When Stephen King calls a book "a world-class whodunit," I'm definitely gonna read it. And he didn't overpromise. This thriller delivers. In this audiobook we meet a flawed, funny, and interesting protagonist, Lucy, who has a sarcastic, defensive tone and a convenient case of amnesia after being the last person to see her best friend Savvy alive. Most of her small Texas town thinks she murdered her, so Lucy flees to Los Angeles... until a podcaster (isn't it always a podcaster?) dredges up old suspicions by investigating the case in Texas. So Lucy returns, and we learn that all the people closest to Lucy, including her ex-husband and even her parents, think she killed Savvy too. Everyone that is except for Lucy's grandmother, who is my favorite character in the book and never doubts Lucy's innocence.

I enjoyed the book, which is told alternately through Lucy's narration and podcast episodes. A twisted tale with a satisfying ending that investigates amnesia, female friendships, and ultimately asks why we don't believe women more (including ourselves).

Very enjoyable read, satisfying conclusion, and well-narrated by a small cast. I'll look forward to reading more by Amy Tintera. 4.5 stars.

🎧     ⁣ Thank you so much #Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐄 by 𝐀𝐦𝐲 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚 before the publication date, though I’m a little behind on sharing my thoughts.         ⁣   

Narrators  ⁣January LaVoy and Will Damron did a great job of bringing this excellent story to life. It was a captivating tale about Lucy Chase, a woman who understandably has stayed away from the town she loved. But because of a special birthday celebration for her grandmother, she decides to return to the town, a place where many people still suspect that she killed her best friend, though it was never proven.

And for those who love podcast details to be added to a story, True crime podcaster Ben Owens has come to town to help shed some light on a death that was never solved.

I had no trouble keeping my mind on this story. It was full of interesting characters and red herrings that kept me guessing.

My Concerns
At times, I wasn’t too fond of Lucy and her reactions.

Final Thoughts
I loved the addition of a podcast to this story and the interesting relationships.
This is an easy audiobook to recommend. Don’t miss it.

This book did the multimedia approach right. I loved the podcast excerpts in between chapters and how well it provided backstory and people’s opinions without bogging down the primary plot. It was balanced well and added much to this experience. I also quite liked the mystery aspect and how it slowly built throughout.

The characters were well written. Lucy was a strong protagonist, and one I appreciated. I enjoyed her bluntness and her lack of care about coming off nice or polite, as well as her sarcasm and wit. It was refreshing but not overdone, making her feel realistic. The voice in her head was also an interesting aspect that added to her character, and I enjoyed the unsettling feel it gave the book. The secondary characters were also strong, feeling alive and well developed. I especially enjoyed Lucy’s grandma, Beverly.

This author’s writing was strong and having already rated another of her books quite highly, I plan on reading more from her. If you’re interested in a realistic mystery with compelling characters and a multimedia approach, then this is a must read.

Oh I liked this one

If you're a podcast fan or have listened to mystery thrillers centered around a podcast then you'll love this book.
Lucy is back in her hometown for her Grandma's birthday, but she's getting the welcome wagon from the residents.
She's hated because they think she killed her best friend, though suspected, she's never been charged.
Her life is about to get even more complicated when a podcaster starts digging into the case.
This was such a good ride, but Lucy had some issues.
She's missing a chunk of her memories and she can't tell if she's guilty or not.
I loved this one, it really kept me guessing who the killer was.
The podcast updates throughout the book added a different perspective and just a whole other level of mystery to be solved.
Lucy also had some intrusive thoughts that I know came from a villain playbook, but I dig it.
I'll be looking for more from this author,
Well done!!!!

This book was fabulous!
With echoes of None of This is True by Lisa Jewell, this is another thriller with a murder mystery, a true crime podcast setting, and different POVs, which is all my favourite elements thrown together!
You just keep reading, there is so much to hold your attention and keep you guessing, that it is easy to read compulsively.
This book is so much fun to read, and the title makes you question EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE. The scenes with Lucy's humour and sarcasm are hilarious, as are the scenes where Savvy's 'ghost' makes an appearance and she brilliantly reacts to what Lucy is experiencing.
I loved this book, so much that I gained access to the audiobook and relived it all with wondeful narration too.
I haven't read any Amy Tintera prior to this book, and I cannot wait to read more from her.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I really enjoyed listening to this! Very engaging and the main character was perfect. The narrators did a great job. I would read more by this author!

