What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter?

First of all, I'm a total sucker for the "thriller ft. a fake podcast" genre. I actually wish that I had listened this this in audio because I'm sure it's amazing!

LISTEN FOR THE LIE kept me on the edge of my seat (and giggling - seriously, the narration was hilarious). Full of twists and turns (and one amazing grandma) I highly recommend this one to anyone looking for their popcorn thriller fix.

Thank you to #netgalley for my #gifted #arc

If you love podcasts, this is your book! Five years ago Lucy was accused of killing her best friend Savvy. Lucy doesn't remember what happened, as she was found wandering the street that night, with blood on her hands. Five years later, and one of the most popular podcasters is reopening the case, traveling to Texas to the scene of the crime and interviewing everyone - including Lucy - what really happened that night? The town of shifty characters and Lucy's family members are so very well developed and readers will be so entwined in their stories and waiting for the next podcast to be broadcast. This is the debut adult novel of this author and it flowed so well, was entertaining, and so hard to put down.

Rating: 3.5
I was skeptical going into this book how I was going to be able to connect with the main character who might have murdered her own best friend but Amy Tintera built the character of Lucy to be so authentically grumpy and as skeptical of herself as the reader is! It was something special to be sure that you could be rooting for a character who you would not be so surprised if she was guilty of the murder that she was accused of. The real strength of this book for me was the character of Lucy and her way of coping with the uncertainty of her innocence. I enjoyed Tintera's writing and would be interested to pick up more of her work. For this book, I would have preferred less romantic entanglements, in fact, I think the book would have been improved with no romances. I did predict the ending but I still enjoyed the amp up to the big reveal!
Thank you to Celadon books as well as Netgalley for sending a copy for review

Before I go any further, I will acknowledge that SO MANY people loved this book and I am an unfortunately an outlier. I'll blame everyone else for setting the expectation bar too high. :)

I usually love murder mystery whodunnits, but Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera didn't quite live up to the hype. It was a quick read, and I do like the author's writing style. So in that regard, I would read other books by her.

Here are a couple of reasons why I am only giving Listen for the Lie 3 stars: (1) Lucy (the main character) was very sarcastic, (2) I thought there were too many relationships (secret hookups) to keep track of and (3) I don't feel like I understood the ending.

I will still recommend this book to friends because I know many people have loved Listen for the Lie!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the eARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This book was straight up fun!

The MC, Lucy, was an unreliable narrator since she had head trauma-related amnesia. The story unfolded for the reader along with Lucy, and the quirky cast of characters, with the help of a podcaster searching for the murderer. Lucy's grandmother was hilarious and made me think of Evanovich. For me, humor goes a long way if done well.

As always with thrillers, some belief suspension is needed, but it didn't deter from the enjoyment. The puzzle pieces were connected throughout the book and came to a satisfying ending reveal. This was fast paced and always left me wanting to go back and read more. It was completely entertaining.

I have already recommended this quite a few times and will continue to do so. It is a perfect summer read.

I want to thank Celadon Books and NetGalley for the advance eKindle copy in exchange for an honest review.

A popular podcaster is determined to solve an unsolved mystery and liberate the main character, Lucy, after the community and nation have pegged her as guilty for the past five years. When Lucy returns to her hometown five-years after the event that changed her life, she is confronted with the past events and feelings.

There is much more you can say about the story without giving the story away. There are twists and turns, lots of misleads and enough to keep you going. Endings rarely surprise me because I read so many thrillers/mysteries, but there was definitely some fun!

I would recommend this to a friend!

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

dark funny mysterious medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5 stars

Domestic murder mystery comedy(?). This is the second of three books I’m reading with the word “lie” in the title. Lucy returns to the small town where 5 years earlier her best friend was murdered and she can’t remember what happened. A true crime podcaster starts to unravel the secrets of this community where everyone seems to be sleeping with everyone and violence and alcohol abuse muddy the truth. Meanwhile the voice in Lucy’s head keeps instructing her to kill.
This was a good vacation read that kept the pages turning.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

#ListenfortheLie #NetGalley

There is a proliferation of crime novels told by narration and podcasts out there. This is one that works really well. A self deprecating maybe murderer is going back to the scene of the crime (but was it hers) for her grandmothers birthday party. Also arriving is a cutie pie in the form of the host of said podcast who wants to finally get to the bottom of whether or not she killed her best friend. Moves quickly, gets stuck two thirds through but finishes with a flourish!

