Absolutely loved this book! Listen for the lie had me hooked instantly with the funny FMC, Lucy, true crime vibes, and a who-done-it podcast.

Imagine being found wandering around covered in your best friends blood, with no memory of what happened.
Although Lucy was never convicted, her small town insists she murdered her best friend,y6y Savvy. Lucy moved far away, but is back in town to celebrate her grandmothers birthday, conveniently a well known podcaster, Ben, is also in town, interviewing people on the murder.
Lucy agrees to talking on the podcast to try and clear her name. The more podcasts Ben releases, the closer he is to finding the true killer.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC e-book of Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera.

This book follows Lucy, a 29 year old girl from a small Texas town who is accused of killing her best friend Savvy. She was found walking in the middle of the night covered in her friends blood. The only issue is that she can't remember anything about that night but she knows that she loved her friend, so why would she kill her? The police didn't convict her as there wasn't enough evidence and Lucy has been struggling to remember what happened that night.

Lucy is currently living in LA with her boyfriend but decided to go back to her small town for her grandmother's birthday. What she didn't know is that Ben Owen's is also in town. He is a successful podcast host of his true crime show "Listen for the Lie" and his new podcast season is about Savvy.

Ben starts interviewing her friends and family and Lucy agrees to help solve the case. Lucy has to try to remember what happened that night, she would like to know the truth at all costs, even if it was her!

4 star read for me. I love true crime podcasts and murder mysteries so this right up my alley. The characters are interesting, Lucy's Grandmother is hilarious and Lucy's commentary is also darkly witty which was a great surprise. The book is nicely paced. My only concern is that I was a little bit confused with the ending. I will read more from this author!

Listen for the Lie is everything None of This Is True wanted to be and SO👏🏻 MUCH 👏🏻 MORE 👏🏻 .

The plot is better, the characters are better, and the "twist is better - literally, every aspect of Listen for the Lie exceeded my expectations. Amy Tintera's writing style is top-notch. I raced through this book and was genuinely sad to reach the last page.

📚 Unpredictable
📚 Fast-paced
📚 Relatable characters
📚 Well thought out and engaging plot

Given their pivotal role in True Crime culture, I fully expect podcasts to become a popular thriller trope. But it will be difficult for an author to beat Listen for the Lie. It's really that good. If you love true crime podcasts and a sarcastic female lead with relatably questionable morals, put this book on your TBR and read it as soon as it comes out.

Shout out to Celadon Books and NetGalley for supplying an ARC.

This is more of a 3.5. Lucy and Savvy are best friends. When Savvy is murdered and Lucy is found with blood on her and no memory of what happened the whole town is quick to condemn Lucy, including her ex-husband and family. So she leaves behind small town Texas and makes a new life for herself in California. Then her grandmother calls her back to town to help celebrate her birthday. Lucy loves her grandmother who is the only one to believe her. As she comes back to her home town so does Ben Owens who hosts the true crime podcast Listen for the Lie. Lucy is already an outcast and the podcast is riling everyone up. It's also bringing back memories of the night Savvy died. Will Lucy be able to remember who killed Savvy and will it turn out to be her. I really enjoyed the characters (especially Lucy and her grandmother) and the tense suspenseful pacing of the book. I did not enjoy the unnecessary killer thoughts running through Lucy's head and some of the plot twists which did nothing for the plot and were only there for a cheap shock value. Overall I enjoyed the book. Thank you #NetGalley for my ARC.

Five years ago, Lucy Chase murdered her best friend in cold blood. Or, at least, that’s what the good citizens of Plumpton, Texas would have you believe. Lucy has no memory of the night her friend died. When she reluctantly returns to Plumpton for a relative's birthday, determined true crime podcast host Ben Owens pushes Lucy to unearth the truth. Amy Tintera, New York Times bestselling young adult author, makes her adult debut with this stylish crime thriller

Years ago, Lucy’s best friend Savvy was found murdered. Lucy was with her when she died, having somehow escaped the murderer. But now, with the podcaster Ben Owens looking into the case, more people than ever think Lucy is the murderer.

