Member Reviews

Okay, but why was this the funniest thriller I’ve ever read?

I was cracking up with some of the comments made by the FMC Lucy. Her dry sense of humor and twisted thought process was perfection. And her grandmother Beverly?! Her drunken anitcs, multiple men, and no filter was absolutely hilarious
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The plot was very intriguing also. A murder mystery where the main suspect doesn’t know if they comitted the crime? SIgn me up. I loved the twists, the podcast elements, and the smutty romance sprinkled in. 👏🏼👏🏼

This will be a thriller I will be recommending over and over.

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Listen For The Lie NEEDS to be “read” as audio. The narrators and sound effects are perfect for this twisty story.

Lucy and Savvy (short for Savannah) were close friends in their 20’s coming of age in Texas.
Savvy is found murdered after a wedding they both attended, and Lucy winds up as the prime suspect because she is found injured and covered in Savvy’s blood. Yes that seems about right. Due to her own injuries Lucy has no recollection of what happened that night. The authorities cannot justify enough evidence to charge her, but people in town feel sure she killed her best friend.

Now jump ahead five years and meet Ben Owens, a pod caster who begins delving into this unsolved murder case for his show, Listen For The Lie. During this same time we hear Lucy’s grandmother begging Lucy to come home for her 80th birthday. Lucy is now living in Los Angeles.It will be the the first time Lucy has gone back to her Texas hometown since Savvy’s death, facing those who think she’s a murderer. As Lucy interacts with this podcaster and being back in her home town, bits and pieces of that time start coming back to Lucy.

As the book unfolds and I hear the haunting music announcing the beginning of Ben’s podcast I felt as if it was actually listening to a true crime series. I tried in vain to figure out the murderer through the twist and turns perfectly executed throughout the storyline. The ending comes with unexpected revelations.

I highly recommend this author and the superb narrators.

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'Listen for the Lie' by Amy Tintera is the book you need right now if you are a true crime junkie. This is fiction but the podcast gives our sick an engaging factor!

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I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. The story was fast paced and interesting. I liked the perspective of Lucy and also the podcast point of view. The characters were interesting and easy to keep track of. Loved Lucy’s wacky grandma. Lots of good twists. I highly recommend!

The main narrator was really good at emoting and differing the voices for different characters.

4.5

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Who knew that podcasts and true crime could actually be so exciting!? I believe that Amy Tintera is one for the books, with me wanting to read more of what she writes. Having never been a person that has listened to a podcast willingly, I genuinely would want to listen to the podcast in this book. It drew me in from the beginning and made me wish I was actually listening to it.

Lucy believes she murdered her friend. Everybody she knows thinks she murdered her friend. Having been found wandering the street, covered in her friend's blood, it is hard to not have imagined she murdered Savvy. Five years later, when the podcast "Listen for the Lie" hosted by Ben Owens looks into the case of Lucy and Savvy, everything that once was is brought up again and Lucy, who vowed to never return home to her small town in Texas, with people who all believe she is a murderer, must return and tell her story or what she believes to be her story once and for all. The thing is, Lucy cannot truly remember what happened that night and is telling her side from what everybody she knows has pieced together for her. Did Lucy really kill Savvy or did she and everybody else have it wrong?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free audiobook of Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera in exchange for my honest review.

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I've been really getting into books that are centered around podcast-production, and this hit all the marks. Comparable to "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" and "Sadie."

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The audio for this one was fantastic. Podcasts within books are becoming some of my favorites on my shelf.

Lucy is the first suspect in her best friend Savvy’s murder. Found wandering the streets covered in her blood and a head injury that created memory loss, Lucy isn’t so sure she didn’t do it. The case goes cold with no evidence to solve it. Years later, a hit podcast that solved a cold case in its first season has decided on Savvy’s case for their second season. It’s time for Lucy to go back but does she even want to remember that night?

This one was so good. I loved being inside Lucy’s head, she was a fresh character with dark humor and full of snark. I loved the small-town vibes because the way the podcast started exposing everyone’s secrets had me giggling. I didn’t want to stop because the way the plot was set up and then executed was thoroughly capturing and entertaining.

If you like a mystery thriller and a good whodunnit, this one is for you!

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Amy Tintera, a successful author of books for young adults, turns in Listen for the Lie to the murder mystery genre with great skill. The story centers around the unsolved murder of Savannah, or Savvy. Her closest friend, Lucy, was found dazed, and covered in Savvy's blood hours after Savvy's death five years ago but has no recollection of the day's event. She was never charged with killing Savvy, but suspected by everyone in town, she starts a new life in LA, only to become the subject of a podcast that resurrects old memories.
Lucy is fired from her job in LA and is on the verge of being dumped by her boyfriend when she's invited back to her small Texas hometown to celebrate her grandmother's eightieth birthday. Ben Owens, the podcaster, is there too, trying to solve the crime that the police could not. Tintera does a wonderful job describing how the mystery gets unraveled. There were no lulls in this fast-paced novel, one I couldn't put down.
The narration was terrific! Loved the podcast delivery!

