Thank you to Celadon for my gifted copy and audiobook as well.

Hello, summer hit!

Listen for the Lie is for fans of the small town gossip ring. This book instantly jolts you into a salacious mystery about a woman's murder...and yes, her best friend is the prime suspect. What makes the stakes grow higher in this story is a podcast erupts new evidence that has a small Texas town reeling about what actually happened so many years ago in this cold case brought back to life. I suggest reading this through audiobook for the layered narrations. You will get bits of the podcast, but the main story is told through a FMC who has quite the dark humor. At times the story is unhinged and wacky, but it is so much fun. You will be guessing until the very end!

I recommend this for a beach vacations or a long flight where you have time to spend a few hours inside this tale.

4.5 stars! I really enjoyed this book a lot! This surprised me as it had unlikeable characters and was about a podcast. I actually looked forward to the podcast transcript chapters as they gave more and more insight into Lucy's memory loss. The story was very well written and well paced. It didn't drag on and kept me completely enthralled. I liked how the podcast episodes were how the various suspects were introduced and investigated. This is a must read! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Listen for the Lie, by Amy Tintera, investigates a small-town mystery when a true-crime podcaster comes to town. Years ago, Lucy's best friend Savvy was murdered, and Lucy was found a few hours later, covered in Savvy's blood, confused and disoriented with no memory of what happened. Although there wasn't enough evidence to convict her, everyone in their hometown believes Lucy killed Savvy.  Naturally, Lucy left town and hasn't been back since. Now, a super hot true-crime podcaster is in town investigating the night of Savvy's murder, and after being dragged home for her grandmother's birthday, Lucy decides to stay in the town she hates, full of people she hates, and talk to him on his public podcast.

This suspense novel was pretty meh for me. It has such good reviews and pullquotes from other authors I like! I had high expectations going in! The problem definitely wasn't the overall plot. The murder and aftermath is very well-plotted, and the true-crime podcaster in town makes a solid explanation for all the revelations. I didn't fully understand why Lucy was willing to talk to Ben, but whatever, it would be boring to only read books about characters that do what I would do. Besides, I can accept when fictional characters find time to write detailed diaries of key plot moments (and often leave them for other characters to find), so why not accept a podcast version?

I think it was underwhelming for me because I just didn't worry about Lucy's story or situation. Lucy doesn't care about her underwhelming day job, her secret successful-author job, her boyfriend in LA, her parents, her old friends, or anything really, she didn't have much motivation for anything beside snarkily skating on the edge of being blamed for her Savvy's murder. Even parts of her life that were objectively going well, she just shrugged.  Because readers never really get to see her liking or disliking something, it was hard to connect with, which made it hard to care about her. Even her romance with Ben the true-crime podcaster -- this does not count as a spoiler, it's very clearly signposted -- doesn't feel like a connection. (I guess Lucy likes her grandmother, or at least, her grandmother loves her so much that Lucy has more than an annoyed shrug for her grandmother.) I think my problem with the novel was that I didn't care much about Lucy, which made it hard to worry about if she was guilty or not. She's not risking arrest or jail, she's just risking the bad opinions of people she doesn't care about and hasn't seen in years, and who already don't like her. So I felt more of a general curiosity about what Ben would uncover than any concern for Lucy (or Savvy), and as I read, my feelings never really turned into suspense or tension.

I absolutely devoured this book and couldn’t put it down! It will definitely be in the running for my top books this year.

This book had so many elements that I love in a good thriller such as short chapters and a bingeable storyline that I couldn’t figure out, no matter how much I thought about it. The podcast elements in between chapters were also fantastic and made the book even better! It kept me guessing up until the very end. I would have never guessed who was revealed as the killer! The characters were also very lovable (especially Grandma Beverly)!

This is definitely a book you will want to add to your reading list immediately!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book busted my book slump! Pulled me right in at the beginning of the novel. The main character of this book is snarky and sarcastic, which is entertaining. The ending was surprising but looking back I could see hints to what happened. Part of the novel takes place in podcast format, which I LOVED! If you like true crime podcasts you’ll like this novel!

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for this amazing, thriller of an ARC!