I was hooked into this book right from the very beginning! I loved that it flipped from Lucy’s perspective to podcast transcripts. The formats were both super interesting to follow, and I loved that I couldn’t really figure out what was going on until the climax happened. I also enjoyed how upfront Lucy was about being a bad innocent person. That brought up a lot of commentary about how society treats people (and women in particular) who have gone through something tragic and people aren’t sure what to believe but they’re desperate for some kind of answers.

This book is beloved by thriller lovers for a reason: It is fast paced with short chapters that hook you in from the start. As a general rule, I really do not like books that use a pod cast troupe, but for some reasons this one did not bother me. The podcaster, Ben Owens, is in town to dig into the cold case murder of Savvy - a high school girl who was loved by all. Her best friend Lucy was found wandering the Main Street in a daze with blood on her hands. The police never had enough to charge Lucy, but the townspeople think that she was the one who did it. I enjoyed it but had to talk with others about the ending.

What if everybody thought you murdered your best friend?

What if you didn’t know if that was true or not because you couldn’t remember?

five years ago, Lucy was found, stumbling along the highway with a head injury, and not remembering what happened

And her best friend is behind her dead

Why wouldn’t everyone th think she had done it, and she had no way to know, or to prove that she did not do it.

I really enjoyed this read I’d highly recommend it

A true crime podcast and a great story all in one… reading this was a no brainer! It was such a fun read, and I would imagine the audio book version might be even better. As a true crime podcast lover, this was such a fun crossover. It kept you guessing until the end, the main character was snarky, and a meddling grandma thrown in - so good! But, why wasn’t it a 5 star? Some parts were a little unbelievable and I felt like the ending was rushed. While most thrillers tend to “speed up” in the end, I didn’t think it flowed with the rest of the book. If you don’t normally read thrillers, this would be a good one to start with. All in all, great read, and would definitely cause some good book club discussions!

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for sending an eARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Lucy has returned to her hometown under the guise of celebrating her grandmother’s birthday, but it’s not an ordinary homecoming. Five years ago Lucy was found stumbling down the road covered in her best friend’s blood, and her best friend was found dead in the woods. She has no memory of what happened.

The book follows Lucy as she realizes her mystery has become the main subject of a popular podcast, Listen for the Lie. She ends up meeting Ben, the podcast host, and finds herself caught in a web of history before she realizes it.

While I like books with unreliable narrators, I’m not always a fan of the type of twist that comes along with them. This was gripping and a quick read but I’m torn on the way it wrapped up.

This reivew is posted on Goodreads and Storygraph.

In the gripping tale of Listen for the Lie, Lucy finds herself at the heart of a mystery that could unravel her entire existence. Once the darling duo of their Texas hometown, Lucy and her best friend Savvy’s lives take a dark turn when Lucy is discovered covered in Savvy’s blood. Branded a murderer by all, Lucy flees to Los Angeles, leaving behind a shattered past. But five years later, a tantalizing true crime podcast, hosted by the undeniably attractive but smug Ben Owens, thrusts Lucy back into the spotlight as they delve into Savvy’s murder. With the truth lurking in the shadows, Lucy must confront her past and unearth the secrets she buried, even if it means facing the terrifying possibility that she may have killed her own best friend. In a whirlwind of suspense and betrayal, Listen for the Lie promises a riveting journey into the depths of guilt and deception, where the answers may lie just beneath the surface, waiting to be uncovered.

