I'm a sucker for a true crime podcast book and Amy Tintera didn't let me down. The only thing better than a fictional murder in a small town is one where the supposed murderer can't remember anything. Lucy is unreliable to a fault, especially with her murderous intrusive thoughts, and that's part of what kept me hooked the entire time. Because what if she really DID do it?

The hints and clues were well-foreshadowed and I was picking between 2 characters for my murderer. I did ultimately guess wrong, but I was happy with the result. The podcast elements were so well-done in the audiobook, complete with the theme music and intro for Listen for the Lie. And Ben.... So dreamy.

I really hope that we get to see more of Lucy and Ben, maybe with a team-up in a new town? Regardless I'm absolutely hooked on Amy Tintera's mystery/thrillers now.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review

This book!!! Omg, like, I feel like I still don’t know who is lying and I love that! The main part of the book up until about 85% was good, didn’t make me crave reading it, but once I got towards the end when Lucy started remembering I was like WHAAAAAAAAT?!?!! Can’t stop, won’t stop!! But like, was what she remembered a lie??? I feel like I’ll never know! Great read!

What an easy, fast read! The pacing was good, the plot had you scrambling just enough to not really know whodunnit, and the true crime trope was *just* enough.

I didn’t vibe with the amount of cheating on each other that went on, but overall liked the story.

3.5/5

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[arc review]
Thank you to Celadon Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Listen for the Lie releases March 5, 2024

3.75

Lucy has recently been fired from her job and is the prime suspect in her friend’s murder when a true crime podcaster brings the unsolved case back to light five years later.
Lucy has no memory of the night her friend died, but was found covered in her blood.
When she’s invited back to her hometown for her grandma’s birthday, she spends a week at her parents house where she ends up crossing paths with the host of the podcast while also avoiding the lingering gazes of everyone else in the town.

<i>Listen for the Lie</I> had this unconventionally humorous tone where it might have come across like the main character just didn’t care, but I think it was actually more so a coping mechanism to act so nonchalantly given the circumstances.
While I think the podcast thrillers are overdone, I really liked the personality of the fmc and found that to be the strength of the story.
The likeable and young-spirited grandma reminded me so much of my late great-grandmother and it was comforting in a way I wasn’t expecting.

Fuck men who can’t comprehend the meaning of no, they’re the worst.

cw: a lot of cheating, domestic abuse, traumatic brain injury, breath play

I feel like I have so much to say about this book. For one, I loved it. It was SO good. This book had me laughing often. Lucy, the main character, had such great dark humor and sarcasm that made this story that much more fun to read. I, myself, love true crime podcasts, so the theme of this book was already something I knew I’d enjoy. The book is told from Lucy’s POV with occasional flashbacks and then gives us snippets of the true crime podcast that is being told of the story of her best friend Savvy being found murdered. This book was fast paced, multi-faceted, and had just a touch of spice in it. I usually try to predict the ending, but this was such a masterful whodunit I couldn’t figure it out. And the ending was top notch. I haven’t even mentioned Lucy’s grandmother, Beverly, who stole the show. Highly recommend! This is a must read!

I'm a sucker for a true crime podcast book and Amy Tintera didn't let me down. The only thing better than a fictional murder in a small town is one where the supposed murderer can't remember anything. Lucy is unreliable to a fault, especially with her murderous intrusive thoughts, and that's part of what kept me hooked the entire time. Because what if she really DID do it?

The hints and clues were well-foreshadowed and I was picking between 2 characters for my murderer. I did ultimately guess wrong, but I was happy with the result. The podcast elements were so well-done in the audiobook, complete with the theme music and intro for Listen for the Lie. And Ben.... So dreamy.

I really hope that we get to see more of Lucy and Ben, maybe with a team-up in a new town? Regardless I'm absolutely hooked on Amy Tintera's mystery/thrillers now.

*Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC*

True crime podcasts are some of my favourite podcasts to listen to, and in an unusual writing style this book is told from the alternating POV of the main character and a true crime podcast. It touches on the idea of a podcaster infiltrating a person's life and the effect it might have.

