Lucy has amnesia and cannot remember her best friends murder. Everyone says she did it, but she can’t remember anything except being covered in blood. When she comes home for her grandmothers birthday party and speaks with a podcaster trying to uncover the truth, Lucy’s memories begin coming back. And everyone is found out for who they are.

I enjoyed this book! I do wish Lucy wasn’t so nonchalant over everything, but it was a quick and enjoyable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows the new trend in mysteries by following a true crime podcaster as he/she tries to solve a murder. Lucy Chase was accused of killing her best friend Savvy although the police could not find enough evidence to charge her for the crime. But people in small towns like Palumbo, Texas are quick to judge and slow to change their beliefs. Now a man named Ben is doing a podcast on the crime and determined to find out the truth because Lucy who was also badly injured on the night in question has no memory of the event. Lucy moved away to Los Angeles and writes romance books until a fake name. One day her beloved grandmother (and the best character in the book) insists Lucy come home to celebrate Grandma's 80th birthday and Lucy agrees despite knowing she is walking into a lot of judgement and hate.

I liked the parts about the podcast and the way the short chapters were advancing the case and giving us more information on Savvy and Lucy and their relationship. I found Lucy hard to like though especially since she constantly had intrusive thoughts about killing various people and what weapons she would use to commit crimes. That is just not normal. There are a lot of characters in this small town and not one of them seems to be a good person except the grandmother. There was a lot of people who were violent in this town and a lot of infidelity. I also wondered why Lucy or her family never seemed to have hired a lawyer to prevent her being harassed at the hospital when the murder happened and she had a traumatic brain injury. There is also a lot of sex. Everyone including Lucy's mother is sleeping with someone in the town and there is a lot of overlap between these relationships.

The book has short chapters which were easy to follow and there were some unexpected twists which fit the overall story. I think the character of Lucy could have been a little less obsessed with murder and perhaps a little less snarky. Overall it was a good read but too filled with unlikable characters to be a favorite. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a review.

Listen for the Lie is definitely one of the hot thrillers of 2024. It takes the true crime podcast trope but makes it fresh. I was kept guessing until the end.

Holy wow was this a good read! I became completely invested in finding out who killed Savvy and for what purpose. I was also completely satisfied with how the author wrapped everything up. A compulsively readable thriller!

oh dear, def. an outlier on #listenforthelie. i mean, 11K people can't be wrong, right?

what i liked:
a few of lucy's inner thoughts and comments. but just a few. most were way beyond dark humor. in fact, i didn't get how these people were so very cavalier about murder.

what i didn't:
the characters
the way everyone glossed over savvy's murder
the nickname savvy
the way everyone is having sex with everyone else, esp. lucy and ben (wtf?)
savvy being inside lucy's head
lucy being inside lucy's head

skipped ahead to the reveal b/c reading was so painful and tiresome.

p.s. thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

DNF @ 36%

Unpopular opinion coming in hot: I could NOT with this book.

Did I enjoy the audiobook format? Yes, yes I did.
Was the premise interesting? Yes, yes it was.
Could I get over how annoying and untrustworthy the FMC was? No, no I could not.

I'd try this author again, but this book was not for me.
But obviously I'm in the minority here, so I would still say to give it a try!

Wow! What a page turner that was full of twists and turns! I think at some point I suspected everyone. I loved the podcast format and I’m a real life true crime fan so this book checked all the boxes for me. Great read and I highly recommend picking this one up!

Could. Not. Put. It. Down. This was such a good book! I read it in less than a day. I loved that it was a thriller, but not intense. The alternating story and podcast episodes was really fun to read. I found it a little tricky to remember all the characters and how they were connected (there’s a lot of overlap), but it didn’t take away from the story. Highly recommend!

Wow, this was a fantastic read! And it was one that I stayed up to finish. Those are my favourite types of thrillers. I don't exactly want to give anything away here, but the synopsis does a great job of filling you in on the plot. This is for you if you want a thriller that will keep you reading into the night, dark humour, pod-cast snippets, and whodunits.

I enjoyed this book so much that I also purchased an audiobook to experience the podcast element, and it did a fantastic job.

Thank you to Celadon Books for inviting me to read this digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The review is to be published on April 24th, 2024.

This was a good mystery. I think the main character's lack of memory and obsession with killings after the murder of her friend paired with the ending makes this book a very interesting read.

I devoured Listen for the Lie! I read this fast-paced thriller in just two days, and that never happens to me anymore. All of the characters were entertainingly flawed, and Lucy’s sarcasm and sass were chef’s kiss 🤌 I loved how the flashbacks gradually unveiled just the right amount of information, and the podcast interviews sprinkled throughout were an enjoyable addition. Finally, the ending was twisty and turny and not what I expected — just the way I like it! Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this book ASAP!

Listen for the Lie is one of the best thrillers I've read in a long time. I loved the format and writing style, and Tintera utilizes an unreliable narrator better than most writers I've read. Watching everything come together (and fall apart) was an exciting and nerve-racking experience from the first page to the last. I would recommend this without hesitation to thriller and mystery fans alike.

