Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Publishers for an advanced reader copy of Listen for the Lie in exchange for my honest review.

Suspenseful and fun all in one.

The main character Lucy is something else and lots of laugh out loud moments with her as she's trying to remember if she murdered her best friend.

I ended up listening to the audio so I will add comments on that one. First 5star of the year. Twisty but enjoyable - with laughs., and tears. I didn’t recognize the answer until late in the book.

This book was an entertaining, popcorn thriller but if I’m being honest, nothing great really stood out to me. Although I did enjoy Grandma Beverly’s character. I did not find the plot to be very unique. It was a typical “some murder happened so she must return to her home town but wait….a podcast is involved” which seems to be a popular thriller trope right now.

A delicious debut!

This was a suspenseful read that kept me guessing. Despite the many characters and possible suspects, the book was easy to breeze through.

I loved Lucy's wry humour and her chemistry with Ben, though there were times I felt peeved at her decisions. I also enjoyed how the chapters are interspersed with podcast excerpts and found the storytelling creative e.g. instead of just describing the setting, Ben's POV was atmospheric and let me visualise the town vividly.

Although the whodunit was underwhelming and did not blow my mind like I'd hoped, I loved the 'why', 'how' and the events leading up to the murder. The social commentary was hard-hitting, on point and my favourite aspect of it all.

4.5/5

would have been a 5 if it wasn't for the main negative that i will mention!

I got this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you

PROS:

1- The book is very, very fast. You just fly by, and the hook keeps you going

2- it is very rare that i fome across a serious murder mystery, that is NOT a cozy mystery, with a good plot drive, and good twists and reveals, yet written in a very lightweight manner! it felt light and fun to read in a sense
Dark comedy thriller, perhaps? Comedy thriller? I dont know.. it was great

3- To follow with the previous point, i seriously enjoyed Lucy's personality. Her wit, sarcasm, and bravery were all things that i sincerely enjoyed, and even more, her grandma! i think i just enjoy the sass! 😂

4- The reveals and the build-up were done very nicely. it is very well-rounded and keeps you hooked and guessing. the reveal was not something i had guessed, although i had a strong resolve about someone close to Lucy.
even though i was not very off, I did not hit it right. which i LOVE!

5- the pace, the comments, the small-town Texas vibes ( I LOVED), the gossip, the memories, and the cheating all added some depth to what we were reading and kept adding a bit more dimension to the characters, which in some instances made you reevaluate your guess.

CONS:

1- Listen... at first, Lucy was super fun, and she was toward the end, she is going crazy or not ( that is something you need to figure out) but she can't run around and make out with EVERY SINGLE MAN SHE SEES! like bruvvvv... get it together!
felt too weird, in my opinion, unrealistic, and just cheapened her character!

if it was only memories of when she was young, it would have been different, but .. I couldn't get past this one!

2- the action when everything fell into place and the big reveal happened was slightly stupid, and a bit "lucky" , i am not fully mad at it, its just, with the whole theme of the book being very interesting, i would have expected a slightly better action, and communication, with a better thought process

would I recommend this book?
ABSOLUTELY YES!
I think this will definitely be among my top reads of the year!

Lucy is summoned back home on the heels of her grandmother’s birthday. She’s started her life over in LA leaving her Texas town, ex-husband, and envious life behind her. She has no desire to return to her hometown, to the place where her high school best friend Savvy was found murdered; the place where Lucy was found wandering the streets with Savvy’s blood all over her. She prefers her now-quiet life writing romance novels under a pseudonym.

As Lucy hesitantly returns, only at the insistence of her grandmother Beverly, she runs into Ben. Ben hosts a true crime podcast and the case he’s covering hits much too close to home; his Listen for the Lie podcast is covering the death of Savvy. Will Lucy finally remember the events the night Savvy died that she has blacked out? Or were the people of the town correct when they acted as juror and judge and declared her guilty of Savvy’s murder?