This book. I binge listened to it in one day, I just couldn’t put it down. I loved how it was told from Lucy’s POV, and then the podcast episodes were interspersed, containing interviews with different characters. The short chapters usually ended in a way that had me saying “I can’t stop now, just one more chapter!” Until I was somehow at the end of the book. I know some people were burnt out by the podcast thrillers, but I simply loved this! I highly recommend it, and the audio added a whole extra layer of fun!✨

This is a very solid mystery with a captivating premise and satisfying payoff. It has an interesting cast of characters and is set in a small town where (almost) everyone has a secret.

In Listen for the Lie, LA-based Lucy begrudgingly returns to her hometown in Texas where she is an outcast due to most of the townsfolk believing she murdered her best friend, Savvy, years prior. To make matters worse for Lucy, a successful podcaster is in town investigating her story and doing interviews with the very people who believe she is a murderer. I won't reveal anything else because it's worth it to find out for yourself.

I love the cast of characters in this story. There are only a few main players, but by the end of the book you feel like you know them all very well. The author is good at setting the small town vibe where everyone knows one another a little too well. I also really love the narrator of our story, Lucy. She has such an interesting voice and I love that she is unapologetically flawed yet doesn't seem to care what others think of her. She is presented as broken, yet lovable and I think it really helps the reader root for her.

Interspersed throughout the chapters are excerpts from Ben's podcast interviews. These were really fun to read and helped keep the chapters interesting and move the story forward without any annoying exposition. Fans of true crime podcasts will definitely enjoy this aspect of the book. At no point in this book did I feel bored or like the story was dragging. It's extremely fast-paced, and the author does not waste any time getting to the heart of the mystery.

I’m giving four out of five stars because while I believe this is a well-crafted mystery, nothing about the story blew me away or delivered any shocking twists. However, I believe it’s a worthwhile read, especially for fans of mysteries and true crime.

What a breath of fresh air Amy Tintera has breathed into the stale thriller genre. I LOVED this book. Who knew thrillers could be so funny? And the humor did not detract from the thrills and suspense, at all. In fact, it endeared me to what could have potentially been an otherwise unlikable character. I loved her macabre sense of humor! And I like the fact that she was unabashedly interested in sex. Women have sex. And ain’t no shame in it! And the audiobook was excellent. I loved the dual narrators and I especially loved the quality of the podcast chapters. My one suggestion would have been to change the font of text messages. They look like regular, non-dialogue sentences and, sometimes, I would have to reread a few sentences or even paragraphs bc I didn’t catch that some of it was a text that the character read. But no matter, loved this. 10/10 would recommend to everybody.

I devoured this in a day. Easily the best book I’ve read so far this year. A must read for anyone who loves true crime podcasts!

This was such a fast paced and fun thriller! I loved Lucy's sarcastic tone - some of her responses to the situations she found herself in were hilarious which were a nice contrast to the suspenseful tone. I also loved Grandma Beverly - she was a fantastic and funny addition to the overall plot. Each character in the mystery had a unique POV and perspective so it was interesting to see how each character impacted the central mystery. At first it was a bit challenging to keep track of the large number of characters but as each character developed this was easier.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Listen to the Lie is about a true crime podcast delving into an unsolved murder where everyone thinks they know who the killer is - the best friend. Lucy has no memory of her best friend’s murder but is willing to eventually participate in the podcast.

I was excited for this book since I am a fan of true crime podcasts. I enjoyed the snippets of the podcast that were interspersed throughout the book. I was a little surprised though that the book was more funny than I expected. Lucy copes with dark humor so there are a lot of jokes and off handed comments she makes. It just wasn’t what I was expecting and was a bit jarring. I was expecting a serious suspenseful mystery but it didn’t quite feel that way.

Overall I enjoyed the book and felt mostly satisfied with the ending although there was a bit that seemed left untold.

This book was fantastic! I’ve given it 5 stars!

The premise of the book is what initially drew me in. Lucy Chase is found in a state of injury with the blood of her best friend on her dress and podcast host Ben Owens has decided to highlight the case on his show and begins to delve in what will be a deeply intricate story of Lucy and the events that transpired that lead to a murder mystery:

The beginning of this book was a lot to grasp but once I got into the book properly, I was ‘in’ in every sense of the word. You are led down many twisty paths, each one as compelling as you learn about Savannah and Lucy’s lives. The energy throughout this book was creepy as well as dauntingly electric and I was left reeling - which as someone who reads a LOT of thriller novels it’s not very easy throw a spanner in the works for me but this book achieved that and splendidly too. There’s also this slight comedic touch, a realistic depiction of flawed characters and an ending that will be more than satisfactory for the reader.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this e-ARC!

