I couldn't put this one down! I loved the internal monologue Lucy had throughout the book and her general attitude - talk about confidence to just own your story.

I really enjoyed the way this story developed and flowed. The pacing was excellent and the author did a great job of leaving you guessing as to who murdered Savvy. I can typically figure these kinds of "whodunit" novels out by the second chapter, but I truly didn't expect this one and was delighted by the way it all played out. It really felt like everyone got what they deserved and it left me feeling joyful....? Which I'll admit is an odd feeling to have after reading about a violent crime.

In a word (make that two) dark humor is how I'd describe this book, so if that's your jam - definitely give this one a chance. This one easily earned those 5 stars from me.

This book had me HOOK, LINE and THRILLER from the first page! 🤩 As an avid true crime podcast listener, I haven’t been this excited to read a book in, well, forever!
True crime Podcast with an intriguing host ✅
Murder ✅
Snarky but lovable main character ✅
A true whodunit ✅
Twists that give you whiplash ✅

I absolutely loved this book! So many possible suspects, so little time! I went into this read really hoping that having the podcast angle was going to be done as well as some of the best true crime podcasts out there today. It did NOT disappoint. In fact, the podcast host was genuine in that he wanted the truth no matter what it was. AND the podcast added details you couldn’t have gotten elsewhere in the story. . Truly, it was well done.
Five years ago, Lucy, the main character, is found wandering the streets with blood on her clothes after her best friend was murdered the night before, only Lucy doesn’t remember anything. Did she do it? How would you feel if you couldn’t remember such a traumatic event and everyone, including your own parents think you did it?
And now, a big time podcaster wants to dig into Lucy’s story to figure out what really happened once and for all.

The book was 100% unputdownable!!! And the ending is very satisfying! Chefs kiss 💋

Thank you to Celedon books, Amy Tintera and NetGalley for the early copy.
#ListenfortheLie
#Netgalley

This was a wild ride of a book. Podcaster meets up with so called murderer to get at what seems the impossible truth. My first read from this Author and won't be my last. Gripping read!
Thank you to Netgalley, Celadon Books and the Author Amy Tintera for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is incredibly binge-worthy. I couldn’t put it down! It was so compelling and I couldn’t wait to see how it all played out. The pacing was excellent and the different points-of-view mixed with podcast interviews made this a true page-turner. I loved it! Can’t wait to read more from this author.

Very unique thriller about a young woman, Lucy, who everyone assumes murdered her best friend Savvy. No evidence, so she went free and now she's back in her small Texas hometown because a podcaster has decided to focus on the case. She cooperates because she lost her memory after the attack and truly doesn't know whether she was responsible. Loved the witty smart dialogue, as well as the twist to the suppressed memory narrative. Highly recommend.

I was hooked from the first pages. I fell asleep reading and picked it back up in the morning. I loved Ben’s cocky but sweet smugness. Lucy’s sarcastic comments during awkward situations were hilarious. I loved her grandmother’s personality even more. I’ve never laughed so much while reading a thriller like I did while reading Lucy & the grandmother’s interactions with other people. I would love to see a series come from this with Ben’s podcasts solving other cold cases (but not without Lucy and her grandmother of course 😏)

Listen for the Lie is definitely my favorite thriller in 2024 this far. The protagonist is hilarious and imperfect and the plot moves along at a speedy pace! I couldn’t put this one down and loved the podcast interviews interspersed throughout the book. The ending was supremely satisfactory and did not disappoint.

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.