Dark, twisty, surprisingly funny, fast-paced thriller. I loved this book! Lucy was sarcastic, witty, and definitely lovable. I absolutely adored her grandmother, too!

This book got me out of a reading slump right off that bat! Lately thrillers have been so repetitive and predictable, its hard to bring something new nowadays but this book definitely did it. I was hooked from the first chapter, it was hard to put this down, I could not stop, I needed to find out the truth. I had to also check out the audiobook so I can keep up with it when I didn’t have time to physically read it and the audiobook was even better if that can even be possible! I really appreciated the extra effort to make the podcast section actually feel like youre listening to a real podcast and different narrators! This author will definitely be an auto buy for me with any future books 🙌🏼

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera is a mystery about Lucy, who everyone thinks murdered her best friend Savvy. But Lucy doesn't have any memory of what happened. When a true crime podcast starts investigating what happened the night of the murder, Lucy does everything she can to help Ben, the host of the podcast, find the actual killer. I really enjoyed this book. It kept me hooked from the very beginning. I have a slight issue with how the murderer was revealed and how everything wrapped up, but the first 90% was great! Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

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

Gah! This book was so good.

I don’t generally like being scared (I’m already in a daily state of generalized anxiety) but I’d heard such good things.

IT WAS ALL TRUE.

The characters were fleshed out and believable. The pacing and setting were perfect, and the structure (MFC narration, interspersed by bits of the podcast) was novel and wonderful.

I’m new to this author, and she’s got a quite a back-catalogue (with FANTASTY!) so I’m looking forward to searching out more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this fantastic ARC.

This book was great! I finished it in 4 days (which is really fast for me). 5 years ago Lucy was accused of killing her best friend Savvy, but has no memory of the events from that night. She wasn’t convicted since there was no evidence and moves away from her small Texas town to LA since everyone (including her parents) think she actually did it. Now a true crime podcaster is reopening the investigation himself into Savvy’s death. Lucy’s grandmother gets her to come back home and she has to confront everything all over. Did she really kill her best friend or was there someone else. This had me guessing till the end and for some parts I even thought maybe Lucy was the killer. Truly a great mystery thriller.

Thank you NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Amy Tintera for sharing an e-book copy with me!

3.5, but raising it to 4 Stars! Although a little slow to start in my opinion, this book hooked me about 25% of the way through! Once you got into the story, it turned fast paced and kept me turning the pages. The MC is sarcastic, which is a favorite of mine, witty, and likable. I love that they had the podcast episodes mixed throughout the chapters, but definitely wish they were a bit longer. Overall, if you need a fast paced thriller, pick this one up! I may even go back and listen to the audio book because I’ve heard great things about that too! (:

4.5/5

There’s been an uptick of books with a true crime podcast element and while some fall flat you can put Listen for the Lie squarely in the phenomenal column. The podcast element had me running to buy this book on audiobook because it really did read like a podcast meets a thriller book. The podcast elements only enhanced the read and were well placed within the plot.

Speaking of plot, it seems a more common trope than it should be: girl can’t remember the night her friend died all these years ago AND also happens to be the prime suspect. But Lucy is not your average female lead. Despite being our unreliable narrator Lucy is so darn likable that I had a hard time actually caring whether she did it or not. She’s sarcastic, realistic, and has a dark sense of humor that makes you want to root for her, potential murderess and all. Her love for Savvy and fear of herself really come across every page.

Did I figure it out: Honestly no. I definitely did not see it coming but it also didn’t feel unrealistic or like a blindside which is my pet peeve with many thrillers now a days. They try so hard for you not to guess the ending that they make the ending impossible to guess because it makes no sense. No, Listen for the Lie has an excellent plot that had me guessing the whole time and left me gasping every couple of pages.

It had laugh out loud moments but also had me ripping through the whole book just to learn what really happened the night Savvy died and just what Lucy did.

Absolutely LOVED Listen for the Lie and you can bet I’ll be listening for Tintera’s next read!

I just love it when a thriller not only has me totally hooked from the beginning but it also keeps me guessing.
Lucy is such a interesting character she's much more than an unreliable narrator at times she had me biting my nails and scratching my head during the story. Imagine not knowing who murdered your best friend 5 years ago & loosing your memories about that night. Then that time in your life becomes to topic of a popular podcast which has became so popular it gets a second season. Imagine from being a victim so traumatized you have no memory to feeling like and being a suspect in the murder.
I don't know how Amy Tinera expects anyone to be able to step away from this book I couldn't sleep till i finished this one.
I appreciate my netgalley copy so much I'm downloading the audiobook version for my upcoming road trip with some friends who I know are gonna love it just as much as me.

More like a 4.5.
This was so good and entertaining! I loved the suspense and the humor! I read it in one day!

Wow- what a read! I loved the unique format with the podcast snippets scattered throughout. The audiobook version was fantastic too. This was a quick and engaging read that took a fun twist on a murder mystery.