How would you cope with being accused of murder by public opinion alone? Your hometown believes you're guilty, yet the authorities lack evidence to charge you. You can't recall the events of that fateful night. Now, imagine this case, which compelled you to flee your familiar life, becomes the focus of a true crime podcast. Would you cooperate with the podcast creator, or prefer to keep your distance? Do you yearn for the truth to emerge? The journey to these answers unfolds within the pages of this narrative. Presented through dual perspectives, including that of the podcast, the story evolves naturally, allowing you to unravel the truth as if you were part of the tale yourself.

I absolutely devoured Listen for the Lie! Despite not being a frequent listener to podcasts, I will read any book that features a podcast. I particularly enjoyed how the author alternated between Lucy and the podcast transcript. The podcast transcripts kept me engaged since some new lead about the murder was usually revealed. Lucy was snarky, relatable and funny, and I often found myself wondering if she was capable of murder. Thank you to Negalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of Listen for the Lie!

Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC & ALC!

Narrated by: January LaVoy & Will Damron

For a while there I was seeing this book EVERYWHERE and therefore had to read it. It definitely didn’t let me down. I listened to most of this while on my way to and from work and the audio is *chef’s kiss*. Who doesn’t love a storyline with a true crime podcast? This had me on the edge of my seat till the very end and I never saw it coming. Set in a small Texas town, the location also plays a large part in transporting you and keeping you locked in this town while providing suspense and continued intrigue in the story. Lucy’s character was also absolutely hilarious. Having the story from her POV, we were given an inside scoop on her thoughts and feelings and MAN were they dark but funny. It added comical relief that I feel a lot of thriller books need. I definitely recommend the audio for this!

Listen for the Lie sucks you right in from the jump. I absolutely LOVE true crime fiction, which is not an oxymoron -- it allows me to feel like I'm more ethically consuming true crime without further victimizing victims. Obsessed with the podcast format.

3.75 stars for Listen For The Lie

This was a fun thriller with great characters and a cool podcast element to the storytelling. I loved the uniqueness of it, and it kept me interested from start to finish.
I always think it’s great when things like podcast episodes, newspaper articles or journal entries are mixed in with a book.

The MC, Lucy, was the best! I thought she was hysterical, and loved every time a random comment popped up in her head. Sure, a lot of people were convinced she killed her best friend, but she seemed pretty cool.

As much as I enjoyed it there were also a few slight misses…there were a lot of characters and different past storylines I was confused with, and sometimes I needed things to speed up or slow down.
I could have done with less witty banter between Lucy and Ben, the podcaster, but that is definitely a me problem.

…and I was slightly underwhelmed with how things wrapped up.

…but the plot was intriguing, the whodunnit storyline fun, and as I said before the dark, twisty humor was awesome.

I’m super happy I read this one, especially because it was a bestie buddy read with @si !!
Overall a good book with ups and downs but definitely worth picking up!

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

This debut adult novel by Amy Tintera was unputdownable! This book had my head going around in circles trying to figure out who murdered Savvy. I really enjoyed the characters and how the author drew out the character development so as you read you continued to learn more about each individual person. Lately I have been a sucker for another true crime podcast associated and will be giving this book 5 stars and adding it to my top books of 2024! Will be recommending to friends.

This is Amy Tintera’s debut novel for adults and boy was it a winner!! I have not read any of her other books but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This book drew my interest immediately and kept it going throughout the whole story!

Lucy Chase is a young woman with a past, she left her hometown five years ago. She grew up in the small town of Plumpton, where everyone knows everyone and their business. 5 years ago, Lucy was discovered with her best friend, Savvy’s blood all over her and no memory of what happened. Small town gossip turn her into a murderer and she flees town to get away from the drama. Her grandma asks her to come home for her birthday party, so she returns home where everyone thinks she is murderer.

There is a podcaster named Ben that is trying to solve Savvy’s murder and uncovers so many scandals along the way. Lucy’s grandmother asks her to do an interview with Ben, but the madness turns up affairs, dark secrets, lies, cheaters, abuse, and so much more. His podcast interviews are the talk of the town.

This book is bananas! I loved every second of reading it. I absolutely adored Lucy’s character, she is charismatic, charming, sarcastic. All of the characters in this book had depth and great personalities. I loved the way the podcast was shown every few chapters, it really kept your interest (I bet it made for a great audiobook). There was twist after twist, I still am not sure I even know what happened! I highly recommend this thriller! A must read! Looking forward to what’s next for Tintera!

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books and the author for the opportunity to read this book. My opinions are honest and my own!

Loved. This was the often promised, but rarely delivered darkly comedic mystery I crave. A flawed, unreliable protagonist teams up with a smug podcaster to solve the small town murder that everyone has long suspected her of. I am not one for the overly twisty and turny thriller, nor the overly gratuitous or exploitative, and this was none of these. It was a fast paced, black comedy wrapped around a small town mystery. Highly recommend if these are your kicks.