This book guys! This book is worth the read… or in other words, worth the listen! The audiobook was so incredibly well done! Lucy returns to the town where she grew up and is known for killing her best friend, although she claims she doesn’t remember anything from that night. A popular podcast picked up this story as their feature for the season and is doing their own investigating. I loved the dual narrators, especially the parts in the podcast. The storyline flowed effortlessly, and the writing was phenomenal. There were many twists that I didn’t see coming. All the characters had depth and had something to add to the story. Lucy’s Grandma was my favorite character of all! As the reader, I wasn’t sure if Lucy did kill her friend or not. If you enjoy psychological thriller / mysteries, then I suggest you pick this one up right away!

This book was such a great surprise. I wasn't sure how I would feel because 1) I feel like the podcast element in books is a little overdone at this point and 2) I don't like the trope of main character experiences memory loss then slowly gets her memory back as the story progresses at the most opportune times. HOWEVER, this book I think really used these mystery thriller tropes in a new and fun way. The writing style and tone of this book was perfect. I was laughing, I was engaged, and I really cared about the main character and her story. I was surprised by reveals and also saw some coming, but that never really ruins my reading experience for me, because in thrillers you want the reveals to make sense with the story you've read so far. The narrator was perfect and really made the humor and sarcasm of the characters come alive. Also the podcast element was done perfectly on audio, which is always a plus.

As a big fan of podcast listening, I was excited to read this book! I enjoyed very much. The story line was unexpected and I appreciated how each character's interaction with the protagonist was believable. As a Texas native, I feel the author portrayed the range of Texan women well (from the southern belle type to the take-no-crap type).

I would prefer less strong language but that didn't take away from the story. I was very much on the edge of my seat to find out the full "who dunnit" and was happily surprised to get to the end. I plan to read it a second time.

This was a fast paced page turner that hooked me right from the start! 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. It’s now been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy still can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life. Enter, Ben, podcast host of the wildly succesful "Listen For The Lie" He's digging into the case to try to solve it once and for all. 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.

This was a really great thriller ride and I couldn't wait to see how it would all play out. I was worried about the podcast trope, seems everyone is trying that right now. But no fear, this one was so well done. I highly recommend the audio version, it really brought the story to life with the full cast narration. January LaVoy was excellent as always. This is a really buzzy book right now and a celebrity book club pick also, and for me it lived up to the hype!

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for the advanced listener's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, thank you Bookstagram. I would have never heard of this book if not for you, besties! And after seeing so many 5⭐️ reviews of this book, I obviously need to read it now!

It’s about a cold case story of our female lead being suspected of her bestfriend’s murder. Due to insufficient evidence and her not remembering anything that night, she was acquitted but everybody in their small town still believes that she did it. Enter true crime podcaster Ben who wants to investigate what really happened that night...

Omg I binged this one so quickly! I literally couldn’t stop listening to it! I love a good audiobook with a podcast style of story telling! For people who loved Lisa Jewell’s None of This is True, you’d definitely like this one too!!

For my true crime lovers out there, this is not a real case but it reads like it and following the investigation of that night’s mystery felt like watching a real documentary!

This is probably going in the list of my favorite thrillers ever and I highly recommend reading it!! 💗

Thank you @netgalley for the free audiobook!

I LOVED this book! A page turning thriller mixed with a little dark humor - the best! Sucked in from the very first line. I liked how a true crime podcast (current trend) was incorporated into uncovering the truth. This was my first read from this author and I will definitely be looking for more!

I absolutely loved this whodunit from Amy Tintera! The format of alternating between the POV of main character, Lucy Chase, who is accused of murdering her best friend, and the true crime podcast about the murder was clever. Listening to this as an audiobook made it even better! There was so much thought put into the aesthetics of it, making it sound like real podcast segments. This book had me hanging on till the very end and I could not stop listening!

I received an ARC copy of this audiobook through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fun one. The audiobook worked well for the podcast format, and I liked Lucy's sarcasm. The story is fast paced and the mystery of who killed Savvy kept me guessing to the very end.

