I recommend this book for people who:
•enjoy true crime podcasts or documentaries
•don’t need the main character to be super likable
•enjoy snark and/or dark humor

This story follows Lucy, whose best friend Savannah was murdered, but Lucy has no memory of that night. Five years later, an investigative podcast revisits the story in an attempt to solve the case. Lucy claims to want to know who murdered her friend, but does she really?

I really enjoyed the audiobook. There are two narrators, and Lucy’s story is punctuated by clips from the podcast. It is really well done, and I enjoyed both of the narrators. The cast of characters were a lot of fun, and even if they weren’t always likable they were at least relatable. There are a couple good twists in the story: one I didn’t see coming at all and one I only realized at the last minute.

Overall I really enjoyed this story and think that the audiobook version added something that I couldn’t have experienced if I read a physical copy. The story will hold up either way, but I highly recommend listening.

"Listen For the Lie" by Amy Tintera is my first five-star read of 2024. I'm so happy I had a chance to read this edgy, and surprisingly sweet audiobook. I am a huge fan of true crime podcasts and loved how the audiobook combined the music and the podcast episodes with the narrative to make me really believe I was listening to the episodes live. I don't know if this book would have been as impactful in print form.

Lucy, the main character, has her dead best friend as a hallucinatory dark passenger. She, along with the podcast host unravels the mystery - did Lucy kill or not kill her best friend?

Dark and intriguing and full of twists! 5 Stars!

The storyline was pretty good, and I liked the podcast element. But, while the sarcastic/snarky comments by a couple characters were entertaining, listening to the repetitive 'voice' was ridiculous to me. Had I actually read the physical copy, I may have felt differently.

So apparently when you listen to an audiobook with a podcast on it you get all the podcast music and fun while also getting a book so it is AMAZING. I switched between physical and audio and highly rec both. This book is fantastic, so compelling.

This one was the classic unsolved murder in a small town & someone wants to make a true crime podcast and solve the age old murder so in that aspect it was a story we've all heard before. Now the fun twist is that the suspect/main character cannot remember anything from the night so she may have done it too, she does not know.

Listen, I guessed the murderer in the first few chapters but I would say usually when I pick a killer it's because that is the person who should be the killer so I cannot complain. I loved everything about this book, all of the characters were awesome and I was emotionally involved in all of them. Grandma is *swoon*. We must protect grandma at all costs.

I absolutely devoured this book. It is not often I start and finish a book in the same day, but I could not stop with this one. It has been a while since I have read a book that has pulled me in like this one did. I have always loved when podcasts and thrillers meet in books and Tintera made this happen in the best way! This will be an audiobook I recommend to anyone who will listen to me. I hope Tintera will continue writing adult thrillers as this was an easy 5 star read for me!

Thank you NetGalley! I really liked this book-I like when a book leaves enough clues that you can figure it out without it just being an obvious twist—and there were definitely plenty of surprises along the way! Looking forward to reading more by this author.

This is the third book I have read lately with the "old murder," people coming back and now we solve it. This was only fair. I felt like the authors didn't know quite how they wanted the story to go. DV, psychosis, ghosts and many players it the plot, the triple was there but the resolutions were a bit weak beacuase there were so many. Not a bad thing for more than one book but took much for one book. Good read

This was a fantastic thriller. I absolutely loved the POVs jumping from Lucy to Ben's podcast. That was a creative way to jump around and add exposition. I was thoroughly engrossed and managed to read most of this in a couple of sittings.

Fast paced, twisty, bingeable and so very entertaining! I loved the audiobook production and would highly encourage you to go that route. January Lavoy (one of my all time fav narrators) and William Dameon narrate with a supporting cast and it really elevates and brings the story to life.

It did start off a little slow and I was perplexed by the voices in her head (iykyk) but things pick up quickly. I loved Grandma Beverly, I would happily read a novella centered around her antics any day!! There is a dark humor and sarcastic edge to Lucy which I enjoyed. There was a deeper message to the plot as well, but it did get a bit heavy handed at times, I would have liked it a bit more subtly done. I thought the twists and reveals were well done and while I predicted a few things, it was more of a guess than it was obvious and I had MANY wrong guesses as well. The final confrontation was a little bit underwhelming for me, especially in relation to how much page time there was on relationship drama. Which brings me to…

My biggest drawback for this was the romance subplot. It was totally unnecessary, didn’t fully make sense to me for the characters, and took away from the momentum of the story. Removing the romance storyline would have evened out the pacing and definitely would have bumped my rating up even higher.

Thanks Macmillan Audio, Celadon Books and NetGalley for the ALC/ARC!

I finished this book in one day. I couldn’t stop. I absolutely loved and i really wanted to know what happened that night.

I’m a fan of the amnesia trope or the unreliable narrator. It makes it so much more interesting and makes me question more.

I was suspicious of SO many characters. It really could have been anyone!

I really loved Lucy. She was sarcastic and real and no holds barred. She wasn’t afraid to say what everyone was thinking or making anyone uncomfortable and personally i found that relatable because i can be that way 🫢

I was riveted throughout this entire book. I loved the podcast aspect. Another trope i enjoyed. I found it kept it fresh with different perspectives and little truths slowly revealing.

The only things i wasn’t super huge on was Lucy made out with a lot of people in this 3 week people and she just did it without thought and while not even wanting to. She just allowed it and it seemed unrealistic to me. & also the ending… i guess i wanted more punch. It was good and i totally didn’t expect it! But it was kind of an abrupt ending.

4.5 rounded up.