The story line was unique and it was laugh out loud funny at times. Listen for the Lie had me turning pages to find out what was going to happen. It is one of the rare pieces of fiction that I wish I had listened to the audiobook instead of read it. I feel like hearing the podcasts would have worked really well.

The only issue I had with this book was that at times it was a little unrealistic.

Thank you to @celadonbooks and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

Firstly, I absolutely loved the cover of this book! The colors, the font, and the title are screaming at you to read it and I've been waiting to since I first saw it at the end of last year.

I love books where there's a podcast and a murder! At first, though, I was thrown off by this book because the protagonist is the sarcastic suspect of the crime rather than the usual murder-solving podcaster. But Lucy was hilarious and I had a lot of fun reading it.

The first half of the book made me laugh out loud several times and I also slowly came to care about the characters a lot. There's humor, mystery and some other surprising deeper things here.

While I thought there were a few too many romantic interests for Lucy, I otherwise thought this was a great book! Thanks to Netgalley and Celadon for the advanced e-copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books, and Amy Tintera for the opportunity to read this eARC! While I really enjoyed this one it did get a bit confusing at times due to the back and forth format. Its was still a very enjoyable read and once I got toward the end I had to keep going. Looking forward to checking out more from this author.

This book has many glowing reviews and I’m definitely not the norm, but wow this was not great IMO. The format/idea was cool, but it got confusing with how many episodes of the podcast introduced different/new people. I also feel like it jumped around in time without being super clear. My biggest issues were with the MC saying “this is a really bad idea” and then doing whatever it was she just said was dumb 😑🫠😵‍💫 And a bit of a *spoiler* here so read ahead with caution… but hard pass on sleeping with the podcaster who is trying to prove you killed your friend. Majjjjjor eye roll. 🙄 (it is a peeve of mine to have unnecessary “romance” plots in thrillers where it has no purpose 🤦🏻‍♀️) The concept of the book was interesting but the execution was not great and the blandness of the characters had me pretty bored throughout. The ending also left me confused.

As a self-proclaimed True Crime podcast girlie, the premise of this book interested me right away.

The story follows Lucy - a young woman who moved to LA following a tragic event that occurred five years ago in her hometown in her early 20’s.

Lucy’s best friend, Savvy, was murdered, and everyone in town assumes Lucy committed the crime. Unfortunately, Lucy has no memory of that night, and even she doubts her own innocence.

After many years away, Lucy returns to her hometown to celebrate her grandmother’s 80th birthday. A popular podcast has recently emerged that is following the unsolved murder of Savvy, and Lucy finds that the podcast host and crime investigator, Ben, has also showed up in her hometown.

Lucy decides to work with Ben on building his podcast in hopes of solving Savvy’s murder and potentially clearing her name.

The book alternates between Lucy’s narration and the podcast manuscript for each episode release. It was a fun way of alternating mediums and presenting alternate views.

I resonated with Lucy’s dry humor, independence, and self-reliance. She was a strong and likeable character throughout.

While the first half of the book was a bit slower in building the case, the last half kept me guessing until the very end.

This was a fun read, and I bet would also be great on audio! The current publishing date is slated for March 5th, 2024.

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for proving me with an opportunity to read and review this eARC!

WOW WOW WOW, what an absolute ride this book was! I haven't enjoyed a thriller like this one in a while, and I could not recommend more! Let's set the scene: Lucy is coming back to her small Texas town for the first time in five years. This is because five years ago, she was thought to have murdered her best friend Savvy. The problem is, she has no recollection of that night. Lucy was hoping to fade into the background, but a new true crime podcast is deep diving Savvy's murder in an effort to solve the cold case.

I absolutely devoured this book. I have been loving podcast related books, and this one was incorporated so fluidly that it did not take away from the story at all. I loved getting fed more and more breadcrumbs about the murder, and solving it along with Lucy. I don't want to get into the plot any more because there are so many twists and turns, just know that you absolutely need to read this book! The character of Lucy was so well developed, I left the book feeling like I knew her personally, and was cheering her on. Also, I definitely did not predict the ending, which was nice and refreshing! Excited to read more by this author in the future!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I enjoyed reading Listen for the Lie! It was interesting and kept me entertained. Not my favorite book of this genre but certainly worth a one time read.

