed the identity of the "bad guy", I was stumped guessing wrong characters left and right. I highly recommend picking up this book to get a kickstart back into reading for anyone who feels in a slump or out of the loop.

I have a million things to do right now, so I started reading Listen for the Lie thinking I could skim a chapter while on a break and put the book down without regret. I was very, very wrong. On the first page, I thought I knew what I was getting into: unreliable narrator with an "edgy" sense of humor who was probably an unlikeable murderer, and the podcaster who can't decide whether to turn her in or sleep with her. But as I moved on to page two and beyond, I realized that author Amy Tintera was doing something very unique. Listen for the Lie is one of those magical reads that delivers one surprise after another and keeps you reading well into the night (and when you really should be doing other things...).

Lucy Chase just lost her job, is about to lose her boyfriend, and is headed back to her hometown to hide out with her challenging parents. Why is she hiding? She's long been suspected of murdering her best friend Savvy--though the police weren't able to dig up enough proof for an arrest--and the case has just become the subject of a hit true-crime podcast. But when she arrives in her parents' small Texas community, she realizes home may have not been the best locale in which to shelter in place. Because smugly good-looking podcast host Ben Owens is in town looking for answers.

Lucy might start out unlikeable, but it didn't take long for me to realize there was so much more to her character than well=worn tropes. Her penchant for inappropriate outbursts of dark humor mask real trauma. And her tendency to envision murdering everyone she meets with whatever makeshift weapons happen to be at hand is her way of constantly interrogating whether she really did have it in her to murder her best friend. Because Lucy doesn't remember anything about that night. One minute, she and Savvy were hanging out at a wedding, and the next, she was stumbling out of the woods with a head injury and her friend's blood on her torn dress. The harder she tries to recall the details, the fuzzier and more faraway her memories get.

So Lucy does something that startles the local gossips, the podcast audience, and Ben Owens himself--she plunks down next to Ben in the town diner and agrees to help him figure out who killed Savvy. Is she really offering selfless assistance? Or is she a sociopath inserting herself into the investigation to toy with Ben and the police?

I used to read a lot of mystery and suspense novels, but I tend to avoid them now since I find a lot of them to be predictable let-downs. I'm not sure what possessed me to request Listen for the Lie on Netgalley, but I'm so glad I did. Listen for the Lie brought me back to my long-ago love for a thrilling, edge-of=your=seat read. With deep characterization, laugh-out-loud dialogue, and a chilling crime with plenty of delicious misdirection, YA author Amy Tintera's adult debut is a wonderful read and one of my favorite whodunits in years.

I read thrillers during almost every mood that I’m in. If I’m sad, anxious, stressed, or just looking for a good read. They are my ultimate guilty pleasure (except I don’t feel even a little guilty).
It has become hard for me to feel like I’m reading something fresh, as a result. Which is why this was such a delight. I was flipping through pages as fast as I could, desperate to find out what happened. I truly had no guesses. Not until the answers were being revealed.

(I will post a review on social media, closer to the pub date)

Thank you Amy Tintera and NetGalley for the ARC of Listen for the Lie. I throughly enjoyed this book and it kept my interest the entire time. Though it took me longer than average to finish due to personal reasons I never stopped thinking about it and would 100% recommend it!

Woo!! This one was a page turner. It has some plot points that have been really popular with thrillers lately. We have our main character, Lucy, accused of her best friend’s murder. Everyone loved Savvy and the small town they live in is convinced Lucy is to blame.

Enter true crime podcaster, Ben, who is determined to find the truth. The story is told through then and now timelines and “Listen for the Lie” podcast interviews of town residents. Someone is lying, and it’s not who you think it is!

I couldn’t put this book down! It will definitely be one you won’t want to miss come March!

Listen for the Lie
Amy Tintera
Pub Date Mar 5
Henry Holt
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. A true crime podcast has ruined Lucy Chases life. Well ruined it for the second time.
Fun, ironic, dark humor with podcast interviews thrown in, this is a thrilling mystery that will keep you guessing. I recommend this for anyone who likes riveting thrillers. I loved Grandma Beverly!
4 stars

Wow! I loved this book - it really kept me guessing until the very end. All of the characters were very likable which made it hard to see that anyone could have done it!

I can not express how much I loved this book - Cold Case with tons of questions - check. Podcast that picks at the underbelly of a small town trying to answer those questions - check. Sassy main character that might have been the perpetrator of the Cold Case - check. Funny secrets uncovered - check. Light hearted Rom-Com storyline embedded in all of this - check. This was just a fun and fast read - a perfect chef's kiss book

This was an enjoyable book that kept me interested to the end. It was sarcastically funny and quirky. It wasn’t exactly suspenseful, but definitely a good mystery.

Devoured in one day!

I could NOT put this book down. Between the dark humor and the suspense of figuring out the truth, I was stuck.

Lucy is our main character, and murderer, or is she? A podcaster has taken this unsolved murder case from 5 years ago and ripped it wide open. Lucy was found bloody and confused right after her best friend Savvy was found murdered in the woods after a wedding they attended together. Lucy claims amnesia, but the town is more than skeptical.

There is a no-nonsense grandmother, parents who are completely convinced Lucy did it, and ex's covering for more than you think.

Ben, the podcaster, starts interviewing and uncovers secrets and surprises within this small town that has them questioning their friendships and relationships.