I absolutely devoured this book! I loved Lucy’s sarcasm and really appreciated seeing the story unfold from her point of view. I can’t even imagine what she was going through losing the memory of *that* night and it was eye opening to see how everything happened from her perspective. I adored Lucy’s grandmother throughout the entire book and loved the role she played in Lucy’s personal growth. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good murder mystery with a little humor and deception thrown in.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC of Listen for the Lie in return for my honest review.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
5/5 Stars
Pub Date: March 5, 2024

Five years ago, Savvy and Lucy were best friends living in their small hometown in Texas. They went to a friends wedding and when they left together, Savvy ended the night dead in the woods and Lucy was framed as the murderer. She had terrible memory loss though from a head injury so she can’t remember if she actually did murder Savvy or not. Present day, she is living in Los Angeles with her boyfriend Nathan when a true crime podcaster has started a new series trying to figure out if Lucy is actually the murder of Savvy. Because of this, she ends up losing her job and everyone seems to know who she is again after trying to rewrite her life in a new city. Her grandma ends up telling Lucy to come back home for a birthday party, but in all reality she just wanted Lucy to talk to the podcaster to figure out if she really is the murderer. Will Lucy talk to Ben? Will she confess to what she did? Or does she really not remember? Did someone else murder Savvy?

This book had me invested from page 1. I loved how Tintera made Lucy funny from the start of the book and I think that is what drew me in before solving the mystery even got started. The fact that Lucy always had killing on the brain just made it funny to read about. Once Lucy decided to go back home and we started to hear from other points of view on the podcast, I started really getting interested in the story. My mind was never made up as to who I thought murdered Savvy because there were so many options and reasons as to why it could have been so many people. When that ending came along though and we found out who actually murdered Savvy, I was SHOCKED and didn’t see it coming whatsoever. This was honestly one of the best mysteries I have read in a while.

Thank you to Amy Tintera, Celadon Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this as an ARC for an honest review! I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more of Amy Tintera’s books!

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Lucy has been suspected of killing her best friend, Savvy, several years ago. There was never enough evidence to charge Lucy, especially because Lucy herself suffered significant head trauma that night and suffers from what some say a very "convenient" case of amnesia related to the events. Lucy's grandmother is throwing herself a birthday party and wants Lucy to come home to celebrate, and oh by the way, the true crime podcast "Listen for the Lie" is investigating Savvy's murder and might be in town. Now Lucy has to face facts and try to figure it out if she really murdered her friend or not!

This was such a fun read! Lucy's sarcasm and the ability to make her family, friends, and neighbors squirm was hilarious. The grandmother also had some great laugh-out-loud scenes! I liked the different media used in writing the book too--the podcast episodes made this a fast, but interesting read. I guessed the ending before it was revealed, but not until it was pretty close to the end, so that was enjoyable as well! I did find the self-sabotaging behavior of MANY of the characters to be a little bit annoying at times and I was confused by the voice in Lucy's head (was that supposed to be part of her brain trauma? A PTSD response? Just an overactive imagination? Why didn't it go away after everything was solved?). But besides those two nit-picky annoyances I really enjoyed reading this and would definitely recommend to others--especially all those true crime podcast fans!

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

For fans of None of This is True and First Lie Wins

If you are someone who wants to get more into audiobooks, this is a great one to start with. It’s read from the main character’s -Lucy - POV and excerpts from the podcast that is being investigated surrounding Lucy and the accusation she killed her best friend Savvy. It’s interesting from start to finish, and i enjoyed the little romance going on as well. I half listened to this, half read It, and i flew through It. Really enjoyed!

This was a great first adult novel by Amy Tintera. This was super twisted and the characters were all a damn mess. The sarcasm was an A+ and the ending was intense!

I flew through it buuuut...⁣
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Super Brief Summary⁣
What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn’t matter?⁣
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I have some thoughts. I don't always read full summaries, especially for thrillers so I missed a major plotline that usually makes me not read a book and that is AMNESIA. To me it is a cop out, an easy way to make plot holes that otherwise would not work. So why did I continue? Well, many friends said it was a fun ride AND y'all, the audio was GOOD. It includes a full-fledged podcast and you are listening along with the characters and secrets just keep unfolding making it super propulsive!⁣
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The audio is the only way to go on this one, had I not had it I definitely would have bailed. There was also one completely unnecessary component that I get was used to confuse the reader but it was so excessive that after the ending you think back, "hey, why in the world did *that* have to happen?!" It will spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't read it but if you'd like to know (or you think you know what I'm referring to, feel free to DM me).⁣
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What do you think about books that use amnesia??

I was GLUED to this book! Loved the main character because she was flawed but hilarious. I thought the ending was kind of anti-climactic (like she just remembers what happened one day) but I enjoyed the ride so much it’s still a 5 star for me!