This was a 4 star read for me and I really enjoyed the banter between Lucy and Ben. My favorite character however was definitely Beverly! Her spunky, tell-it-like-it-is demeanor had me frequently laughing out loud! I highly recommend this for fans of thrillers, for fans of books about podcasts (which I LOVE!), and for anyone who enjoys a story that keeps you flipping page after page, telling yourself “just one more chapter!” You can check it out now since it was published yesterday - Happy (day late) Pub Day!

Sure sign of a great thriller? Binging it in less than 8 hours!!

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera is a gripping, propulsive, page-turning dynamo that kept me enthralled from start to end. Lucy has lived for five years, accused of murdering her best friend, Savvy, but she has no memory of that night, after suffering a concussion. Her small hometown refused to believe that she couldn’t remember anything, and made her life miserable enough that she left for the anonymity of LA. But now a podcast is trying to find all the answers, and Lucy’s name has become a national headline. She returns home, and gets caught up in the old gossip, and the new theories. Will Lucy find out that she actually killed Savvy? Or will other truths come out, and threaten her life again?

I paired my eARC with the audiobook, narrated by January Lavoy and Will Damron, who did a fabulous job bringing these characters and the podcast episodes to life. This book is going to receive all kinds of hype, and it is definitely worth it!! A strong 4.5 stars from me!

Many thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary eARC in exchange for an honest review. Available now.

This is now possibly one of my new favorite thrillers. I hope that Amy Tintera continues to write adult thriller novels because if they continue to be any like this one, I will for sure pick up any and everything that she writes. The podcast element to this was so good and made the book that much more intriguing. I also had no idea who the actual killer was actually going to be. I really liked that it didn't turn out to be an obvious character but also wasn't too unbelieveable.

This was such a fun, bingeable listen. It's certainly a book I recommend listening to--the podcast elements make the audiobook so fun!

The first half is mostly just setup: Lucy goes back to her hometown for her grandmother's birthday, and the podcast chapters outline Ben setting the scene. Once the secrets start being revealed, though, I couldn't stop listening. Amy Tintera takes a fresh perspective on the amnesia trope, and in my opinion does something great with it.

Not a thriller fan? Listen For The Lie is somewhat thriller-lite--not too much murder or gory stuff, just a cold case podcast investigator doing his thing.

I think the hype is well-deserved, and I'm excited to participate in a Celedon LFL drop for this book on Wednesday! If you're in the Poughkeepsie area, check the map for this copy's location!

just W O W.
This reminds me why I enjoy thrillers so much. I kept reading this book and stopping because I didn't want it to end. Genuinely. The main character (Lucy) was FANTASTIC. Following her thoughts was very entertaining. I will be on the lookout for more stories from this author.

Listen For the Lies didn't pull any punches. The characters are raw and flawed. How do you live knowing you don't remember the night your best friend died? How do you live when everyone thinks you did it?

I loved how slowly the past was revealed. I especially enjoyed using the audiobook to listen to the podcast portions of the book.

After seeing many positive reviews online, I snagged this when it was available to "read now." What a fun thriller! The story revolves around Lucy, who may or may not have killed her best friend. She can't remember the night in question, her friends and family aren't much help, there are some questionable folks in the mix, and on top of all of that, a podcaster is in town trying to figure out what really happened. This was funny, which was unexpected and delightful. I've read some of the author's YA books and was happy to see that her storytelling translated well to the adult space.

Many thanks to Celadon Books for both a #gifted ARC and a NetGalley widget to review Listen for the Lie in exchange for my honest opinion. This is a GREAT thriller - I had trouble putting it down!
Main character Lucy is presumed to have killed her best friend Savvy five years ago. But the police never had enough evidence to charge her. Savvy’s death is being investigated for a podcast, at the same time that Lucy returns to her small Texas hometown, for the first time in five years, for her grandmother’s birthday. Her grandmother is a hoot - my favorite character in the story, hands down!
What you should know going in: make sure you have a big chunk of time available to read this because everyone I know who has read it has agreed it can’t be set down! I fell asleep while reading it in bed last night because I was exhausted - and I was so mad at myself when I woke up and wasn’t done yet!
Listen for the Lie is the March Good Morning America book club pick, and it came out on 3/5. You should DEFINITELY check it out! I’ve heard great things about the audiobook, too, as podcast-specific book should be, so if you like listening to thrillers, that sounds like something you should check out.

