This book started strong but quickly fell apart for me. The protagonist was so unlikeable, I could never get behind her. And then all the men in town wanting her, it felt a little strange. I liked the resolution, but at that point, I was over the main charactor.

This was a fun time! I didn’t know exactly where the story was going which I always appreciate in a thriller. The star taken off was due to my personal preference about the unreliable narrator trope.

Dark twisty thriller! I loved it! A bit of comedy thrown in as well. this was a terrific book, compelling characters and written beautifully! Kept me glued!

Listen for the Lie is a thriller and suspenseful murder mystery as the readers meet Lucy as she tries to live her life wondering who killed her best friend Savvy. Unfortunately, due to her amnesia, many in her hometown think that it is her. As she goes back to her hometown to celebrate her grandmother's birthday (her grandma is HILARIOUS! LOVE her!), she begins to unravel what happened that night, with the assistance of a handsome true crime podcaster, Ben. The book is fast paced, funny, mysterious, twisty and has a satisfying resolution. The only thing that I wished for would be more clues for the reader to discover, as it seemed that the conclusion was just explained at the end, with few/no hints along the way. I couldn't put it down and look forward to reading more of this author's work.

It took me only 4 chapters to get into this book.. then I was hooked! Lucy is returning home to her small town after 5 years because her grandmother insists on her being there for her birthday.. she’s also hated by everyone in town because they all think she killed her best friend, Savvy. So why does grandma insist on her coming home? Oh the hot new true crime podcaster is in town and wants to speak to Lucy because she’s the suspect in the new season of his show.. and grandma wants her to talk to him.

Lucy and Savvy weren’t friends in high school.. Savvy was a cheerleader and homecoming queen and Lucy was not those things. Small town gossipers thought it was weird how when they both returned home from college they became fast friends.. what did they possibly have in common? And why would Lucy kill her best friend? She doesn’t know if she did or didn’t because Lucy can’t remember that night at all.. she was found wandering down the road injured, confused and covered in Savvy’s blood. She was originally thought to be a victim but there was no evidence of someone else present. But she was never brought to trial as there were no murder weapon found and no motive.. and no witnesses?

Lucy has this continued intrusive voice repeating “let’s kill..”

Ben the podcaster interviews several people.. town gossips, old friends, the ex husband etc.. trying to get to the bottom of this case.. he’s not sure if she did it but he’s determined to find out who. He’s also deemed to get Lucy’s side of the story.. he’s been talking to grandma!

This book is filled with twists and turns and I had a couple people as suspects throughout but always wondered.. did Lucy do it?! Kept me hooked until the very end!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this arc.

Thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an Advanced Reader digital copy of "Listen for the Lie" by Amy Tintera. I read this book before publication, but I'm just getting around to writing a review. So, please forgive my late submission. "Listen for the Lie" is a gripping murder mystery unfolding through the unique perspectives of Lucy, a podcaster, and multiple townspeople interviewed for the podcast. The story revolves around a cold-case murder and a podcast with Lucy Chase, accused of murdering her best friend years ago, returning to the scene of the crime in Texas. The podcaster had been reaching out to Lucy for years to get her side of the story; Lucy is able to do so when she returns to Texas for her grandmother's birthday party. All hell breaks loose upon her return; several town members' slimy secrets simmer to the top, are exposed, and erupt. 

Ms. Tintera wrote a murder mystery with themes of friendship, love, and, most of all, betrayal. I loved Lucy's grandmother and their relationship. "Listen for the Lie" is an excellent first novel, which would be a fantastic book club selection. I was hooked in Chapter 1 with the introduction of sassy Lucy in LA. I returned to Texas, put on my detective hat, and tried to solve the cold-case murder with her and the podcaster. There were a lot of twists and turns, and the conclusion was shocking.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera is a captivating mystery that blends dark humor with psychological suspense, following Lucy Chase, who is accused of murdering her best friend, Savvy. Lucy, now living in LA and suffering from traumatic amnesia, is thrust back into the limelight when a true crime podcast revisits Savvy's case. As Lucy returns to her small Texas hometown to confront her past, she navigates the town's judgment, her strained family relationships, and her own haunted memories. Tintera masterfully interweaves podcast transcripts and Lucy’s sharp, witty perspective to unravel a complex narrative filled with red herrings, surprising twists, and a satisfying conclusion. With vivid characters, especially the endearing Beverly, and a gripping plot, Listen for the Lie is an engrossing read that explores the intricacies of memory, guilt, and redemption.

