“Some people will never believe you no matter how hard you explain yourself. Trust me, there's no pleasing people. If they're determined to think the worst of you, they will.”

Everyone thinks Lucy killed her best friend 5 years ago..and a popular podcast is delving into the investigation to try to find out if she really did it.

This is my type of thriller! I know some people are sick of the podcast trend but I love it and this author did it so well! I loved that we go back and forth between the present timeline and the podcast. There are so many characters but every one is vital to this story. I could not put this down and the mystery unwinds so satisfyingly.

I alternated between the audiobook and the ebook. The audio was so fantastic. The podcast is very distinctly separated from the present time line with music and interviews. SO GOOD.

What a ride this was! Lucy has no memory of the night her best friend Savvy was killed. All she knows is that she was wandering the street with her hands covered in blood. Lucy has never been convicted due to lack of evidence, but plenty of people believe she's guilty. When Ben decides to take on this cold case with his Listen for the Lie podcast, Lucy returns to a place she left behind. And as you can imagine, there are plenty of secrets there. Lucy's narrative is interspersed with episodes of the pod and flashbacks as Lucy's memory returns. It was one that kept me guessing, and I love that in a thriller! Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this recent March 2024 release!

Happy pub day to this fantastic thriller! Definitely get your hands on this one immediately. Unreliable narrator? Podcast theme? A little sexual tension? Yes, yes, and hell yes! In this bingeable thriller, Lucy wakes up covered in her best friend’s blood, but she can’t remember a thing. Is she the killer? I ate this up in two sittings and only stopped reading because I was falling asleep at 2AM. I was even standing in the kitchen with my kindle while cooking 😂. I’m a really big fan of thrillers with podcast themes (that’s the expodcaster in me peeking out) and gravitate towards it. I can’t say enough about how much I loved this. If you’ve read it, what do you think?! |Brit|

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC!

It seems that I’m an outlier as this book just wasn’t for me. It’s received good, enthusiastic reviews from other readers but the premise just didn’t land for me. The true crime podcast subcategory in this genre is not my typical read so I think this is likely just a mismatch - it happens! I do want to acknowledge that the depiction of mental illness (specifically auditory and visual hallucinations) didn’t quite sit right for me. This may be exactly the read you’re looking for, so don’t discount it based on my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon for the advance readers copy. All opinions are entirely my own.

Listen for the Lie | Amy Tintera | ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75

This is Amy Tintera's first foray into the world of Psychological/Suspence Thrillers and for my personal, selfish purposes I dearly hope she sticks to this genre.

Meticulously crafted, atmospheric and intense, Listen for the Lie is an absolute treat for any connoisseur of murder mysteries.

📖📖📖📖📖
Eversince being accused of murdering her best friend Savvy some 5 years ago; Lucy, who has no recollection of the fated night, has taken to mentally plotting the murders of almost everyone around, with immediate objects fashioned as murder weapons, if only to jog her most disloyal memory.

Although, so far, no one, other than the residents of her sleepy Texan hometown, has taken much interest in this cold case; a most well known true crime podcaster, Ben has taken up to investigating this case, airing everyone's dirty laundry online and chasing a non-responsive Lucy for an interview for his current podcast series.

With Lucy losing her job and her current boyfriend as a fallout, she decides to return to her hometown after 5 longs years, where almost everyone believes her to be guilty!
And supposedly Ben is in town as well.
📖📖📖📖📖

Told alternately through Lucy's first person narrative and episodes of the podcast, the narrative stylization is most clever and unique. It helps unfold the story layer by layer, subsequently building and releasing and rebuilding the suspense like a most exhilarating roller coaster.

Lucy takes on life with a casual hilarity and sharp sense of sarcastic humour which makes for a rather amusing read.

The text is dotted with witty one liners which I have added to my repertoire of imaginary comebacks, I am way vanilla to dole out in real life.

Even while reading critically, I didn't come across any plot holes or utterly unbelievable storylines. It's a perfectly written intricate tale of passion, obsession, abuse and revenge; which at once is so very believable yet absolutely riveting. Also, the small town comes alive with Tintera's hypnotic prose and adds to the charm.

Off to a great start for March, I must admit!

This was a fairly decent novel. There wasn't really a redeemable character and it drug on a bit too long and got repetitive, both of which made it a little frustrating to read.

Omg, I loved this book. I don’t listen to true crime podcasts, but this book about one was brilliant. I don’t want to give anything away, but I pinned the murder of Savvy on almost every character! There were so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming….and I LOVE THAT! I don’t often read a book a second time, but I may make an exception for this one! This would be great for a limited series IMO.

Thank you @celadonbooks #partner for the #gifted copy and @macmillan.audio @netgalley for the audiobook!
——
Five year ago, Lucy was accused of murdering her best friend, Savannah in small town Plumpton, Texas. However Lucy does not remember a thing about that fateful night. She eventually moves away to Los Angeles, unable to put up with her town’s judgments even though she was not officially charged.