After seeing many favorable reviews, I impulsively requested Listen for the Lie, something that historically hasn't worked favorably for me. I'm happy to say, this is one of those rare occasions where it was a good choice! This was a fun and creative thriller with great characters and a surprising amount of humor. Thrillers have been very hit and miss for me lately, so this was a great pick that helped reaffirm that I do still like this genre!

What I enjoyed:
- The characters, especially grandma! She's great! She provided some humor, as well as provided some good balance to the book. We needed her character standing in Lucy's corner.
- The humor.
- It was easily bingeable!
- The podcast trope. I know a lot of people feel this trope is overdone, but I felt it was really well done in this book and enhanced the reading experience
- The twists and ultimate reveal

Again, this was an entertaining and easy read that I would recommend to all fans of the thriller genre. I would definitely read future works from this author!

I really enjoyed this twisty mystery and I thought the podcasts sprinkled throughout were such a fun touch. Lucy seems to be an unreliable narrator and I loved how Ben gradually won her trust and his presence helped her figure out what was going on. I also loved that Lucy had someone that truly cared for her and was always in her corner. This is a unique thriller that had more of a psychological edge than suspenseful heart pounding moments and that's what I like in my thrillers. I listened to the audiobook and January LaVoy and Will Damron are fabulous together and their narration is perfection.

This mystery kept me guessing all the way through. It was a quick paced read, with short chapters. I enjoyed the podcast side of it and the humor in it, especially for a thriller. I read this, but would like to also listen to an audio book of it. Thank you NetGalley for this enjoyable ARC.

There is a reason I have been seeing this book so much in media platforms. It is a first-rate page turner full of mystery and suspense.
The plot is a simple "whodunnit" with the main character being accused of killing her best friend. If she didn't do it, then who did?
Although the theme is a popular one, it's the narrative and the character development that attracted me. Lies, deceit, family drama, romance, conflict, and some memory loss make this an intriguing book.
I loved the podcasts chapters. Those chapters made me feel like I was actually part of the audience listening and making a decision on the guilt, or lack thereof, of the main character Lucy. Every single character came off as guilty to me at some point in the book.
I finished this book quickly because I dove in head first and did not want to climb out. Fair warning to those of you wanting to read this book- you will do the same.
Thank you Celadon Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy. I truly loved this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for my ARC of Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera. I thoroughly enjoyed this one! The book centers around Lucy heading back to her hometown in Texas as a podcaster begins a true crime series on the murder of Lucy's best friend...however, Lucy has been the presumed murderer for years.

I appreciated and enjoyed the way this book was laid out, with alternating chapters in the present time, five years prior, and the podcast transcripts. I initially thought this layout would be difficult to follow, but the author did a great job in the way the storyline and characters were structured. What I additionally enjoyed about Listen for the Lie, is the combination of mystery/thriller, with sharp comedic moments. While I truly enjoyed this read and the suspense of the story, I also found it to be a bit predictable and missing some twists and turns within the plot. This, along with some lacking character development, is what kept me from rating a full five stars. However, I definitely recommend this one!!

I really loved this GMA book club pick!! Twists and turns that I never saw coming. A mix of then and now history with a bit of a true crime podcast thrown in, you won’t be able to figure it out! This one was awesome!

Starting off with the positive, the performances in the audio version were great. It was like listening to a Podcast within a book and I found that very entertaining. I also enjoyed the author's writing style, which was very clever and modern.

The story itself fell a little flat for me. This probably has more to do with my taste but it felt a little YA-ish. And I'm personally not a fan of that. And for a thriller it lacked someone in good plot twists, a lot of it was very predictable. Also not of fan of the romance parts. I'm more of a plot driven reader. That said, I'm sure these aspects of the novel will appeal to a lot of readers.

Overall it's an entertaining read.