Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera
Publication date: March 5, 2024

This story follows Lucy Chase, who returns to her hometown where she is suspected by everyone to have murdered her best friend. She begins talking with a true crime podcaster determined to find the truth.

Although the subject of the novel is an unsolved murder case, the snarky personality of the main character and witty banter gives it some fun comic relief. The podcast elements helped move the story along really well. I felt like all the characters were suspicious and definitely did not see the ending coming! I loved this one!

Rating 5⭐️

Wow, this book was amazing! I've read several books by Amy Tintera and this is definitely my favorite. I was intrigued 100% of the time and I couldn't stop thinking about it when I wasn't reading it.
Main character Lucy returns to her hometown for her grandmother's birthday (the only family member she likes). The thing is, she was accused of murdering her best friend 5 years ago. Everyone thinks she did it, but she was never arrested. Lucy suffered a head injury that night and can't remember anything at all. True crime podcaster Ben is doing a season on this murder and he is in town when Lucy gets back. Will he find new information on the murder? Will Lucy remember anything being back home?
I loved Lucy. She was so unreliable and funny. But like in a dark way. She honestly didn't know if she killed Savvy or not. She had dealt with it so long, she even made jokes about it. I loved Ben too, he was chill and just wanted to figure out the murder. My favorite character was Lucy's grandmother. She was absolutely hilarious. Her and Ben got close during the podcast and their relationship was so cute. Lucy's parents sucked and so did mostly everyone else in town. But that was their job.
The writing style was fantastic. I laughed out loud so many times and I never do that. I was absolutely intrigued and did not want to stop listening. Everything really made sense. There were so many believable suspects including Lucy herself. We learn so many juicy details and I just couldn't wait to find out who did it. We get actual episodes of the podcast too with interviews which was really fun.

A case of situational amnesia and the murder of her best friend, makes Lucy a target for a podcaster when she heads back home to Texas Hill Country. Everyone believes she's guilty and Lucy kinda believes it might be true, too.
Told in podcasts transcripts and Lucy's then memories and current time frame, Listen for the Lie, is great fun for those that like to follow true crime stories and podcasts, with a healthy dose of sarcasm and snark. Readers will enjoy guessing who is/are responsible from the mounting suspects.

I will be watching out for more thriller mysteries from Ms. Tintera.

Thank you to Celadon Books for access to an early e-copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Five years ago, Lucy’s friend Savvy was found murdered in the woods, with Lucy stumbling around nearby covered in blood. You might be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but small towns don’t work that way. Even though it was never proven, pretty much everyone thinks Lucy was the killer, even her own parents! Even Lucy herself isn’t sure because she can’t remember anything that happened that night. Now Ben, host of popular podcast “Listen for the Lie” is in town and he’s determined to solve the mystery of what really happened that night.

This book is fantastic! Not only do you have a small-town murder and true crime podcast, but you’ve also got a sarcastic, funny protagonist who just might be a murderer if the voice in her head is any indication. The writing style is so snappy, with lots of witty banter, and I loved how Lucy’s wry humor adds some levity to the whole dark mess. So entertaining and twisty, and the alternating perspectives between Lucy and the podcast episodes kept me engrossed the entire time. Thriller lovers will not want to miss this one!


Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

5 years ago, Lucy’s best friend Savvy was murdered. Lucy was found wandering down the road covered in blood with a head injury the same night. The whole town thinks Lucy did it, but she can’t remember what happened, and the police never had any concrete evidence to prove her guilt… or innocence.

Now, Ben Owens is covering the case on his podcast, “Listen for the Lie” and he’s determined to figure out what really happened that night.

This book was amazing! It immediately drew me in, and kept me engaged the entire time. I loved Lucy’s dry sense of humor and how sarcastic she was. I also loved her grandmother, Beverly. I liked that the chapters were short and I also liked reading the podcast transcripts of the different interviews. It was such a fun ride full of secrets, twists, and lots of witty banter.

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!