Independently, five years laters, Ben Owens, a popular crime podcaster decides to unearth this case and find out if Lucy did indeed kill her best friend. Ben Owens is shrewd and has the resources to resolve cold cases and decides to personally visit Plumpton and its cast of characters. He happens to bump into Lucy, who has returned for a week to celebrate her grandma’s birthday. Lucy has no interest to work with Ben but Ben will not be stopped.

The chapters alternate between Lucy’s narration and Ben’s Listen For The Lie podcasts where he interviews the townsfolk directly or indirectly connected to the case. The podcasts chapters are absolutely compelling and sound like real podcasts. January LaVoy and (Did you know they’re husband and wife?!) did a PHENOMENAL narration. Even though I would have enjoyed just reading this book, the audiobook made the story even more stellar.

There’s a huge amnesia trope throughout the main story and I know some thriller readers feel it’s been overdone, but I assure you, it was treated respectfully in this book. You’ll understand what I mean once you finish the book. Listen For The Lie is easily one of my favorite thrillers I’ve read and I can’t wait to see what Amy Tintera comes up with next!

This was a fantastic true crimes/podcast book. The fast pace and past/present timelines kept me hooked along with the narrator. I can't wait for Amy Tintera's next book!

Happy pub day to ‘Listen For The Lie’ and congrats to @amytintera on this super fun, enjoyable thriller— it’s sure to be a hit! In fact, @gmabookclub announced it as their March pick this morning. And thanks to @celadonbooks and @netgalley for the sneak peek. I know this book has been everywhere so some quick thoughts…

🎙️ I know it’s been done in books before, but with all the true crime podcasts in the world today — it makes sense to add that element to a crime thriller. And Tintera did a GREAT job incorporating it here, to help tell the story.

🎙️ In addition to the podcast, the MC also has a voice in her head that acts as an additional character, and the comic relief! Her thoughts are so funny and what really made this book stand out to me.

🎙️ I also found this book very relatable which isn’t something I can always say with a thriller. But I totally related to the small-town aspect here. Everyone has already made up their minds about what they ‘know’ happened five years ago, who is right and wrong, good or bad. And there’s no changing their minds.

🎙️ I’m also a sucker for an amazing grandparent character in a book- and Tintera certainly delivered on that here as well. Lucy’s grandma was top notch. I want to have a drink with her!

🎙️ I’d say this is for fans of ‘None of This is True’ and ‘First Lie Wins.’ It’s got that same bingeable, popcorn element to it! I know this was a BOTM choice and I’m here to tell you if that was your pick this month— don’t let it sit on your shelf! Read it!

🎙️ Once again, happy pub day to this one. I’m confident it’s going to be a hit!

1) This book should have been as witty and funny as it was considered there’s an unsolved murder.

2) If we don’t get more from Ben’s podcast, I’ll consider it a tragedy for the book world.

3) @amytintera nailed the Texas small town life setting.

4) I was wrong about who I thought was responsible for Savvy’s death. I love a good whodunnit red herring read.

I first read this book then picked up the audiobook and let me tell you, reading it again provided such a fun experience thanks to hindsight. Both options are fantastic options, and this is going to be top book of 2024.

This book is fabulous! It quickly grabs your attention and keeps it throughout the book to the very last word. I was absolutely captivated by the plot and the many interesting characters in this murder mystery thriller.

Is Lucy responsible for Savvy's death? Well, a new true crime podcast is leading people to believe that she is to blame. Unfortunately, Lucy does not even know she killed her best friend. But now that she is returning home to her small Texas town she will have to face the past that she ran away from five years ago. Then there's the host of this new podcast called "Listen for the Lie". This is only Ben Owen's second true crime murder mystery he has investigated through his podcast but he is very good at what he does. When Lucy meets him she is skeptical about his intentions of getting to the bottom of this crime through helping her to confront her forgotten past to try to uncover the truth.

Lucy is an amazing character to get to know. So many things were uncovered about her and her friendship with Savvy. She has an unique dark wit that combined with Ben's seriousness created the perfect pairing. Lucy's grandma was my favorite side character her personality has me laughing out loud, you can truly see that Lucy gets her wittiness from her.

As the book unfolds the readers are sucked into Ben's podcast and it makes you feel like you are truly listening to a true crime series. There are so many times I thought I'd figured out who was to blame for the murder and then something new is revealed. The twist and turns are done perfectly throughout the storyline, they feel natural and not forced at all. The ending comes with such revelations I think my jaw may have literally hit the floor.

It was an absolute pleasure to read this book and I can without hesitation give it 5 stars. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I am extremely grateful to Celadon publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this enthralling book in exchange for my honest review.