I enjoyed this book! I love a mystery that isn't too serious, and this one was fun. Our main character, Lucy, is dragged back to her hometown by her grandmother and is immediately sucked back into the mystery of her best friend Savvy's murder. She left town when the court of public opinion decided she was guilty, and upon her return she finds that not much has changed. To complicate matters, a podcaster has decided his next season of his popular podcast will be all about Savvy's murder, which puts even more eyes (and ears) on the case.
I loved the characters - Lucy was a fun protagonist, and her witty grandma was great. I enjoyed getting to uncover more and more of the past relationship between Lucy and Savvy, and getting to know Savvy before her untimely death. There were some good reveals that I did not see coming and I thought the pace of the story was perfect. 5 stars!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC for review!

Listen for the Lie was my favorite type of thriller - witty and funny, twisty, one where nearly everyone is a suspect. I loved the podcast aspect and the back-and-forth between past and present in the chapters. The pacing kept me engaged and I thought Lucy, who is suspected but was never convicted of murdering her best friend, was such an interesting and complex main character. I recommend this one to fans of twisty thrillers that keep you guessing until the end.
Note: I received an advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

Really creative writing and I wasn't expecting to laugh out loud reading a thriller type book. I know I'm in the minority here, but I did not care for the spicy bits. I found it a bit cheesy. A huge thank you to Celadon Books and to NetGalley for this ARC.

This book was so much fun! I alternated between physical and audio and audio was definitely a fun listen. This one kept me guessing and I loved the podcast element. Definitely recommend for a thriller you won’t want to put down!

I loved this book and flew through it in one day! Though the plot includes several common (some may say overdone) tropes like a true-crime podcast and a woman returning to her hometown, Amy Tintera twists them and writes them so well that they felt fresh. I loved the hot Texas setting and I really enjoyed the perspective change where the story was told from the POV of the accused. So many types of books like this tell the story from the podcaster's perspective, so this felt like a welcome change and I enjoyed every second of it.

I cannot believe how many times I actually laughed out loud while reading this thriller- that usually never happens with this genre! But the humor between the main character and the grandmother's character was just so spot on! I loved the podcast element to this story and how it gave us so many different perspectives to the characters in this small town and what they thought of our main character and whether or not she murdered her best friend. Most of the book, I honestly didn't know who's story to believe and wasn't sure who did it. I know many in the bookish community have said they figured it out early, but I didn't see the connections and enjoyed seeing how the story came together at the end. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. I can't wait to see what else Amy Tintera writes in this genre.

I should have listened to this one on audio since those reviews seem to be better. This mystery book had me guessing at a 5 year old murder mystery. The characters were all unlikeable and all sleeping around. Just didn't love this one.

Listen for the Lie has two of my favorite tropes of crime fiction: it's based in Texas and it's a "mixed media" novel. Chapters with the protagonist Lucy alternate with transcripts of the true crime podcast focusing on a past unsolved murder (of which Lucy is the prime suspect). Amy Tintera brilliantly reveals different townspeople's perspective on the murder (and on fellow residents) through the different guests on the podcasts. There were several times in the novel when I thought I had it figured out, only to be thwarted by a subsequent podcast episode. I will be surprised (and disappointed) if this brilliant novel isn't up for the Edgar next year!

For audiobook fans, the alternating chapters between Lucy's narration and the podcast "broadcasts" add an extra dimension!

When I picked up this book, I was captivated by its electrifying blend of dark humor and intricate murder mystery. The protagonist, Lucy Chase, is an unapologetically sharp and complex figure whose moral ambiguity only deepens the intrigue—could she really have killed her friend?

Lucy, a widow under the shadow of suspicion for the murder of her best friend Savannah, is trying to start anew in Los Angeles. Her life is a series of unfulfilling days at a dead-end job and a stagnant relationship with Nathan, who seems incapable of breaking up with her. Writing romance novels under a pseudonym offers little relief from her past trauma, marked by an incident that claimed Savannah’s life and left Lucy with brain injuries and memory lapses.

The arrival of Ben Owens, a charming but smug podcaster, threatens to dismantle Lucy’s fragile new existence. He’s investigating the unsolved case of Savannah's death just as Lucy is invited back to her hometown of Plumpton, Texas, by her supportive grandmother for a birthday celebration. Back home, where the locals have branded her a murderer, Lucy must navigate old accusations and the unwanted attention from Ben, who’s interviewing anyone who doubts her innocence.

Lucy’s psychological struggles, including auditory hallucinations and visions of committing violence, intensify the suspense, painting a portrait of a woman on the brink. As she confronts her past and the biases of her hometown, the story questions whether Savannah was as innocent as she seemed and whether Lucy is the perpetrator or another victim of circumstances.

This novel shines with its witty dialogue, deft character sketches, particularly of Lucy and her delightful grandmother, and a plot that twists with every chapter, culminating in a satisfyingly just resolution. It’s a stellar example of a psychological thriller meeting a dark comedy, earning it top marks in my book.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to those who love a story that deftly mixes humor with suspense, and I am keen to explore more of Amy Tintera's work. Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company!

When I started this book, I was immediately hooked! I love the author’s writing style and the way the book was formatted. As a person who loves Podcasts, this couldn’t have been a more fitting book. I’m a huge thriller fan and absolutely loved that this book did not follow the same script as others. I loved the comedy and sarcasm and really liked the entire story! This book had that perfect mix that made you feel like you were listening to a podcast, watching a series and reading a book—the trifecta! Lol. I absolutely enjoyed this one!