I loved it!! Lucy and Savvy were great characters, actually I liked all of the characters and how they were written. The storyline back and forth was amazing and I loved the podcast bits it added extra oomph. Lots of twists and turns and the ending I did not see coming!!!

4.5/5 ⭐️ rounded up

// 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 - 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐞 //

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Genre: Thriller

𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑰𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆:
🎧 Podcast Element
🥸 Unreliable Narrator
🙄 Sarcastic and Snarky
🏘️ Small Town Crime
🔎 Cold Cases
😖 Unlikeable Characters

𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔
I knew I wanted to read this book after I read the synopsis. A girls best friend is murdered, she is accused but has no recollection of the night of her friends death due to a head injury she sustained. But nobody believes she actually doesn’t remember a thing. A podcaster brings increased attention to the case which forces her to try to confront her past. Did Lucy really kill Savvy that night?

I honestly found myself not wanting to put this book down. I read it in about 48 hours and stayed off way past my bedtime to finish it! I just had to know how things were going to shake out. I loved the dynamic between Lucy and her Grandma! I snorted a few times just laughing at their sarcastic and blunt banter. Mostly I just love much Grandma loves and supports Lucy through everything.

I enjoyed the podcast element to the book. The interviews and information revealed really added layers to the story. Ben’s character was really good at his job. I mostly appreciated that he treated Lucy like a human being and not a murderer. He isn’t perfect though and makes some interesting choices along the way.

As with many others thrillers, I have do many thoughts on other characters and some choices made…but I don’t want to spoil anything! I will say there are a quite a few unlikeable characters in this book. Lucy herself is difficult to warm up to since she is so guarded due to her past. It all adds up to an interesting whodunnit type book that you should consider adding to your tbr!

𝗤𝗢𝗧𝗗: Do you listen to any podcasts?

⚠️: Domestic violence, gaslighting, assault, amnesia

Thank you @CeladonBooks for my #gifted copy of #ListenForTheLie which is set to be published on 3/5/2024!

#thrillerbooks #thrillerbooksaddict #bookaddict #readmorebooks #bookrecommendation #recommendedreads #igbooks #readinglist #avidreader #addictedtobooks #bookstoread #getlit #thrillerbookstagram #thrillerbooklover

This book is everything I’m looking for in a thriller. It had humor. It kept me hooked and wanting to read the next chapter. And then the next. It kept me guessing what was the actual truth. I loved every minute of this book.
The pacing was perfect. The characters were all interesting in their own way. Grandma is the best!! We all need someone like her in our corner even when you’re accused of murder. I really liked Lucy as a MC. Her inner monologue was a lot of fun. I loved the way you very slowly get more info along the way through the podcast. It was truly hard to guess how this book would end and I LOVE a good surprise ending. This was such a fun rollercoaster ride. I highly recommend 🖤

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon for the ARC. I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

I have read a lot of thrillers, particularly in the past two years and I would say this one ranks in the top ten.
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera uses the backdrop of the popular podcast to frame the story like so many others recently. But what makes this book different is how the podcast is used, and the way the author takes usual tropes and twists them in unique ways. For example, the protagonist is introduced as a mean girl. But it becomes clear that she has lost her memory (a trope that happens very frequently in thrillers), but in that she doesn't remember a specific tragic event, the murder of her best friend. The trope is usually used as a way to make the protagonist sound crazy, which annoys me, but here is so that both she and the podcaster are looking for the truth together, even if that truth is that she herself is the murderer. And the characters are delightful. The main character is complex and multilayered and not such a mean girl afterall. The saucy grandmother steals every scene she is in. While the ending was a twist, I found that I didn't even care because I enjoyed the journey so much getting there. An unexpected gem of a thriller!

Perfectly plotted and expertly written! Loved the characters and how they were woven into the story. I did not see the ending until the last chapters. You will not want to put this book down! Loved it. Recommend!

Thank you @netgalley and @celadonbooks for this advance copy.
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My only problem with Tintera’s debut adult novel is that I couldn’t read it fast enough. Have I ever given a thriller 5 stars? Maybe once or twice, but it’s pretty rare. It’s also rare to find a page turning suspense novel with lovable characters, snarky banter, a romance…and did I mention a true crime podcast? This was so excellently done. Loved it!

