I'm a sucker for a mixed media thriller and the podcast elements mixed into this story were everything I could have hoped for and more. I could not put this one down. So many twists and turns, and though it felt predictable at times, it kept me just interested enough to keep on reading until the very last page.

This book was absolutely brilliant, and most likely will be my top book of 2024. I was hooked from page one and refused to put it down. I will say. The ending of this book evoked some serious emotions, and I was kind-of shocked at how emotionally invested I was.

Now I need to go read some of Amy's YA books!

🎤𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗘🎤
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛
𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑 𝟻, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺(🚨𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎!!)
𝙼𝚢 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝: Lucy is forced to return home..a place she vowed to never come back to. She wants to solve her best friends murder with this podcaster even if she is the one that did it.

💭𝙼𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜: DEVOURED!! 🙌SO GOOD🤌!! I read the bulk of this one on audio & holy moly…I totally recommend this version! 🎧With all the podcast chapters it is so good on audio….trust me!! You get past, present & the actual podcast being done for this whodunnit even though the only suspect is still Lucy..the main character. I finished this one in 2 days maybe less. I kept those headphones on during everything…to the point of prob being a little rude😆, but it was that good! The dark humor is pure perfection & the twists are thrown in so well. It starts strong & never lets up. The only thing is I wish maybe a better ending, but it’s gonna get 5 stars because of everything else & honestly it’s hardddd to keep that momentum up like this book does, so def 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ That dark humor🙌😆March 5th, y’all! You want to read this book!!

🩷🩵💜𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 @𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 & @celadonbooks 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄. 📝𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁! 🥳

@amytintera bravo!👏

If you are looking for a page-turner, then grab this. It's a really interesting format, with podcast transcripts sprinkled throughout, and it is absolutely chocked full of unlikeable and unreliable characters. There is also a consistent undertone of suspicion that keeps the reader guessing until the very end.

Five years ago, Lucy Chase was found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savannah's blood. Lucy says she can't remember what happened that night, but everyone in the small town of Plumpton, Texas, thinks she is a murderer--even her own parents. After that horrible night, Lucy moved to Los Angeles and started a new life writing romance novels under a pseudonym. But Lucy can't stay anonymous forever. Especially not since podcast host Ben Owens decided to investigate Savvy's murder for the second season of his hit true crime podcast, "Listen for the Lie." When Lucy's grandma Beverly invites Lucy to come home for her 80th birthday celebration, Lucy can't say no to her beloved grandma, the only person who believes she is innocent. Lucy returns to the place she vowed never to set foot in again and ends up finding an ally willing to help her solve her friend’s murder. Lucy is determined to find out the truth, even if she is the one that did it.

This book was absolutely incredible! Truly one of the best thrillers I have read, and I am already naming it one of my top reads of the year. With its fast pace, questionable narrator, and short chapters, this is one bingeable book that you will not want to put down. The story is told from Lucy's point of view with "podcast episodes" interspersed throughout the book, which were interviews of Plumpton residents who gave us extra information about Savvy and the events leading up to and after her murder. I never knew who or what to believe, and I had many theories and guesses about what really happened to Savvy. Tintera's dark humor made this a very fun and enjoyable read. I was surprised to learn this is her adult debut, and I can't wait to see what she does next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An unputdownable thriller, creatively centering on a true-crime podcast, a cold-case mystery, and a totally captivating nasty-but-nice heroine.

Lucy Chase is almost thirty, - a beautiful, sarcastic, darkly hilarious, tough-as-nails loner who is used to being on the outside looking in. On the very outside, that is, - as Lucy has been suspected, slandered and socially convicted of the murder of her best friend Savannah (Savvy), five years ago, in her pasted-on-perfect hometown of Plumpton, Texas.

Never formally criminally charged, Lucy’s caustic veneer is all that protects her from complete psychological chaos, as her head injury and continuing memory lapse surrounding the homicidal event fail to solicit any measure of credibility or compassion. Lucy’s social isolation is complete - extending to friends, and even the members of her own family, with the sole exception of her spirited (pun intended!), amorous and delightfully independent grandma Beverley. Both Lucy, and her grandma, at the hands of this author, embody rare literary magic as unrestrained laugh-out-loud go-for-it-all feisty women, encapsulating an unmistakable tiny beating heart of pure vulnerability.

When drool-worthy Ben Owens, (whose successful true-crime podcast “Listen for the Lie” captures the attention of thousands), takes on the case concerning Lucy, it feels as if her prospects could not get any bleaker. But fate has surprises in store for Lucy, as the author unfolds a narrative as fresh and engaging as the podcast it parallels, galloping through characters coloring Lucy’s past, her present, and the unwinding of violence, trauma, lies and secrets peppered throughout them.

Highly recommended for mystery lovers, this is a terrific read, original and truly engaging, and an easy early 2023 favorite.

