When I first picked up "Listen for the Lie", it was due to my reading several of Amy Tintera's books in the past. After reading, I had to go back and look to see if I had actually read any of her books because this one was so different from my previous reads of hers. (The answer is yes! Same author!).

Listen for the Lie was a twisty "whodunit", where the main suspect has always claimed that she has amnesia surrounding the night of the murder. As you read through the book, alternating between the POV of the suspect, Lucy, and the True Crime Podcast that is attempting to uncover the truth about what happened to Savannah (Savvy). I love a book with an unreliable narrator, and it was delivered here!

This is one of those rare books that really trips you up on figuring out who did it. You'll have suspicions, and those will change, and then you'll waver -- it's messy -- which is great.

Don't read this if you like character's that are perfect and likeable. Definitely read this if you like to be tripped up!

Special Thanks to Netgalley & Celadon books for the opportunity to read this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Listen for the Lie is mystery/thriller about a woman is who is accused for the murder of her best friend but has no memory of the night. A podcaster takes interest in the case and Lucy is drawn back into her small hometown where lies and deceptions are uncovered. This novel is fast paced that keeps you invested and guessing as you put the clues together with Lucy. Lucy is a character that you emphasize with, she was sarcastic and self-deprecating and dealing with trauma and the crappy people in her life. The podcast chapters added to the depth to the plot and characters. Listen for the Lie is a solid and enjoyable story with a satisfying ending.

This book was sooo much fun, I just had to give it 5 stars!! How can you not love a book that makes you laugh out loud?!

Listen for the Lie has a loveable main character full of wit and who is funny as hell. Pair that with a whodunnit that keeps you wondering who is guilty and who is innocent right up until the end, and you've got some terrific entertainment!

This is a perfect read if you're looking for a light-hearted mystery. An absolutely binge worthy debut novel from author Amy Tintera, I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ebook in exchange for an honest review. It's out now so go and grab yourself a copy!

LISTEN FOR THE LIE by takes a v popular trope (true crime podcast) and absolutely kills it (pun intended). It’s fast-paced, absolutely unputdownable, and constantly keeps ya guessing.

🤷‍♀️ UNRELIABLE NARRATOR
Lucy does not remember what happened the night Savvy, her best friend, was murdered five years ago. But the small town in Texas where she’s from is convinced she did it. Without her memory, she can’t even rule it out herself. I know this trope is also pretty common, but Lucy’s sarcastic and witty persona was SO fun and refreshing that it didn’t matter.

🤌🏼 CHEF’S KISS PACING
This book FLIES by with short chapters and tons of activity (you’re never bored, promise). Even though there are a lot of characters, I never felt lost or confused.

Listen For The Lie
By: Amy Tintera
Publish Date: March 5, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and the author, Amy Tintera, for the advanced copy of Listen For The Lie.

Lucy is found walking around the neighborhood, late at night with blood on her shirt in a disheveled state. Her best friend, Savannah is found dead shortly after. Everyone believes Lucy killed Savannah. Follow along while Lucy tries to remember the events of the evening with or without the help of her friends, ex-husband, and the crime solving podcaster, Ben along the way.

I enjoyed the writing style of this story- the alternating timeframe from 5 years ago and present, to the podcast transcript mixed in every so often. The character relationships felt relatable and I was curious what would happen next!

True crime podcast format? Sign me up. This was such a thrilling read, I couldn't put it down. Bingeworthy! I loved the main character, Lucy and every aspect of this book. This will definitely be one of my top books of the year. I will be recommending this one for many months to come.

Holy Crap!!! It’s been a very long time since I’ve read a book this addicting and this good! I was hooked from the very first page. I can honestly say that I had no clue who to believe or who the killer was and I LOVED that - there’s honestly nothing better than a thriller that keeps you guessing.

If Listen For The Lie is on your TBR, bump it up immediately! I am contemplating getting it on audio because I have a feeling it will be just as good!

Read if you like:
✨ Unlikeable/unreliable characters
✨ Small Town vibes
✨ A twisty whodunnit
✨Podcast vibes
✨Grandma Beverly!!!!

Wow! Just WOW!!! This is going to be one of my favorite thrillers of 2024 for sure! I thoroughly enjoyed this book! This being a debut book and it was so good, I cannot wait for more from this author! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Couldn't put this one down. It's no wonder everyone wants to read this. Thanks Celadon Books for allowing me an early preview. You won't want to miss this one.

Wowwwwwwwwww. Call me fooled! There were so many guesses of what was happening throughout this book and I did not guess correctly at all. Loved this book. Our main character was witty with a dark sense of humor, which I really enjoyed. This was fun! And the ending was wild, keep up!

The way the podcast script was woven into this story was particularly brilliant!

I didn’t pick this one from my Book of the Month subscription because I thought it was just another podcast true-crime, all the same formula book. However, I kept seeing buzz about it so I went ahead and grabbed it off of Netgalley to read. I’m glad I did! This author mixes humor and sarcasm into the murder mystery very well. I really like Lucy’s character, even though I wasn’t sure if she was a murderer or not throughout the book. The twist did surprise me and wasn’t as predictable as a lot of twists are. Overall, a solid choice for podcast/murder mystery fans!