I started reading the preview pages on Amazon, already marked as To Read on Goodreads and noticed it was on Read Now on NetGalley. I quickly finished the preview and started reading the book, “Listen for the Lie” by Amy Tintera. It’s easy to read, interesting, sarcastic and funny. The main character, Lucy, was accused of murdering her best friend, Savvy, although no evidence was found and no arrest was made. Five years later, Ben starts a podcast about this unsolved murder and interviews Lucy’s family, friends and townspeople. Lucy is invited back to town for her grandmother’s 80th birthday party. She agrees to an interview for the podcast and quickly falls into bed with the podcaster. Someone says that the podcast becomes sex obsessed as numerous affairs are uncovered. Numerous alibis are discovered to be false as well. Lucy also has a voice in her head that suggests she kill…well, everyone. I just finished another book about a sociopath so I found this one quite refreshing. I read this in one day because I really wanted to know who killed Savvy and why everyone believed that Lucy did it. ARC was provided by Celadon Books via NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Are you looking for a great thriller that you CAN'T put down?!? This is going to be the one to read this summer!

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

Lucy & Savvy became best friends after coming back to their home town a few years after high school. They weren't friends in high school but grew close after a night of hanging out. But then Savvy is murdered and Lucy is found wandering a backroad with Savvy's blood on her clothes and no memory of what happened.

True Crime Podcaster, Ben Owens, comes to town to help put the pieces together about what happened. As he digs into the case he finds that Lucy's marriage had some secrets that she didn't want people to know about. He also digs up secrets about her parent's marriage, and well....he pretty much digs up LOTS of juicy secrets. So what started out as Lucy being the only suspect, turns into a wide pool of possible suspects.

We get clips of what Lucy & Savvy's relationship was like. We also get to find out more about her history with her ex-husband. But I really liked hearing about her relationship with her Grandma, Beverly. She was really close to her and she would not have made a trip back to town to revisit old memories if not for her Grandma's guilting her to come to her bday party.

I loved how the plot all came together in this one. The further I read, the more the anticipation and intensity ratcheted up. The characters were well written and I just couldn't put this one down. I didn't guess the ending of this one until I was in it. This one was well written and executed. This one is going to be worth all the hype!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to get an ARC for this exciting novel!

I really enjoyed this book. The chapters were short and I liked having one narrator the entire time. I also liked how the podcast broke up the story.

This was fun and bingey. I’ve already forgotten a lot of the details a few days later, but it was perfect for getting out of a reading slump.

Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera is a brilliant, edge-of-your seat whodunnit mystery. A dark, sharp-witted, thrilling novel from the beginning until the very end. This was my first time reading a book by the author, but it definitely will not be the last. I could not get enough of this highly entertaining, captivating story. A huge thank you to the author, Celadon Books and NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of the book.

If you don’t really know the truth about a situation what can you believe? Lucy certainly doesn’t know what happened the night her best friend, Savvy died, and she was found wandering through the woods injured and covered in her friend’s blood. The people in her hometown in fact think she is guilty of her best friend’s murder and she got away with it, including members of her family.

Five years on Lucy has been living out her life in Los Angeles, and avoiding anything to with the night that her best friend died. But now she has decided to return to her hometown in Texas for her Grandmother Beverly’s 80th birthday celebration. Incidentally Ben Owens a true crime podcaster has arrived in town to solve Savvy’s murder for the next season of his "Listen For The Lie" podcast. Is Lucy really guilty of what everyone else already believes? Was she actually capable of killing her best friend on that night so long ago?

I absolutely loved the alternating storyline between the main character, Lucy and the podcast episodes. All the characters were so well developed throughout the story, which really made this book extremely hard to put down. Listen For The Lie is a fast-paced, whip-smart, surprisingly humorous and very hypnotic book filled with twist and a shocking ending that you won’t see coming. A fantastic read not to be missed.

Thank you to Celadon Books for egalley. It may only be March but listen For The Lie is definitely going to be a contender for one of my favorite reads of 2024. I was hooked from the start.

What I loved…
🎧 The podcast element. Lucy is accused of killing her best friend and when a podcast host comes to Plumpton to uncover the truth of Savvy’s murder, Lucy is forced to remember things from that night. The podcast element allowed for great pacing of how truths were revealed.

👩🏻 Lucy. Lucy gave off Veronica Mars vibes she may not have been a teen investigator but the snark and wit were there. And I am a huge Veronica Mars fan.

😆 The humor. For a dark topic of murder the book was surprisingly funny at times. Lucy’s grandmother was a hoot.

😬 The suspense. When I wasn’t reading I was thinking about what could possibly happen next, who did it?! Did Lucy?! I was so nervous during many of the scenes. The ending did not disappoint.

What I didn’t love…
…🧐…🤷🏻‍♀️

This book is generating a lot of positive publicity and it certainly did not disappoint. It was a fun, twisty thriller that kept me guessing the entire time.. I loved the way that the podcast was used in this story and liked how it contributed to the solving of the murder. Additionally, the best part of the book was the witty and often sarcastic dialog between characters.

4.5 out of 5 Stars!

Listen for the Lie had ZERO problems holding my attention and killing my nail beds. It was very addicting. I found the plot to be hauntingly dark and the characters were chilling, especially the MC. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait to read more from Amy Tintera!