Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera.

This was my first book by Amy Tintera and I loved her writing style. This storyline consist of a podcast and this my 4th book with the same kind of storyline and let’s just say this is my favorite type of book to read and I hope more authors write podcast thriller books. I really like the main character Lucy and the sarcasm she had. Not many books make me smile but her character had me smiling. I did not guess the ending at all, very well written. Highly recommend.

This book sucked me in right from the beginning and I binged it all in one session, you will not be able to put it down! I found the concept itself very intriguing, Lucy lost her memory of the night her best friend Savvy was murdered, the cops never solved the crime but the whole world has decided that she is guilty. Five years later she returns to her small town and ends up participating in a true crime podcast that is being conducted about her case.

I was kept guessing the entire way through this book, I had so many theories running through my head and I love how we learned information as the reader the same time Lucy was learning it as well. I found it hilarious at times, Lucy's dry, dark humour was a perfect counter balance to the violent murder that was being discussed.

I loved the writing style, varying between a narrative from Lucy's POV and the podcast episodes, for anyone who is a fan of true crime style documentaries or podcasts, this book is right up your alley!

This was a really great mystery/thriller that kept me guessing until the end! I was convinced it was one person, so for me, it had a shocking twist at the end. I don't know if everyone will feel that way though. I do wish there had been more flashbacks to the events leading up to the wedding. I think that would have made me invested in the characters just a tiny bit more, but I did really enjoy this one! I highly recommend the audiobook!

I'd been seeing this one all over Instagram and it lives up to the hype! Unreliable narrators, a multitude of secrets and lies and everyone is a suspect. I'll admit, I kind of saw the twist coming by the end, but that didn't detract from the overall storytelling. What a great fun read!

So freakin’ entertaining! I read this book in one day because I could not put it down. I love mysteries that incorporate podcasts, and I have to say this one did it brilliantly. The podcast seemed legitimate. This book also stands out for being darkly hilarious. The main character, Lucy (who I love), has tons of snark. She literally made me laugh out loud numerous times. I highly recommend this one.

4.5 stars.

Lucy and Savvy were best friends. Savvy is viscously murdered after leaving a friend’s wedding. Everyone thinks Lucy done it because she was found covered in blood with a head wound. Years later podcaster Ben Owens comes to Plumpton, Texas to investigate the case. Lucy has no memory of the incident because of her head injury but she wants to help solve the case whether she done it or not.
This was an excellent read. I especially loved Lucy’s character. She was so funny with her dark sense of humor. She kind of reminded me of Joe Goldberg in You.
Thanks NetGalley and Celadon Books for this eARC that will be released March 5, 2024!

5 super big stars for this book! I knew I was going to love it from the very first line “A podcaster has decided to ruin my life, so I’m buying a chicken.” 🤣🤣🤣 What I love so much is that this thriller has a real main character, I mean real in the sense that she reacts to life in a way that I can see so many people doing if they were accused of murdering their best friend. She is angry, sarcastic, and I might add HILARIOUS! I love Savvy, her best friend she is accused of murdering, but who still appears to her abs speaks as if she were still alive, and I love 80 year old Grandma Beverly, the only living person who seems to be on Team Lucy! The story comes together at just the right pace, not rushed or dragging along, and the ending, it makes sense! Not something you always see in thrillers! This was about as perfect as you can get for me! Thank you so much to the publisher, NetGalley, and the author for the privilege of the arc. This was as good as an apology chicken! Read it, and you too will appreciate the chicken so much more than you did before reading!

WOW. I can’t seem to understand how this is the authors adult debut. I literally read this in less than a full day. This was extremely well written, completely addicting and had a great twist. The story was told from one point of view (Lucy) along with some podcast transcripts as well which I really enjoyed. I loved the main character and I loved how I kept thinking I knew what happened only for the rug to be pulled out from under me lol

INCREDIBLE book! I’m only sorry I read it so fast and it’s over now 🤭

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Celadon Books for this amazing ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked this one.

A chick is suspected by everyone (including a podcast) of having murdered her friend a few years ago. She can’t remember the events of that night, but the podcast prompts her to start piecing things together.

I can’t even say that I cared about the whodunit part, but I liked how it was written. It was a good ride. It’s told with a great (dark-black) sense of humor.