Thank you to Net Galley and Amy Tintera for allowing me to grab this thriller as a Read Now! Listen for the Lie is out now, and if you enjoy podcasts, an unreliable main character, and secrets upon secrets, grab this now!

Lucy moved to LA after being accused of murdering her best friend in their small town of Plumbton. Without the right evidence, they couldn’t convict her. Savvy, her best friend was the happy, go lucky sweetheart and the town tore apart humorous, say it like it is Lucy. She left for 5 years and hasn’t returned home until now… when her grandma asks her to return to her hometown for her 80th birthday party.

Ben is the podcaster for Listen for the Lie podcast series, and is digging through this case to try to solve the murder. As he entwines through Lucy’s life and story, many people in the hometown start to lose their cool with the lies and secrets Ben is uncovering.

Lucy was found covered in blood while Savvy lay dead in the woods. As Lucy suffered a brain injury, she lost memories of that night and couldn’t recall what truly happened. There is a little voice in her head that is telling her thoughts… which kind of annoyed me at times. Her amnesia played a huge role, and mixed in with the harsh thoughts, she’s a wild card.

The author does a good job of making you question every person’s motives and secrets, and I went back and forth trying to figure it out.

After Lucy is found wandering the streets without her memory of what happened the night before, it's discovered that her friend Savvy was murdered.
Through a series of half-told truths, a podcaster looking for the truth, and reclaiming her memories are they able to find out who killed Savvy after all these years. A thrilling novel that explores small town secrets.

Listen for the Lie is a debut novel from Amy Tintera. Hopefully, she will continue in this tradition.
Listen for the Lie is a psychological thriller involving Lucy and her best friend Savvy. Lucy is believed to be the one that killed Savvy, but unfortunately due to a blow to the head, she is unable to remember any details regarding the night in question. Does she really have amnesia or is she blocking out what she doesn’t want to discover? A popular true crime podcast decides to look into this mystery of who killed Savvy.
Lucy fled her hometown five years ago but at the urging of her grandmother, she returns to talk to the handsome podcaster, Ben Owens. He is interviewing everyone that may have some connection to both Savvy and Lucy.
I loved the character of Lucy and her nonchalant attitude towards everyone who believes her to be guilty. She relishes in making people uncomfortable and is not afraid to speak her mind. Another character that I loved was her grandmother, who is witty and fun. She believes in Lucy and provides her with the only support that she gets from her small town. There are definitely characters that you will not like, with her ex-husband Matt at the top of my list.
The novel is told in alternating chapters involving Lucy and the podcast. Some of the chapters go back 5 years ago to discover events of that time. You will want to keep reading Lucy’s version and listening to the podcast transcripts to try to figure out what happened to Savvy and if Lucy actually murdered her best friend. Questions I had for the longest time, “Who is talking in Lucy’s head?”, “Who really killed Savvy?”, “Which lie should I listen for?”
You will need to read this to the end for some of these answers. Highly recommended if you love psychological thrillers that take you on a roller coaster ride, with many twists and turns.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for allowing me to read the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Published on March 5, 2024.

Lucy fled her Texas hometown six years ago after being accused of murdering her best friend Savvy. But now a true crime podcaster has decided to take up the case, and she can’t run away anymore. A pariah in her small town, Lucy doesn’t remember what happened that fateful night, yet no one believes her. With the podcaster interviewing anyone willing to speak, Lucy has to start dealing with the past, and truly start to figure out who killed Savvy, even if it’s her. Wow, this book was insane! Lots of twists, and great characters. Grandma was my favorite though. Definitely a must read for 2024. Thanks to netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love love loved this book!! I seriously couldn’t put it down and read it in basically a day. I was so enraptured the whole time and it kept me on my toes and guessing from beginning to the very end. I will 100% be looking for future books from Tintera!

I loved this book so much! It was an unreliable narrator who you found yourself really rooting for. Ben, the podcast host was okay but his development felt slightly flat for me. This was a fun fast paced whodunit thriller. I wish I had listened on audiobook because I’m sure the podcast portion translated very well to audiobook.

4.5 stars

This was such a quick read! Read it in a day and a half! It was really hard to put down. I actually enjoyed the podcast transcripts and wish I could have listened to it on audio. I was wrong with my guess about who killed Savvy, and really disliked her for 80% of the book. It wasn’t til the end where I was like damn, I like this girl!

The one part that drove me nuts is the phrase “Let’s kill…” every couple pages the first half of the book. Once that tapered down it was easier to enjoy. But I will say that once I learned the meaning of it at the end, it didn’t bother me anymore. LOL

Wow! I finished the second half of this book in a couple of hours! It started a little slow for me, but once things started piecing together, it was a really great story. Definitely recommend!

An unsolved murder in a small Texas town is rediscovered by a well known podcaster. When he tries to uncover the truth, Lucy's entire world is once again turned upside down. Did she really kill her best friend?

This was entertaining and darkly comedic at times. It was a well paced thriller that, unfortunately, relied heavily upon an overly used trope ----don't trust men-basically ever. There are too many bad men in this book I eventually lost track of them all!----I liked that the ending left a little bit open to interpretation and that this was certainly a quick read, I guess I just wish the reveal had been a little more unique.