Thank for to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

First of all.... Woooooo! (Insert awkward dance and fist pump here). That was on hell of a ride and I absolutely LOVED it.

The character development in this was outstanding, it was suspenseful, funny, infuriating and made me feel all of the feelings. I will also forever hold a spot in my heart for Beverley.

I loved how the storyline intertwined effortlessly into the podcast episodes and I was so invested I devoured this in one sitting.

Bravo Amy Tintera!

Everyone else....you are in for one hell of a treat with this one.

4 stars
“After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life.
But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast "Listen for the Lie," and its too-good looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one that did it.”

I love true crime podcasts and whodunnit mysteries, so I knew this book would be right up my alley. If Lucy was a real person, we’d probably be great friends. Her dry/sarcastic sense of humor comes through in every page, and I am here for it (though I could definitely see that being a turnoff for some folks). I enjoyed that the podcast episode transcripts were interspersed throughout the book (I bet the audiobook would be even better) and it reads like a real true crime podcast. This book kept me guessing and wanting to know more. I was especially a big fan of Lucy’s grandma! She is clearly where Lucy gets her “lack of fucks to give”. A must for any fan of podcasts and murder mysteries!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

There was a lot that I really enjoyed about this book. I liked the format- the shifting from traditional storytelling to podcast scripting and also from current time to flashbacks from 5 years prior. Surprisingly, I found that I really enjoyed Ben as a character. He wasn’t the nosy, annoying podcast creator that I expected and it felt like his relationship with Lucy was genuine and not manipulative. I’ll add that the ending was a surprise to me. It wasn’t so far off my expectations that it felt unrealistic, but I didn’t know who the true killer was until it was finally revealed. The only thing I didn’t love about the book was the conversations/visions Lucy had about Savvy. They felt kind of odd and it made me question why the author included them. Was it to cast suspicion on Lucy’s mental state? Was it to add color to the story? In any case, I think it could’ve been omitted.

This book made me so tired. I really didn't like the MC, so I didn't like being in her head, as it were, with her running commentary. That made the book a bit of a slog, which I never want from my thrillers...

LΙЅТEN ҒOR ТНE LΙE
By Amy Tintera
Release date: 03/05/2024

Lucy’s accused of murdering her best friend, but she can’t remember anything about that day leading up to the murder and the evening that it happened. The whole town hates her, and no one believes her (except her grandma)so she leaves and moves to LA.
She becomes an anonymous romance writer, because who’s gonna buy books from an accused murderer?? And she starts dating a guy she doesn’t even like.
So what would bring you back home after being shunned from your hometown?? Your grandma!!
It’s Lucy’s grandma's 80th birthday party!! So she has to come home.
(Her grandma is the best ) and guess who she befriended, Ben Owen’s!
He is the host of the hit podcast show “Listen for the Lie” and he is either going to help put her behind bars or prove her innocence.
The podcast episodes 🧑‍🍳💋 CHEFS KISS, they were the chapters you found yourself racing to get to … and then devouring it when you did!
Lucy is a rockstar. I truly loved everything about how her character was written!! She’s my kind of chick
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️S̤̈T̤̈Ä̤R̤̈S̤̈

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Absolutely loved this book! Listen for the lie had me hooked instantly with the funny FMC, Lucy, true crime vibes, and a who-done-it podcast.

Imagine being found wandering around covered in your best friends blood, with no memory of what happened.
Although Lucy was never convicted, her small town insists she murdered her best friend,y6y Savvy. Lucy moved far away, but is back in town to celebrate her grandmothers birthday, conveniently a well known podcaster, Ben, is also in town, interviewing people on the murder.
Lucy agrees to talking on the podcast to try and clear her name. The more podcasts Ben releases, the closer he is to finding the true killer.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC e-book of Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera.

This book follows Lucy, a 29 year old girl from a small Texas town who is accused of killing her best friend Savvy. She was found walking in the middle of the night covered in her friends blood. The only issue is that she can't remember anything about that night but she knows that she loved her friend, so why would she kill her? The police didn't convict her as there wasn't enough evidence and Lucy has been struggling to remember what happened that night.

Lucy is currently living in LA with her boyfriend but decided to go back to her small town for her grandmother's birthday. What she didn't know is that Ben Owen's is also in town. He is a successful podcast host of his true crime show "Listen for the Lie" and his new podcast season is about Savvy.

Ben starts interviewing her friends and family and Lucy agrees to help solve the case. Lucy has to try to remember what happened that night, she would like to know the truth at all costs, even if it was her!