I absolutely loved this book. I flew through it and couldn’t put it down. The twists kept me guessing and the podcast script definitely worked for me.

The pace is FAST, with never a dull moment, as tempers flare and hormones rage-yes, the men and women of this town love secrets, sparring and sex in equal measure!

I really thought I was going to like this one more than I did. A podcast, a mystery murder and a main character that doesn't remember anything. Sounds like a winner but unfortunately no for me. The writing was well done but I just could not connect with any of the characters, especially Lucy. I could not handle the snarkiness or the decisions she was making.
The pacing of the storyline was off too. There just was not much happening besides the podcast interviewing and Lucy trying to remember what happened the night of Savvy's murder. And seriously, we get how hot it is in Texas. I don't think we need to be reminded as frequently as we were!

I did listen to this on audio instead of reading the ebook version. The narration was fabulous! January Lavoy and Will Damron did a fantastic job of reading a large amount of characters (some of which I got mixed up at times).
I also did not expect the outcome. I was completely surprised by the "whodunnit"! I seriously thought it was someone else!

Overall it was a three star for me. I was happy to have read it!

Thanks to Celadon and Netgalley for the opportunity!

I devoured this book! I always tell myself that mysteries and thrillers aren't my jam until I come across books like this and then I want to find all of the books like this! It was so good and kept me guessing the whole time trying to find out what happened.

Listen for the Lie is an engaging thriller that explores themes of trust, betrayal, and teenage friendships. Each chapter ends in a cliffhanger and twists and turns so it makes it easy to be fully engaged in the story and alternating perspectives.

Trust, deception, truth and perception are all explored which raises questions about how well we truly know those around us. The building suspense kept me guessing who was actually involved and what really happened.

Anyone that likes a suspenseful thriller with alternating viewpoints will enjoy this one!

Listen for the Lie
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One thing about me is if there is a true crime podcast thriller, i’m gonna be listening to it despite how long the wait is on Libby!
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This one was so fun! The main character was so likable and realistic. The investigations felt real and not far fetched but also what a crazy experience to not know if you killed your best friend….
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I was truthfully surprised by the ending but wanted a bit more discussion about the conclusion. I rarely ask for a book to be longer 😂

Listen to the Lie was so good! I such love the storyline and the characters. Should be like a lifetime movie. Thanks so much for the review copy. It was well written and love the podcast idea. Looking forward to more book by this aurthor.

I just didn’t love this as much as I wanted to. I’ve heard rave reviews for this one but it just didn’t hit the mark.

I loved the podcast aspect, the main character, Lucy & her grandma but other than that, the characters really had no depth.

There was so much information, it made the twist kind of anticlimactic.

If you love a good murder mystery, podcast elements, dual timelines and a fun FMC, this one is for you!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5/5

I can understand why there are so many rave reviews for this book. A small town murder? A sarcastic and witty protagonist facing her ghosts to solve it? Sadly, the vibes die there.

It started out strong; I'm not usually a mystery girlie but I was here for it because I liked Lucy as a character. But she quickly became annoying and, frankly, predictable as we get deeper into the plot. The plot itself was predictable, trying to be dark and unique when it ends up coming up dry and cliche. And can we talk about the amount of sex? It's like everyone in this town is hooking up- even Lucy's grandmother- which I think is meant to provide some levity but is tasteless and takes the reader out of the story's atmosphere.

Overall, there was potential here, but it made the same mistake that many popular thrillers make, in that they try too hard to be twisty and "fresh". It's a solid airport read, but didn't do it for me.

This is one of the most voicy, riveting books I have read in a long time. The unsympathetic, intrusive thoughts-plagued narrator is impossible to turn away from.