Darkly comical mystery that is centered around a young woman’s murder. Savvy and Lucy were the best of friends, both were young and beautiful, and seemed happy. One night after attending a wedding, Lucy stumbles out of the woods covered in blood with a head injury and no memory of what happened. Savvy’s dead body is soon discovered and with Lucy having no memory of what happened the case goes cold, even though most of the town believes Lucy committed the murder. Five years later, after moving to LA, Lucy returns to Texas when a podcaster starts investigating the crime. At the request of her grandmother, Lucy returns to try and find out exactly what happened even if she herself is implicated in the murder. Fast paced, humorous, dark story that is one of the best books I’ve read in years.

Oh my! Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for a copy of this. I have never read anything by this author. When I looked her up I found this is her Adult debut, she usually writes YA. I don’t even know where to start! This story is told from the perspective of Lucy. She is suspected of murdering her best friend 5 years ago. Now a podcaster is using her story for his new season.
This book moves fast. The story goes back and forth between the present and 5 years ago. It is done very well. I loved both parts and the author made the switching back and forth so cohesive. I also liked how the podcast interviews were shared.

I really liked Lucy. There were quite a few times I found myself chuckling out loud. She is really fleshed out, and I understood her hesitance and then her motivation to do the podcast and figure out what happened that night. Beverly, her grandmother, is a wonderful character., and I liked how their relationship was portrayed.

There is a romance in the story- but I felt it was second to the mystery, and I’m glad! There are plenty of clues and hints along the way.
Overall I was very impressed with this debut novel. I read it in 2 days, and I cannot wait to see what comes next from Amy Tintera!

Just when you think the podcast spin on a thriller might be getting a little tired, Amy Tintera delivers her adult debut that absolutely delivers a highly satisfying novel where the podcast aspect is expertly done and works well within the plot. I imagine this would be great on audio as well.

With a cast of morally corrupt characters, each surprise and secret revealed is juicy and delicious, and Lucy’s voice as narrator is cheeky and darkly comedic. I haven’t been this entertained by a story in quite a while. Reading about murder shouldn’t be so gosh darn fun but that is indeed what Tintera has done.

Highly highly recommend for any thriller reader. While I don’t think the end will be an incredible shock the journey getting there is well worth it and is quite the page-turner.

Pretty much all the content warnings on this one, if language, violence, sex, and murder are topics you avoid this book may not be for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon books for an electronic copy of Listen for the Lie.

I liked this podcast trope thriller type book . I thought it was well written and had a good fast plot and was just overall a good read

Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera

My rating:
5/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lucy’s best friend was murdered 5 years ago at a wedding that they both attended. Lucy was the main suspect in the case, but she can’t remember what happened that night to prove her innocence. When she returns to town to visit her grandmother, a true crime podcaster named Ben, is out to find out who killed Savvy. Lucy decides to help solve what happened that night 5 years ago.

This book was SO good. I was so sad when it was over. I haven’t felt so hooked in a book in a long time, so I absolutely loved it!

The author’s writing style was so clever and the banter between the main characters had me laughing many times! I feel connected to so many of the characters. I do not always feel so attached to characters especially in a thriller.

Detective Logan was on the case this one and successfully solved it, but even if I figured out the ending, I still loved this one so much. It was actually so satisfying that I figured it out!

If you haven’t already, you need to add this to your TBR shelves immediately! This will be published on March 5, 2024 so go preorder it now! Thank you netgalley and Celadon books for the ARC! This was a read now on netgalley so if you are on there, go request it!

I’ve only recently started to enjoy books that have the podcast scripts in them and this book provided that. Along with fast paced, dual timeline and unreliable main character.
I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down.
The ending definitely had me going wtf?!

Really great read. Read it in one sitting. All the characters are interesting and the storyline picks up speed with each chapter. While I guessed the murderer fairly early on, it certainly didn't spoil things. Highly recommend. You'll love it.