Thank you Celadon Books for inviting me to read and review Listen for the Lie! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Listen for the Lie is Amy Tintera's debut adult novel, and it's phenomenal. I went into the story blind. I saw Amy Tintera's name on the cover and I instantly wanted to read it. What can I say? I'm a huge fan of her other books so of course I was going to do a trust fall. With mysteries, I don't like to know too much about the story before reading them and, honestly, I'm so glad I continued the tradition with this one.

I was not expecting to laugh and smirk as much as I did. Lucy's sarcasm is on par with my own so I felt like I could relate to her and understand her thought process as the whodunnit mystery unraveled. All the characters are flawed and so well-developed. My favorite being Lucy's grandmother, who reminded me of my own. The plot twists were unpredictable and Tintera's storytelling kept me from answering phones at work. Listen for the Lie captured my attention and wouldn't let me go especially when I sat on my couch and didn't move for a good few hours. I forgot to make dinner last night, my cats were neglected, and my husband stood at the bottom of the stairs staring at me for a good five minutes before I finally acknowledged him.

I highly recommend pre-ordering Listen for the Lie if you love A Good Girl's Guide for Murder (or any of Holly Jackson's books), podcasts, Truly Devious series, and Courtney Summers.

This book was phenomenal to me. I absolutely loved the protagonist, Lucy. She was smart, sarcastic, fierce, and an all around badass. I don’t want to give anything away, but the pacing, character development, and twists in this book were some of the best I’ve read in a while, I highly recommend this book and I’m looking forward to reading more from Amy Tintera.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Listen for the Lie by Amer Tintera.

Oooh, Tintera, I have your number girl. I'm already looking forward to your next one!

I don't care if I'm basic, I love me a podcast, especially if it's about a creepy small town murder/disappearance. Tintera enables that love by writing a book about just that, sprinkled with quirky characters, a whole cast of suspects, romance, a handsome podcast host, the works. It's fun, fast paced, and the only thing missing for me was a beach to sit on while I read it.

I gotta say, I was nervous going into this one. Blurbs from the likes of Stephen King, Alice Feeney, and Alex Michaelides (to name a few 😮)? C’mon! Talk about setting the bar high. Naturally, I went in blind as a bat—and boy, was I oh-so pleasantly surprised! 🤩

THIS. WAS. AWESOME. 👏👏👏 Is it going on my best of ‘24 list? Yep, sure is. From the prose to the witty AF inner monologue and the captivating podcast excerpts…man, I loved EVERYTHING about this book!

Random thoughts I had while binge-reading:
✨Wait, it’s 𝘯𝘰𝘵 normal to randomly murder people in your head all the time? 🥴
✨Grandma is a hoot and a half (and OMG she lives in a tiny house—AND IT’S PINK!). Can I adopt her? Maybe stick her in my pocket?
✨I wonder if Lucy is taking applications for a new BFF… #soulsisters
✨mmm brownies 🤤
✨Can we make #teambency a thing? Anyone? Bueller?

This is definitely one you’ll want to read ASA-FRICKIN-P! @amytintera’s adult fiction debut is a masterfully crafted blend of dark comedy and suspense—this [main] character has such a commanding presence and I am 100% here for it!

Many thanks to @NetGalley & @CeladonBooks for the early look/gifted eARC to read and review!

I think Stephen King said it best: A world-class whodunit! I've been in a reading slump I haven't been able to get out of. So when Celadon sent me the email for this book, I thought, "Perfect! Thrillers are good for pulling me out of slumps." And this one was no exception!

I don't think I've ever laughed that hard while reading a thriller, and I can't wait to read more from this author! I was pulled in from page one and stayed up all night because there was no way I was going to be able to wait until morning. I will be recommending this to each and every one of my fellow thriller lovers.

Thanks so much to Celadon for the gifted copy of this book. I loved it and so very much appreciate it! And thank you also to netgalley for providing the space that enables me to read it.

Everyone in Lucy’s small Texas town thinks she killed her best friend Savvy years ago, even her own parents. Lucy has amnesia and can’t remember what happened that night. Lucy has moved away but when a true crime podcaster goes to her hometown to investigate Lucy goes as well to try to figure out what happened all those years ago. This book has a snarky cast of characters and is dark, witty, sarcastic and clever. Loved the addition of the transcripts from the podcast. Fun format, clever story and a good read. I really enjoyed it.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
Narrated by January LaVoy; Will Damron

If possible, I suggest listening to the audiobook of this story (although I had the digital book in front of me, too, and the snark comes through loud and clear). The snark is so thick that it can't be missed, but listening to January LaVoy voice Lucy is just too good to be missed. This story is dark but it is also funny. Being in the head of Lucy (a crowded place since her dead best friend, Savvy, resides there too and is none too quiet) is a bloody good time if you enjoy murderous thoughts.