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book, all thoughts presented are my own.


*** This book will be published on March 5, 2024

Listen for the Lie was completely enthralling and once I started, I couldn't stop! Our narrator, Lucy, has a captivating demeanor and comedic attitude towards negativity, especially in the beginning, which were some of my favorite moments throughout the story. Convinced by her hilarious grandmother, Lucy travels back to her hometown, the place where years ago she was found wandering the streets covered in her dead best friend Savannah's blood. Despite years of avoidance, Lucy is forced to face the past head on as Savvy's murder becomes the subject of a very popular true crime podcast. Lucy's innocence has been questioned since the night of the incident, and because she also suffered head trauma that night, the memories of what actually happened are locked deep in her psyche. While revisiting the scenes of her past, Lucy begins to recover the details of that fateful night, and the revelations are shocking. The twists and turns kept coming, and each reveal got better and better - I truly had no clue what was going to happen! Usually I have an idea of who's to blame, but this whodunit unraveled slowly and carefully, leaving everyone a suspect without making it obvious, until an unforgettable ending unfolds. The ending had me absolutely shook!

If you like true crime podcasts, small town drama, unreliable narrators and intriguing plots, you’ll like LISTEN FOR THE LIE. The story definitely kept my interest, and the end was unpredictable and satisfying.

Lucy returns to her Texas hometown, where she’s a pariah. Most everyone believes that she murdered her best friend, Savvy, and even Lucy isn’t sure she didn’t - she can’t remember anything about that night. Podcaster Ben Owens has decided to focus on Savvy’s murder for his successful podcast, “Listen for the Lie,” and as Lucy becomes more involved with him, she finds herself remembering more and more of that fateful day.

Tintera’s dialogue is spot on and flows really smoothly. My only gripe is that I had a hard time remembering which character was which, but overall I enjoyed this thriller a lot!

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Celadon Books for the early digital ARC of LISTEN FOR THE LIE and the opportunity to give my honest feedback.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭.”

Thanks Netgalley & Macmillan Audio for the advanced reader copies!
Pub date: March 5th

The audiobook for this one is great! I really enjoyed it and there were several moments I laughed out loud. Lucy is sarcastic, not totally reliable, full of dark humor and murderous thoughts, and it’s hard to figure her out initially. I was more interested in the snarky quips than the story itself at times but it easily kept me entertained. Chapters are short, which I felt made the pace decent, and though we’re only given Lucy’s POV in the present and past, and Ben’s just for the podcast sections, there are a ton of side characters that can sometimes be hard to keep track of as it also adds to the confusion of who all was or could have been involved in the murder, and like Lucy, we struggle with putting the pieces together until the whole picture is revealed.

Content and trigger warnings include a lot of profanity, murder (mostly detailed thoughts of how to do it and one intense scene), infidelity, domestic abuse (some pretty detailed), two brief sex scenes, alcoholism, and mental health (mostly tied to trauma). I recommend for all you true crime fanatics who enjoy a refreshingly good, twisty thriller that’s unique from the typical who-dun-it trope.

Lucy left her hometown 5 years ago when she became the prime suspect for the murder of her best friend when she is found covered in blood. She has no memory of what happened. A podcaster has come to town and plans to discover what occurred and whether Lucy is guilty or innocent. Lucy’s grandmother is celebrating a birthday and asked her to return for the party. Her plan is for Lucy and the podcaster to help her remember what actually happened.
This novel has alternating chapters from the past to the present. It is a twisty story with humor, friendships, sarcasm, betrayals, murder and learning that “the truth doesn’t matter”.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books.

Lucy is blamed for killing her best friend Savvy, but there is no proof to be found and she can’t remember what happened that night. Things have been bad enough but when true podcaster Ben decides to do a show five years later on Savvy’s killing, Lucy’s life goes from bad to worse, if that is even possible. Lured back to her hometown by her grandmother’s birthday, Lucy very slowly starts to remember and it’s not at all what she thinks.

This was AMAZING. I did not expect the ending of this at all and I absolutely loved the way the twist was revealed. It wasn’t “BOOM, twist.” with a twist from left field. We slowly figured it out along with Lucy and it was still shocking. I loved the slightly haunting element of Lucy’s intrusive thoughts and think that was good social commentary on how intrusive thoughts are just thoughts

WOW, I'm not even sure I can put into words how much I loved this book! Amy Tintera has a new die-hard fan!! This book was not only the perfect thriller but OMG did I laugh my a$$ off!? I LOVE Lucy and her no-nonsense attitude. Anyone that texts a "Damn, son!" is absolutely someone I want to hang out with!?