Lucy Chase is not living her best life. She’s in L.A., and she just got fired from the job she didn’t like much anyway, and her boyfriend is going to break up with her when he gets up the courage, so she’s also about to be homeless. She hasn’t made many friends, or really any friends, in California, and she certainly can’t go back to Texas. Especially now, with the podcaster digging around in her past.

But her grandmother’s birthday is coming up, and she is insisting that Lucy come back to the small town in Texas where she grew up and help plan and execute the party. Her grandmother refuses to take no for an answer. And really, only her grandmother could get her back to town.

Lucy wants to stay in a hotel, but her parents insist she stay with them. It’s tense in the house, and Lucy is uncomfortable there, but she needs to save her money now that she’s out of work and needing to find a new apartment. Her grandmother asks Luc to pick up dinner from the local diner for them to eat at her place, and Lucy does, because it’s her grandmother. And that’s where she finally meets Ben.

Ben had been emailing her for a few months, trying to get her side of the story. Five years ago, after the wedding of a mutual friend, Lucy had been found wandering around covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood and saying she couldn’t remember anything that had happened that evening. Savvy was dead, her arms scratched and Lucy’s skin under her fingernails. Everyone in town thought that Lucy had killed her. There wasn’t enough evidence for an arrest, and eventually Lucy moved away and hadn’t been back. Until her grandmother insisted.

When Lucy first met Ben, he was just sitting in a booth at the diner. But she knew immediately who he was and what he was doing there. He was the guy from the popular Listen for the Lie podcast. He was known for taking on unsolved cold cases, and during his first season, he was able to solve the case and bring justice after years of nothing from the police. Now he’s turned his attention to Savvy’s murder, and he was wanting to get an interview with Lucy.

Lucy doesn’t want to talk to him, and she doesn’t feel like she has much to add to the conversation. In the last five years, she had not recovered her memory of that night. She had suffered a bad head injury too, and that plus the trauma she faced had made her forget anything from that night. Ben is not convinced that she had killed Savvy, but it was an unpopular opinion. Most everyone else in town thought she had done it, including her parents and her ex-husband. But as Ben goes around town and gets interviews with those who knew Savvy and Lucy, he starts to find some new information. Alibis are questioned. New facts are revealed about Lucy’s life when she was younger.

But Lucy still can’t remember what happened. And she keeps making bad choices. Being back in Texas, having all this stirred up again, makes her hear voices again. Or rather, one voice, that keeps telling her to kill people. Now that she’s back home again, will Lucy finally be able to remember what happened that night, or will she figure out that she really is the villain in the story of Savvy’s death?

Listen for the Lie is a slow burn thriller about a cold case that has haunted a small town for five years. It’s author Amy Tintera’s first adult novel, and it starts strong right from page one. Lucy’s story is interrupted with short chapters of the podcast transcript as Ben finishes them and releases them into the world. This story is compelling, and as the podcast goes on and Ben uncovers more information about the night in question, the secrets start breaking open quickly, and the race to the real truth is on.

I loved Listen for the Lie. I thought that the character of Lucy was brilliantly written, with her sarcasm hiding the sins of those around her and her emotional armor in place to help protect her from those who say they care about her. As her story unfolded, I could not put this book down. I liked the podcast storyline, and I thought it added not just a compelling reason for Lucy to go back home and face what she’d been avoiding all those years, but a perfect way to reveal pieces of the small town that didn’t fit the pristine image. If you love a true crime podcast and find yourself in need of a strong thriller for a day at the beach or a plane ride, then this may be just what you’ve been looking for.

Egalleys for Listen for the Lie were provided by Celadon Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Listen for the Lie toes the line between true crime + humor in such a sharp way. The podcast elements really landed for me. The ending did leave me questioning, "Huh, so that's it?" but overall good book + time well spent.

Many thanks to to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this ARC!

You know when you find a book that is just fun to read? That’s this book. I loved the dry, sarcastic humor and the unlikable characters. It’s a really solid thriller too and I didn’t guess the ending until I was about ¾ through the book but there were still twists that I didn’t see coming. Highly recommend! Thank you to @celadonbooks for my copy!