I swore I figured out who it was twice, only to be proven wrong in the last few pages of this incredibly well written story. I have seen a review stating there is "a lot of sex" but I disagree. There are a couple of those instances but there is no detail and you aren't left with wide eyes (in that manner at least).

Between Lucy's humor, coping mechanisms, and the personalities of the town members you are going to laugh and scoff through most of the book.

The story is well written and captivating, and I cannot wait to see another book from this author!

Lucy can't remember what happened the night her bestfriend Savvy was murdered. The whole town of Plumpton, TX believes Lucy did it. Because she can't remember, she might believe it too.

After Savvy's death, Lucy moves as far away from Plumpton as she can, in hopes of getting away from the town she grew up in and the town that has turned against her. 5 years later a podcast Lucy hates digs up Saavy's case to find out what really happened that night she was murdered. Now a night that Lucy is thankful to forget, becomes the main topic in Plumpton again.

I love Lucy and her grandmother's relationship, their sarcasm and love for one another was super refreshing to read in a thriller. I really enjoyed the pacing in Listen for the Lie and how the podcast episodes are added at the end of the chapters. There were lots of red herrings but I never was able to guess who killed Savvy until it was revealed in the last few chapters. I'll definitely be buying a physical copy when this book drops on March 5, 2024 and telling all my book friends to read it too.

Thank you NetGalley and Holt Books for the ARC ebook approval in return for my honest opinion.

I loved the pace of this book, the back and forth of the podcast sections and Lucy narrating definitely kept my attention. I did not know who was going to end up being the killer, I thought it was several different people at different points of the book. I enjoyed Lucy’s character and felt she was a very relatable character, I LOVED her sarcasm! This is definitely a 5-star from me. SO VERY GOOD!

Oh how I love a thriller heroine who just DGAF about what the people around her think and Lucy is an expert at the sarcastic comment that just stops people in their tracks. I have to be honest - I wasn’t overly excited about another thriller involving a podcast but I loved how Tintera used the podcast interview scripts to convey critical information to the reader. It was seamless and necessary and not just a gimmick. The characters were nuanced and complex as were the relationships, which really added to the authenticity of the novel. The pacing was awesome and the twists and turns kept coming (but never in an over the top manner) which kept me engaged and glued to the pages! I didn’t want to put this thriller down and I couldn’t wait to get back to Lucy, Beverly (her badass grandmother), Ben, and the rest of Plumpton. The writing was sharp, the plot like complex and enthralling, and the characters developed. Great read!

There's a lot of lies to listen to here. Lucy can't remember what happened the night her BFF was killed, and I went round and round on who I thought dunnit.

In the end, it all made sense and I feel like I got a well-rounded view of this entire town and the people in it. I really liked the varying perspectives, voices, and angles we get to experience here. Especially grandma. I would read her spinoff, tbh. Lucy's inner monologue was (and still is) a big question mark for me, but maybe that's a good thing.

This one sucked me in and the double-punch of mixed media and a pithy writing style really propelled this story. When I first started this, I knew nothing other than Stephen King blurbed it. Seriously, I didn't even see the cover. Glad I went for it and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another Any Tintera title.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I debated between 4 stars or 5 stars - This book was so enjoyable. Kept me on the edge of my seat! From Lucy’s POV, the pieces from the podcast including the towns thoughts, and Savvy appearing frequently in Lucy’s thoughts. It was almost like at times she was guiding Lucy to the truth while also, picking at her for her sometimes rather bad decisions. The best part was Lucy’s sarcasm throughout the book. So relatable. This book kept me guessing and at the end, I was pleasantly surprised! I literally could not stand Lucy’s ex husband and her parents. They should have protected her more and not jumped to conclusions.

The build up of this book was A-1! I wish the ending had a bit more regarding Lucy and Ben but it still pretty great. Grandma was the best character. I was to be her when I grow up.

Thanks NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company got the ARC!

Five glowing stars for this book. I especially loved Lucy's dark humor. The book is told from her point of view, and she spends a large part of the book imagining ways that she could kill various people. She has an excellent imagination.

The book opens with Lucy's life going down the drain for the second time in ten years, all due to her past being exposed on a popular true crime podcast, "Listen for the Lie". As a result, she was fired from her job and escorted from the building. She had been living with her boyfriend, and he asked her to move out, leaving her homeless as well as unemployed. The boyfriend was hilarious - he was terrified of her, and flinched when she made a sudden move. She moved back home to stay with her parents while she looked for another job (somewhere far away).

Ten years earlier, Lucy was married and had her own home in the same town she had grown up in. Then everything fell apart after a party one night when her best friend Savvy was murdered, and Lucy was found wandering down the street covered in blood, with a head injury, and no memory of what had happened. I suspected so many people as being the killer while reading this book, even Lucy. Lucy herself wasn't sure she hadn't.

I highly recommend this unique mystery and hope to read more written by this author. My thanks to the author, publisher Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for the e-ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

I really struggled to decide between 4 stars or 5 stars here but ultimately settled on 4. This was a very enjoyable book and kept me guessing the entire time. I liked the added element of getting snippets of the podcast between chapters especially because it allowed the book to be primarily Lucy’s POV while still getting everyone’s story told.

At the end of the day I landed on 4 star because it felt like the ending wrapped up so suddenly and perfectly and that was almost disappointing after all of the build up. This is a book I will definitely be recommending though!!