It was five years ago when Savvy was murdered and Lucy was found covered in blood, with no memory of what happened after she and her husband had left for a wedding attended by most of their friends and enemies in Plumpton, TX. Everyone seemed to think that Lucy killed Savvy, including Lucy's parents. Heck, even Lucy thinks she might have killed Savvy since she certainly appeared guilty and she can't remember anything about that night.

At least Savvy doesn't seem to think she killed her (Savvy). Lucy should know since Savvy is taking up space in her head. What Savvy is doing is what Savvy used to do when she was alive. Although much of Plumpton didn't realize it, Savvy had a very wild and dangerous side to her and she's urging Lucy to do something very, very bad. Now Lucy's head is filled with ways to kill everyone. Lucy has brain damage from that mysterious night and maybe that's why she can't remember anything. Or maybe she did something so horrible her conscious mind doesn't want her to remember. But why does it fill her head with so much Savvy influenced bloody ways to murder people?

There are not very many likeable people in Plumpton, not once you really get to know them. But Lucy's grandmother, Beverly, is a hoot and a half, and Lucy would do anything for her. So Lucy has come home from her exile in LA and now has to face a popular podcaster who wants to solve the murder of Savvy, whether it's Lucy or someone else. Will Damron does a great job as podcaster Ben Owens. The way the audiobook is done, it sounds so real, the podcast portions sound like real podcasts which makes the audiobook even more fun. Overall, the dark humor of this story is a winner and the narrators did a great job with the material.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Celadon Books, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to Celadon for the ARC of this book, I have to admit this one was not on my radar at all going into 2024, but once I read the blurb I was hooked.

It often times feels like the podcast thriller trope is overdone, and especially not done well, however I really enjoyed this set up. It didn't have too much podcast, and too little plot. It seemed like the perfect mix of the two.

This may be my first amnesia trope thriller story (that I can remember, don't quote me) and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the story, and how at every turn I was guessing someone new and still got the killer wrong. I was shocked myself!

This was also the first thriller book that at times felt like a cozy mystery with how sarcastic our FMC, Lucy, was. Lucy is accused of murdering her best friend and there are times where she makes herself the butt of the joke just to make other people uncomfortable, but it's done SO WELL. I know it sounds tacky but just trust me on this. TRUST ME.

This is my first Amy Tintera book, and I am just waiting patiently for my next.

Thank you Netgalley. for granting me early access to review this book in exchange for my honest opinion in return.

Stars: 4.50

As I finish reading this book, all I can think of how refreshing it felt.

It kept me entertained from start to finish. It was heavy but light, with entertaining and deeply flawed characters all around. The true star of this book is the grandmother. She doesn't have much screen time throughout the book but the banter is the best with all the characters.

This is a good mystery and thriller, even though I could predict the outcome early on. The way they decided to use the podcast was a very good vehicle that kept the story propelling forward and never slow down too much. It's dark humor and sarcasm is constant throughout keeping you invested even with informational dumps. It's a story about bad decisions that get worse at each turn.

There were some elements added that I don't think were needed but did make it spicy for no real reason. All and all, a good read and I look forward to reading her next book!

3.5 STARS

A great premise, but my expectations were set a bit too high!

A hit podcast featuring a handsome host, Ben Owens is all the rave. He is investigating a murder and is determined to interview the victim’s best friend, Lucy, who is also believed to be the perpetrator! Can they team up and solve the murder themselves? I wanted to follow the podcast and pick up all the clues!

Lucy has some issues. She can’t stop the “murdering people” thoughts that keep popping in her head. And I mean constantly, at some point I just started skimming her intrusive, murderous thoughts.

There is a lot going on in this book. The podcast interviews, Lucy and her toxic family, Lucy’s amnesia, flashbacks and lots of cheating (talk about getting around)! I wanted more investigating and less Lucy.

It was entertaining enough and I enjoyed the Texas setting and Lucy’s humor and witty comebacks!

Usually when authors switch from YA to adult it is hit or miss and this one was surely a hit!! She’s sets it up podcast style and switches back and forth between this and Lucy’s point of view.
What I loved about…. The Austin setting, podcast style writing, short chapters, and I couldn’t solve the murder.
You should definitely add this to your TBR!!!