Read this book! Listen for the Lie was a twisted, spinny, funny story, with just the right amount of suspicion and romance and (sometimes dark but always good) humor. I am the first to admit I'm not a thriller/suspense kind of reader, but I have loved Amy Tintera's YA novels and trusted her storytelling. This might even get me more into the genre! The podcast was such a fun element to the book, and the writing was done so well I felt like I could hear the podcast and conversations in my head. I was able to guess the ending, but I was never certain until I was -- which was a great feeling that really kept my attention. I can't wait until it's release and I can give the audiobook version a listen.

Thanks to Celadon Books for the ARC and Macmillan Audio the ALC!

Talk about a perfect thriller audiobook! LISTEN FOR THE LIE is a fast-paced unraveling of what really happened the night Lucy’s best friend Savannah was murdered… because she still can’t remember. January LaVoy and Will Damron absolutely kill this on audio, with the podcast element making it a chef’s kiss! This is fast-paced, has sarcasm that’ll make you laugh out loud, and will keep you guessing up until the end!

Love this ARC and if you like crime/cold case podcast, you will enjoy this. The writing style is so easy to follow short chapters with podcast episodes between chapters. A riveting mystery thriller that will keep readers engaged to the very end . I want more stories like this, I didn't want to do anything but read this book.

What if you thought you murdered your best friend and everyone else thought so too?

Bingeable page turner.. Murder, amnesia-trope mixed in with comedy. I enjoyed the podcast element. You’ll likely keep saying “one more chapter” until you realize you’ve stayed up all night and finished the book.

Wow. This was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time- completely gripping. I finished it in a day, and don’t know what to do so the myself now that it’s over.

Amy Tintera knocked it out of the park in her first book geared toward adults. I’ll miss Lucy and Beverly, and look forward to her next release!


Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Mystery/thriller readers are in for a treat with this book! Main character and narrator Lucy has the snark of a Veronica Mars and the dark humor of a Wednesday Addams. This book was so much fun and I am going to be recommending it to everyone I know. Put this title on your TBR, because people are going to be talking about this one!

I will be adding reviews for this book to my Goodreads account as well as to Instagram as @goodquietkitty on February 24, 2024.

Everyone in her small town seems to believe that Lucy murdered her best friend Savvy, even though Lucy can’t remember what truly happened. Years after moving to L.A., Lucy is brought back to her town by the second season of a very popular podcast, “Listen for the Lie”, as the podcaster, Ben, has decided to cover her case.

Lucy is determined to see this through to the end, even if it reveals that she is the murderer.

Gah, this was a good book! I could not put it down. I love mysteries and thrillers with podcast elements, such as interviews and transcripts, and this book uses them so well. The mystery is a really twisty, surprising one, and manages to be both heartbreaking and uplifting in the reveal. This book is funny too, especially Lucy and Ben. I would highly recommend this book.

This one completely lives up to the hype. I was glued to it from beginning to end. The premise is so intriguing and it’s carried out so well. An easy 5 star read that you will not want to put down!

The story is told from the perspective of Lucy, best friend of Savvy who was found murdered in a park after a wedding. Lucy was found wandering the streets covered in her blood with a massive head wound. One thing leads to another and everyone thinks she murdered her best friend. The trouble is, she has no idea if it’s true or not.

Throughout the stories are snippets of conversations from a true crime podcast (with a sexy host) following the story 5 years after the murder.

Lucy was such a hilarious character. I loved her dark humor and sarcasm. I found her to be really relatable and she cracked me up. Lucy’s grandma was such a mess in the best way. I loved her sass and no shit attitude.

If you love that true crime feel, you’ll want to give this a read.

What a great adult debut novel! I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this new mystery/thriller and devoured it really quickly. I always love a book that is told in varying types of formatting...and this one does just that, with your typical narration alternating between that and podcast transcriptions, which are interviews of all the other people in this town who might have information about who the murderer is. This made it so much fun to hear others perspectives and to try to figure out exactly "whodunit." I'm pretty sure I flipped my guess on this at least five times until the satisfying ending, when the true murderer is uncovered.


I know it's early in the year, but I'm willing to bet this one will easily make my top 5, if not top 3 thrillers of the year. It was just that good!