4 star read for me. I love true crime podcasts and murder mysteries so this right up my alley. The characters are interesting, Lucy's Grandmother is hilarious and Lucy's commentary is also darkly witty which was a great surprise. The book is nicely paced. My only concern is that I was a little bit confused with the ending. I will read more from this author!

Listen for the Lie is everything None of This Is True wanted to be and SO👏🏻 MUCH 👏🏻 MORE 👏🏻 .

The plot is better, the characters are better, and the "twist is better - literally, every aspect of Listen for the Lie exceeded my expectations. Amy Tintera's writing style is top-notch. I raced through this book and was genuinely sad to reach the last page.

📚 Unpredictable
📚 Fast-paced
📚 Relatable characters
📚 Well thought out and engaging plot

Given their pivotal role in True Crime culture, I fully expect podcasts to become a popular thriller trope. But it will be difficult for an author to beat Listen for the Lie. It's really that good. If you love true crime podcasts and a sarcastic female lead with relatably questionable morals, put this book on your TBR and read it as soon as it comes out.

Shout out to Celadon Books and NetGalley for supplying an ARC.

This is more of a 3.5. Lucy and Savvy are best friends. When Savvy is murdered and Lucy is found with blood on her and no memory of what happened the whole town is quick to condemn Lucy, including her ex-husband and family. So she leaves behind small town Texas and makes a new life for herself in California. Then her grandmother calls her back to town to help celebrate her birthday. Lucy loves her grandmother who is the only one to believe her. As she comes back to her home town so does Ben Owens who hosts the true crime podcast Listen for the Lie. Lucy is already an outcast and the podcast is riling everyone up. It's also bringing back memories of the night Savvy died. Will Lucy be able to remember who killed Savvy and will it turn out to be her. I really enjoyed the characters (especially Lucy and her grandmother) and the tense suspenseful pacing of the book. I did not enjoy the unnecessary killer thoughts running through Lucy's head and some of the plot twists which did nothing for the plot and were only there for a cheap shock value. Overall I enjoyed the book. Thank you #NetGalley for my ARC.

Five years ago, Lucy Chase murdered her best friend in cold blood. Or, at least, that’s what the good citizens of Plumpton, Texas would have you believe. Lucy has no memory of the night her friend died. When she reluctantly returns to Plumpton for a relative's birthday, determined true crime podcast host Ben Owens pushes Lucy to unearth the truth. Amy Tintera, New York Times bestselling young adult author, makes her adult debut with this stylish crime thriller

Years ago, Lucy’s best friend Savvy was found murdered. Lucy was with her when she died, having somehow escaped the murderer. But now, with the podcaster Ben Owens looking into the case, more people than ever think Lucy is the murderer.

This book. I binge listened to it in one day, I just couldn’t put it down. I loved how it was told from Lucy’s POV, and then the podcast episodes were interspersed, containing interviews with different characters. The short chapters usually ended in a way that had me saying “I can’t stop now, just one more chapter!” Until I was somehow at the end of the book. I know some people were burnt out by the podcast thrillers, but I simply loved this! I highly recommend it, and the audio added a whole extra layer of fun!✨

This is a very solid mystery with a captivating premise and satisfying payoff. It has an interesting cast of characters and is set in a small town where (almost) everyone has a secret.

In Listen for the Lie, LA-based Lucy begrudgingly returns to her hometown in Texas where she is an outcast due to most of the townsfolk believing she murdered her best friend, Savvy, years prior. To make matters worse for Lucy, a successful podcaster is in town investigating her story and doing interviews with the very people who believe she is a murderer. I won't reveal anything else because it's worth it to find out for yourself.

I love the cast of characters in this story. There are only a few main players, but by the end of the book you feel like you know them all very well. The author is good at setting the small town vibe where everyone knows one another a little too well. I also really love the narrator of our story, Lucy. She has such an interesting voice and I love that she is unapologetically flawed yet doesn't seem to care what others think of her. She is presented as broken, yet lovable and I think it really helps the reader root for her.

Interspersed throughout the chapters are excerpts from Ben's podcast interviews. These were really fun to read and helped keep the chapters interesting and move the story forward without any annoying exposition. Fans of true crime podcasts will definitely enjoy this aspect of the book. At no point in this book did I feel bored or like the story was dragging. It's extremely fast-paced, and the author does not waste any time getting to the heart of the mystery.