Imagine not knowing if you killed your best friend as you have no memory from that night. I can't even imagine what kind of tricks someone's brain would pull on them at that point.. so she stayed away, leaving town and heading for LA and trying to forget what she couldn't remember. Until her grandmother, Beverly, guilts her into coming home for her 80th birthday party and Lucy finds that a podcaster, Ben Owens, is also in town investigating her best friend, Savvy's murder for his true crime podcast, Listen for the Lie. Meanwhile, Lucy is stuck dealing with the whispers and rumors around town from those who simply don't believe her and think she did it.

But how could she? She loved Savvy, she was her only real friend and they were thick as thieves. But she is the only one who knows what happened that night and she still can't remember these 5 years later. All they know is that she is the one who survived, found covered in blood, a weapon in hand, and no memory of what happened. And Ben keeps pushing her to remember, digging for the truth. Or the lie...

HUGE thanks to Celadon for offering me this book as I'm thrilled to have found one of my new favorite authors!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon Books for my e-ARC of Listen for the Lie!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🎧 love listening to true crime podcasts
🪵 have ever been accused of murder
🥵 hate Texas summers
👵🏻 would do anything for your grandma

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

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.

The truth is out there, if we just listen.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was a fun book with a great premise - a girl is accused of murder but has zero recollection of the incident even though it’s obvious she was there at the time. I didn’t know who to trust. Lucy is a highly unreliable narrator because she doesn’t have the memories to back anything up, and I’ll admit that I did suspect her and a few others that didn’t end up being the killer. Overall, I enjoyed this twisty thriller and the Listen for the Lie podcasts sprinkled between chapters. Preorder your copy today!

It seems like the whole world thinks Lucy killed her best friend 5 years ago. Now there is a new podcast about it and Lucy is called back home for her grandmama’s birthday. Suddenly Lucy is back in the spotlight and had to deal with all that happened in the past. This was a real page-turner and I enjoyed reading it!!

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley, but all opinions are my own.

I was enjoying this book so much, that I looked up the author halfway through to see what else she has written. This is a different genre for her, and I hope it continues.
The story was good…very good. But the writing was even better. It kept me engrossed from the first page until the very last page. Usually I don’t like the podcast focused mysteries, but this was told so well.
Lucy, who may or may not be a murderer, was someone I wanted to be friends with. I want to see a follow up book with Lucy and Ben investigating another mystery.
Anyways, back to the story. Not going to give anything away. Does Ben solve the mystery of the murder? Does Lucy remember what happens? Run, don’t walk, to read for yourself!

Edited to add: this review will not allow me to post to Goodreads, is telling me ISBN not found…I will keep trying!

This was an absolute, un-put-downable book! I was hooked from the beginning-trying to figure out if our main character, Lucy, was in fact a murderer. Of course there are plenty of suspects and a podcaster trying to get to the truth of a murder from 5 years earlier.

Fantastic story by a new-to-me author! Than you NetGalley, Celedon books and Amy Tintera for the ARC for my honest review.

I read this book right after reading Lisa Jewell's None of This Is True, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This book is written with the same concept, but holy crap does this book blow that one out of the water! This is my first book by this author and definitely won't be my last. The writing, the character development, the plot, and the ending were all top tier! I loved Lucy's personality and found myself laughing multiple times throughout the book. I guess the only thing I would say is that she could have fleshed Savanna out a little better or given her more dedication towards the ending. I wasn't really feeling as emotional as I should have about her I guess. Still 5 star for sure though.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

You may think you've read a book like this before--whodunnits with an amnesia and/or podcast element are flooding the genre.

But I guarantee you've not seen a protagonist like this before. You may say she's "unlikeable" but at least she's "interesting". So interesting that you may want to go ahead and cancel your plans for the next few days!

Armed with dark humor, intrusive thoughts, and a sharp wit, the main character returns to the hometown that branded her a murderer. The author subverts stereotypical beliefs on who becomes involved in domestic violence, and how gaslighting and reactive abuse complicates how people understand and treat survivors.

This novel is a special treat to us Texans--I've met someone like every person in this book. These characters contain a real verisimilitude to people you find here akin to a Linklater movie.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Listen for the lie - Amy Tintera

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Lucy and Savvy were best friends, until Savvy's murder separated them, and as Lucy experienced a health injury when Savvy was killed, she could remember nothing about what happened during the incident.

That doesn't stop the entire town, other than one person, from assuming that Lucy was responsible for her best friend's demise. This belief is upheld for years, as Lucy's missing memory refuses to give up its secrets.

Lucy reluctantly returns to her home town, to celebrate her Grandma's birthday, coincidentally, at the same time Ben, a blogger committed to finding out the truth about who killed Savvy, is visiting and interviewing the various individuals who might know details about the murder.

There are many truths that need to come to light before the killer is finally unmasked, along the way, this story is populated with interesting characters (Lucy's grandma was my favorite, by far) and scintillating secrets.

A home run of a murder mystery, and an interesting story as well as a lesson regarding assumptions quickly made and fiercely held.

Until next time, mystery fans should pick up this novel for an engaging and entertaining read.