Wow wow wow! If you are like me and love true crime podcasts, you would enjoy this book. The book is mainly told from the POV of Lucy but it has chapters where it is the podcast you are "listening" to. The plot is good and this who done it had me not knowing until the very end.

Lucy Chase is the subject of a true crime podcast hosted by Ben. He is trying to solve the murder of Lucy's best friend and town golden girl Savannah (Savvy). Most people think Lucy is responsible for the death of her friend. Lucy was sarcastic and snarky and made me laugh. Lucy's grandmother believes in Lucy's innocence and is a great side character. I don't want to give too much away, but do yourself a favor and read this book. You won't be disappointed!

Lucy is a little unreliable as a character, but still has enough charm to want to root for her. I liked the podcaster Ben, but some of the things he did had me questioning his motives and wondering what he hoped to prove with his podcast. Lucy's grandma won the best side character award!

While this was my first book by Amy Tintera, I am looking forward to reading more books by her in the future. This book will be released on March 5, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for voluntarily letting me read an advanced copy of this book. This review is my honest opinion.

What a fun read! I enjoyed Lucy Chase and her personality! She is blunt, smart, and has lots of snarky humor! She becomes friends with Ben and as he begins to interviews her. Every few chapters is about his podcast called "Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens."

Lucy's best friend, Savvy was killed 5 years ago and Lucy was found covered in her blood. She is trying to remember what actually happened while speaking with Ben. He interviews her as well as others that were presents the night it all happened, including Lucy's Husband Matt. The story takes place in Plumpton, TX, where Lucy grew up. The character building is great with a surprise ending!

Humor, Mystery, and Suspense! 4 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy. The release date is 3/5/24.

"What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter?

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."

I love how the True Crime aspect works in the plot.

Listen for the Lie
By: Amy Tintera
4.5 stars

A wonderful whodunit book! I loved the alternating between Lucy and script from the podcast episodes.

This book is set in a small Texas town where everyone may not be exactly what they seem. Lucy has been assumed guilty of a murder that she has no recollection of committing. Unfortunately for her she doesn’t remember anything about the night of the murder.

The story is set five years later and now the murder is the topic of a true crime podcast. The story follows Lucy with snippets of the podcast interspersed throughout.

This book has lots of small town drama and twists. The story moves pretty well and I felt engaged throughout. The ending wasn’t exactly what I was guessing, but I also wouldn’t say it was a jaw-dropping finale. However, I like that the ending felt very final and did not leave a bunch of loose ends for the reader to determine for themselves.

Loved the writing and you really got to know Lucy through the narration. Definitely looking to reading more books by this author!

Thank you Net Galley and Celadon Books for an advanced copy of the book! This book is being released March 5th!

This was one of the most sarcastic, and fun, mystery/thrillers I’ve ever read. As usual I went in totally blind after seeing some high ratings from early reviewers. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it definitely wasn’t the main character planning a “sorry I didn’t tell you I’m the prime suspect in my friend’s murder” chicken dinner on page 2.

Honestly, that quote is a pretty perfect way to describe this book. Lucy high tailed it out of small town Texas five years ago after her best friend was murdered. While the case was never solved and Lucy was never charged, literally everyone believes she’s guilty. It doesn’t help matters that Lucy can’t remember a single thing about that night.

This was a quick page turner and while I usually loathe the amnesia trope, I think it was well executed here. Lucy is so sarcastic and bold and her grandma is a hoot. The characters were all equal parts entertaining and awful (okay, mostly awful but in an entertaining way!). There’s a lot of immaturity and bad decision making, but again this was far from a literary crime thriller so I didn’t mind.

Most of this book is very fun but there are definitely some heavier issues at play here such as abuse, gender dynamics, and a whole lot of gaslighting.

Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader. All opinions are my own!

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon for the eARC! What a fun mystery/thriller! Dripping with dry humor, southern charm and sarcasm this novel was addictive. The podcast inclusions and overall plot had me hooked, there was the perfect balance of characters, mystery, and elements to figure out that this felt fresh and enjoyable. I am absolutely stunned that this is a debut. What a gem! I’ll be anticipating the next book from Amy Tintera!

This was a good read - I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

Who do you think would really protect you if you were in trouble and not seem to recall what had happened? Maybe your family? Maybe your boy/girlfriend? of your best friend? You would expect all of these people to be on your side because you having amnesia made you a victim as well. But no, looks like everyone was ready to throw you under the bus

Your best friend had been murdered and everyone was thinking that you did it. You were covered in her blood after all. There was even a podcast started going through the case again. Lucy covered her ears and tried hard to not to listen people calling her a murderer and point finger at her. Savvy was her best friend; there was no way she could do it. They were always on each other's side

Just like Savvy was her best friend in life, she was also Lucy's best friend in after life. Maybe she was the only person who truly knew her and understand her limits. Because even when her parents did not believe Lucy, Savvy was telling her the truth Lucy was dying to know

Lucy Chase has just been fired from her job. She’s convinced it is because of that true-crime podcast “Listen for the Lie” which is looking into the murder of her friend, Savannah. She is also convinced it will reveal her as Savannah’s killer. She’s convinced she can see terror in her boyfriend’s eyes when she comes home that night. When her grandmother calls her and asks her to come home to Texas for her 80th birthday, Lucy can’t say no despite not wanting to go home. And what about the voices inside her head telling her to “kill”?
Ben Owens is the (smug) podcaster that is ruining Lucy’s life right now. Lucy has always maintained that she can’t remember the events of that night. He really wants to interview Lucy but she repeatedly refuses.
The book goes from Lucy’s point of view to episodes of the podcast. Lucy is a sarcastic, snarky, hot mess. The podcast highlights interviews Ben has with residents of the town that know both Lucy and Savannah. I liked the flow of the book (it was fast-paced) and the different characters in the book. Lucy and her grandmother, Beverly, were my favorite characters in the book.

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.