Why killed Savvy?

Lucy is the main suspect. After all, she was found wandering the streets covered in her best friend’s blood with no memory of the past 12 hours. But when a true-crime podcaster comes to town, it’s revealed that everyone knows more about what really happened than they originally let on.

At no point did I correctly guess what happened next in this storyline. I loved the podcast element, and I highly recommend the audiobook version. If you love thrillers and true crime podcasts, you will devour this book!

Lucy Chase is returning to her small home town in Texas after being away for the last five years. She left because her best friend, Savvy, was brutally murdered and many in her town think she did it. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and has amnesia about what happened that fateful night.

Podcaster Ben Owens has decided to focus on Savvy's unsolved murder for his newest season. Lucy is a sarcastic and direct woman living in Los Angeles after divorcing her husband who she shared a chaotic relationship with. Lucy's dear, no-nonsense grandmother has lured her back for her 80th birthday party, but Ben is also in town investigating what happened to Savvy.

I listened to the audiobook, which moves quickly. The audiobook is perfectly narrated by January LaVoy as Lucy and Will Damron as Ben. They both have such pitch perfect delivery. Audiobook is the perfect medium for this book as you get a real sense for the podcast episodes and interviews. I loved Lucy's snarky attitude and commentary. She has a "dark passenger," which causes her to have intrusive thoughts about k!ll!ng people she meets. The story is really fun and twisty and we learn that many in the town have secrets. It's a fun and sometimes salacious read.

Thank you Celadon / Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this ebook / audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Listen for the Lie was my first read by author Amy Tintera and her first adult debut; I was blown-away. The format alternating between the protagonist, Lucy, and the podcast worked extremely well in keeping me engaged and not wanting to put this down. I especially loved the humor thrown in throughout the story which made listening very enjoyable and made this a memorable novel for me. Narrators January LaVoy and Will Damron were exceptional at bringing these characters to life with their flawless narration and back and forth banter. I can not wait to read more from Amy Tintera and I highly recommend everyone read Listen for the Lie.

Thank you Macmillan Audio, author Amy Tintera, and NetGalley for this Advanced Listening Copy.

This was a fast paced gripping thriller. A main character you should hate but love! A massively dysfunctional family. And a town who’s convinced you’re a murderer! I absolutely loved how this was written it was funny but serious and grandma was an absolute masterpiece! If you love a good thriller that keeps you guessing and is also wildly entertaining this is it! I’m so glad I got the opportunity to listen to this audiobook because I feel like that just made this story so much better! It’s a podcast after all! Job well done! Highly recommend!!

Being from Texas in a small town, I totally loved hearing this murder mystery story. Gossip spreads fast. Image is everything. And lies are everywhere. This psychological thriller had me guessing until the very end. I enjoy strong female characters and this one definitely packed a good punch!

In the small town of Plumpton, Texas, Lucy Chase returns for her grandmother’s birthday, despite knowing that most of the townspeople still believe she murdered her best friend, Savannah Harper, five years ago.

The incident left Lucy covered in blood with no memory of what happened. She’s always been a woman with secrets, which hasn’t endeared her to the locals. Their narrative paints her as violent, secretive, and difficult.

Coincidentally, true-crime podcaster Ben Owens is also in town, interviewing Lucy’s family and former friends about Savannah’s murder. Ben is relentless in uncovering new evidence and coaxing interviews, leading people to question Lucy’s guilt. As Lucy lets down her guard, she and Ben draw closer, forcing her to confront the truth of her past and unmask the murderer of her complicated, gorgeous, and protective friend.

Most of the novel is told from Lucy’s perspective, allowing a natural unspooling of her life and story. She’s strong, prickly, and gradually reveals just how wronged she has been. “Listen for the Lie” is a striking commentary on the insular and harmful nature of small-town prejudice, especially towards women who don’t fit the mold.

Amy Tintera effectively capitalizes on the true-crime podcast boom, creating a smart, edgy, and entertaining thriller that transcends the podcast structure.

Overall, this book is a captivating exploration of secrets, justice, and the power of storytelling. If you enjoy mysteries with strong female protagonists and a dash of true-crime intrigue, “Listen for the Lie” is a must-read!