I’m giving four out of five stars because while I believe this is a well-crafted mystery, nothing about the story blew me away or delivered any shocking twists. However, I believe it’s a worthwhile read, especially for fans of mysteries and true crime.

What a breath of fresh air Amy Tintera has breathed into the stale thriller genre. I LOVED this book. Who knew thrillers could be so funny? And the humor did not detract from the thrills and suspense, at all. In fact, it endeared me to what could have potentially been an otherwise unlikable character. I loved her macabre sense of humor! And I like the fact that she was unabashedly interested in sex. Women have sex. And ain’t no shame in it! And the audiobook was excellent. I loved the dual narrators and I especially loved the quality of the podcast chapters. My one suggestion would have been to change the font of text messages. They look like regular, non-dialogue sentences and, sometimes, I would have to reread a few sentences or even paragraphs bc I didn’t catch that some of it was a text that the character read. But no matter, loved this. 10/10 would recommend to everybody.

I devoured this in a day. Easily the best book I’ve read so far this year. A must read for anyone who loves true crime podcasts!

This was such a fast paced and fun thriller! I loved Lucy's sarcastic tone - some of her responses to the situations she found herself in were hilarious which were a nice contrast to the suspenseful tone. I also loved Grandma Beverly - she was a fantastic and funny addition to the overall plot. Each character in the mystery had a unique POV and perspective so it was interesting to see how each character impacted the central mystery. At first it was a bit challenging to keep track of the large number of characters but as each character developed this was easier.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Listen to the Lie is about a true crime podcast delving into an unsolved murder where everyone thinks they know who the killer is - the best friend. Lucy has no memory of her best friend’s murder but is willing to eventually participate in the podcast.

I was excited for this book since I am a fan of true crime podcasts. I enjoyed the snippets of the podcast that were interspersed throughout the book. I was a little surprised though that the book was more funny than I expected. Lucy copes with dark humor so there are a lot of jokes and off handed comments she makes. It just wasn’t what I was expecting and was a bit jarring. I was expecting a serious suspenseful mystery but it didn’t quite feel that way.

Overall I enjoyed the book and felt mostly satisfied with the ending although there was a bit that seemed left untold.

This book was fantastic! I’ve given it 5 stars!

The premise of the book is what initially drew me in. Lucy Chase is found in a state of injury with the blood of her best friend on her dress and podcast host Ben Owens has decided to highlight the case on his show and begins to delve in what will be a deeply intricate story of Lucy and the events that transpired that lead to a murder mystery:

The beginning of this book was a lot to grasp but once I got into the book properly, I was ‘in’ in every sense of the word. You are led down many twisty paths, each one as compelling as you learn about Savannah and Lucy’s lives. The energy throughout this book was creepy as well as dauntingly electric and I was left reeling - which as someone who reads a LOT of thriller novels it’s not very easy throw a spanner in the works for me but this book achieved that and splendidly too. There’s also this slight comedic touch, a realistic depiction of flawed characters and an ending that will be more than satisfactory for the reader.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this e-ARC!

I really liked this book up until the end. It felt like there were too many questions left unanswered

4.5 "the truth doesn't matter" stars

I really enjoyed this one. The story revolves around snarky main character, Lucy and Ben, the hot true crime pod-caster who's trying to solve the cold case small town murder that Lucy was the lead suspect in.

Oh, and the person who's murder remains unsolved? Lucy's best friend, Savvy, who was a heck of a side character, I might add.

I could't put this one down. Lucy's self deprecating humor, that she often uses as a shield, pulled me in right away. Couple that with the murderous thoughts she frequently has and I was hooked. The small town of Plumpton, TX was ripe with interesting characters, all ready to give their opinions on what happened that night to the hot shot pod-caster, Ben. Lured back to the town she hasn't set foot in for 5 years to celebrate her grandma's 80th birthday, Lucy doesn't plan on conversing with Ben until her grandma arranges for them to be in the same place at the same time. What evolves is a strange friendship, romance, infatuation between the two as Ben tries to piece together the events of that night. Did I mention Lucy has no memory of that night?

The characters were interesting and feisty, the pacing just right, and I read on with baited breath, waiting for the reveal. Enjoyed it, really fun read!

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 was found wandering down a road covered in blood, carrying a bloody tree limb and no memory of what happened to her or her best friend, Savvy. She leaves town and returns five years later for her grandmother’s birthday to only get involved with the true crime podcaster who is in town trying to solve Savvy’s murder. What really happened that night?

My favorite read of 2024 so far! Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Listen for the Lie!