The narration was fantastic. Podcast parts were fun and i loved the narrators. They portrayed the characters well

Engaging and wholly enjoyable experience listening to this in audio. Dual narrators did a solid job of voicing several characters and incorporating accents, etc. Plot, pacing, and character development were all strong elements, and I enjoyed the back-and-forth between Lucy's POV and Ben's podcast. Lucy was a sympathetic, if flawed, protagonist, and Ben was the right blend of confident yet conscientious. The pairing made you root for both sides to win.

The irony of the final podcast was poignant and I would not blame Lucy for never again setting foot in her hometown except to visit her grandmother.

Listen for the Lie, written by Amy Tintera and narrated by January LaVoy and Will Damron is an exceptional audiobook. I found it highly entertaining especially listening to January LaVoy reading as Lucy. This is one of those books with a podcast element to it and listening to the audio version was great. Lucy has a bit of a sarcastic and snarky t0ne at times that was portrayed so well by the narrator - I didn't read the physical book so I couldn't say if that tone reads well for a physical book or not but in the audiobook it was so fun to listen to, The voice of Ben was very well done too and I loved the podcast sections of the audiobook. I also enjoyed listening to the interviews with the locals from Lucy's home town. This book has it all! A murder mystery, a podcast and a great cast of characters.
I'm giving this one 5 stars and its my first 5 star for 2024! The author is new to me but I read that this is her adult debut and she knocked it out of the park! I highly recommend this audiobook!
Thank you so much to Macmillan audio and NetGalley for my advanced listening copy!

Fun local-ish color, a great read, but -- like so many mysteries -- it got to be a bit bizarre at the end.

Review copy provided by publisher.

This book was AMAZING! I give it an easy 5 stars. The author grabs you from the first words and keeps you on your toes for the entire book. The main character Lucy is a very strange girl with very intrusive thoughts. Her intrusive thoughts tell her to do very bad things. But did these thoughts tell her to kill her best friend? I guess you will have to read this book to find out! Amy Tintera's writing style is unique and fabulous. As the reader you end up bonding with the crazy main character. There are a variety of odd characters in the book and they are all memorable so you will not be confused at all. Amy will put you through a variety of twists.....and then she will take that twist and retwist it 3 more times, leaving you in shock! I can't wait for this book to come out I will be telling everybody to read it!

Holy crap. I can already tell this is going to be in my top 3 reads of 2024, if not my favorite! I cannot believe what I just read. I was on the edge of my seat, my jaw on the floor, in complete disbelief pretty much the entire book, but especially the last 20-30% or so. I suspected everyone. I had two hundred theories. None of them were correct. My heart was literally racing in the last couple of chapters! 100000/5 stars

I was on a rollercoaster for this book but the rollercoaster was me -- from being engaged to unengaged. I thought the narrators were fantastic, especially for this style of book, and thought the premise of the book and writing style made it a perfect contender to enjoy via audio. But, for me, it was a little all over the place and hard for me to stay focused. I wanted to love this and I can't put my finger on just why I couldn't fully connect with and commit to the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review this ARC in audio format.

4.5⭐️

Exceptionally well done. This is how you do this sort of story.

Taught, twisty, suspenseful, with a likable but flawed, delightfully snarky protagonist, I ended up finishing this story in one sitting, unable to put it down. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook if you have the chance, as the narration and the realistic podcast vignettes really add to the experience - but whatever format you prefer, definitely do read this one.

January LaVoy and Will Damron did a fantastic job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Amy Tintera, Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

I'm not sure what caused me to pick up this one, because I usually am not a fan of true crime or podcast themes. I'm so glad I did, though, because "Listen for the Lie" was fun from start to finish!

Lucy, a pariah in her hometown, has reluctantly returned for her grandmother's birthday party. She hasn't been back for years, following the murder of her best friend, a crime that she was suspected of committing. Never convicted in a court, she's nonetheless found guilty in the court of public opinon, and with amnesia surrounding the night in question, Lucy isn't too sure they are wrong.

While back in town, Lucy finds herself running into Ben Owens, producer of a true crime podcast that has been looking to profile her story. To his surprise, Lucy agrees to speak with Ben, and the two soon find themselves working to unlock the secrets of what happened the evening Savannah died.

Lucy has a dry, self-deprecating sense of humor that feels like a genuine fit with her position as a social outcast. While I did find her internal monologue and lust for violence a little abrasive at first, it doesn't take long for it to make sense within the context of the book. I read enough thrillers that I did sleuth out the culprit partway through, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment in the least. Lucy's grandma, by the way, was by far my favorite.

While Amy Tintera no doubt gets full credit for crafting an engaging story that isn't what it seems on first look, January LaVoy and Will Damron also get high marks for delivering excellent performances as narrators.

4.5 stars rounded up.

I love true crime podcasts and I was excited to read this book about a murder being investigated via a podcast titled "Listen for the Lie". This book was done so well. I really like how the book goes back and forth between Lucy's POV and the podcast POV. I enjoyed Lucy's humor, and her kooky grandmother Beverly. I also really liked Ben, the podcast host. This book definitely had me guessing right up until the end.

The audio narration in this book is spot on and I applaud the narrators January LaVoy and Will Damron. This could have been a mess without the proper narrators, and I'm happy to say they did a wonderful job.

This book is filled with humor, mystery, suspense and a bit of sexy time to keep every reader entertained. 4.5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Amy Tintera for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVE LUCY. Her banter was sarcasm was top tier. I loved how the story unfolded slowly but steadily. It was shockingly easy to keep the characters sorted, which is usually difficult with so many moving parts. Great book!

The audiobook was fantastic. I loved the production for the podcast clips as well as the narrators.