I really liked this book up until the end. It felt like there were too many questions left unanswered

4.5 "the truth doesn't matter" stars

I really enjoyed this one. The story revolves around snarky main character, Lucy and Ben, the hot true crime pod-caster who's trying to solve the cold case small town murder that Lucy was the lead suspect in.

Oh, and the person who's murder remains unsolved? Lucy's best friend, Savvy, who was a heck of a side character, I might add.

I could't put this one down. Lucy's self deprecating humor, that she often uses as a shield, pulled me in right away. Couple that with the murderous thoughts she frequently has and I was hooked. The small town of Plumpton, TX was ripe with interesting characters, all ready to give their opinions on what happened that night to the hot shot pod-caster, Ben. Lured back to the town she hasn't set foot in for 5 years to celebrate her grandma's 80th birthday, Lucy doesn't plan on conversing with Ben until her grandma arranges for them to be in the same place at the same time. What evolves is a strange friendship, romance, infatuation between the two as Ben tries to piece together the events of that night. Did I mention Lucy has no memory of that night?

The characters were interesting and feisty, the pacing just right, and I read on with baited breath, waiting for the reveal. Enjoyed it, really fun read!

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

Lucy was found wandering down a road covered in blood, carrying a bloody tree limb and no memory of what happened to her or her best friend, Savvy. She leaves town and returns five years later for her grandmother’s birthday to only get involved with the true crime podcaster who is in town trying to solve Savvy’s murder. What really happened that night?

My favorite read of 2024 so far! Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Listen for the Lie!

I loved this story! I was guessing and second guessing right until the end. I loved the pacing of the story and couldn’t put it down!

Okay wow! This was my first Amy Tintera book and it will certainly NOT be my last! What a thrill this was! It hit every single thing I love in a thriller: suspense, tension, a little bit of quirky humor, short chapters, a little dash of romance, and a good solid unpredictable twist at the end! I ate this book up! I loved it!

Lucy is drawn back to her hometown where podcaster Ben Owens is investigating the murder of Lucy’s best friend Savvy. Lucy has been suspected by everyone for the murder for years after she was found wondering the streets covered in Savvy’s blood with Savvy’s DNA under her fingernails but no memory of the night of the murder. However, Police didn’t have enough to charge her. Now, Ben wants Lucy’s help to uncover the truth of what happened. Does Lucy really not know what happened? What really happened to Savvy that night?

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon books for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Do you ever start talking to someone who isn’t a mystery/thriller reader and go woah….this book makes me sound crazy? Well that was me at work last night!
This book was a roller coaster. I definitely don’t want to spoil it for anyone. Needless to say I was thinking that some of these characters needed a psych consult.
I did figure out who did it by the end of the book but it took me a while to figure it out.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I could not put this book down! It was fantastic—my favorite type of book where you are trying to figure out who the bad guy is at the turn of every page. So good!

After Lucy is found wandering the streets covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she’s a murderer. It’s been five years since that horrible night and Lucy still can’t remember anything. When Ben Owens, true crime podcast host of “Listen For The Lie”, has decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season, Lucy vows to help solve her best friend’s murder even if she is the one that did it.

This fast-paced, gripping, cold case murder mystery had me hooked from the start and kept me up late, rapidly turning pages to uncover the truth. Mainly told from Lucy’s POV, I found myself laughing out loud at her unique personality. No doubt she is a hot mess, but she is also hysterical with her dark humor and sarcasm. The podcast interviews thrown in here and there were such a unique way to get other characters’ take on the events that unfolded and I always looked forward to the next one. The cliffhangers at the end of the chapters were so well done and the twists were jaw dropping…especially the main twist at the end 😮‍💨. This was my first Amy Tintera book and it did not disappoint! I highly recommend this if you are a mystery/thriller lover like me!

Thank you NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Amy Tintera for a #gifted ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.