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Let me start this review by saying that I am not a thriller girlie, I don't ever read thrillers. But boy am I obsessed with this book, everyone's mother, sister, uncle, grandmother, friend and cat should read this book. I was immediately enthralled in this book and trying to solve the murder from page one. I did a mix of audiobook and kindle and it was great. The audiobook makes it feel like you are listening to a podcast. Narration was PERFECT, the mix of different characters during the podcast episodes was chef's kiss! If you haven't read this one, please do yourself a favor and pick it up ASAP!

Now, to all my thriller girlies out there - what should I read next?

Thank you, netgalley for sending me the audiobook for this one!

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“She wasn’t interested in making other people comfortable, which I really liked about her.”

An entertaining read!

Lucy has no memory of her best friends murder, but she was found covered in her blood wandering the streets. While the police has never been able to formally charge her with the murder of Savvy, everyone in her hometown knows it must be her. Even Lucy herself can't be sure, but years later she has left that town and life behind, with only voices in her head and the occasional call to family to remind her of what once was.

When a podcaster decides to dig up the case, Lucy's life gets turned upside down once more: she loses her job, her new boyfriend is scared of her and worst of all her grandma is forcing her to come home to find out the truth once and for all.

When a thriller is good, its good. While not particularly twisty, I could not put it down and I could not figure it out. Lucy and her grandma are both very entertaining characters - full of dry deprecating humor and Savvy was a spitball as well. I tend to really enjoy the true-crime podcast style format of thrillers since they move along the story very quickly.

All in all, I would recommend!

Pub date: March 5, 2024 by Celadon Books | Macmillan Audio

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Love this audiobook! The characters were so interesting and the voices gave the book life! Loved the grandmother. Great listen and will order for our library and then pass it along!

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This was fun a fun murder mystery to listen to and kept my attention, but was maybe closer to a 3.75. I didn’t like the main character, and I thought some of the plot aspects would end up coming full circle more than they did. The ending was a little sloppy/rushed to me. With that said, I liked the format of it, I liked the grandma, and it was entertaining. It was mature and had some mild sexual content - no Battle of the Books.

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I. Loved. This. Book.
I have recommended this to multiple people. I looked forward to being able to pick it up again and read!
Highly recommend! It’s a perfect read to just enjoy! Beach read thriller!!

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Definitely listen to "Listen for the Lie" for those podcast elements!

Everyone in small town Texas knows Lucy killed Savvy, her best friend. The facts are facts: she was found walking with Savvy's blood on her. But Lucy cannot remember a thing of that night and the cops cannot charge her. Back in town years later, Lucy is the talk of every town's gossiper. She's back in the spotlight being featured in the "listen for the lie" podcast and now the truth may FINALLY come out. Who really killed Savvy?

Listen for the Lie kept me captivated from the get go, thanks to dual narration by January LaVoy and Will Damron! The whole time, I just kept telling my husband I needed to find out who killed her friend and all my theories. While I had many suspects in my head, the one that happened to kill was NOT one on my "yep that's it" list. Honestly, I was even questioning Lucy towards the midpoint. Listen for the Lie is full of sketchy characters that made this a binge listen that true crime and thriller fans will adore!

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Happy publication to Amy Tintera and Listen for the Lie! Thank you to Amy Tintera, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley ( @netgalley ) for allowing me to read an ALC (Advanced Listener 🎧 Copy).

The narrators🎙️for this audiobook 🎧 are January LaVoy and Will Damron.

📅Listen for the Lie is now available for purchase at your local bookstore or online. The book was published on Tuesday, March 6, 2024.📅

Plain and simple, this book is amazing! I absolutely devoured this book. 100% did not want to stop listening. If my forty two year old self could still pull all-nighters, I would have! Not only was the book well-written, I loved the organizational structure of the chapters. The chapters switched back and forth from character’s perspective to a podcast that was trying to uncover the truth about a death and bring justice to the wrongly accused. A++. Highly recommend! So, what are you doing? Get off the couch, put on your tennis shoes, and go get your copy now!

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What to Expect:
🎙️unhinged narrator
🎙️podcast episodes
🎙️sound effects
🎙️dark humor
🎙️family drama
🎙️banter

“The truth doesn’t matter”

🫶🏽What worked for me
I loved this book SO much I immediately re-listened to it on a road trip so my husband could read it and I ordered a physical copy! It was bingeable and all consuming!

Lucy is on a journey to find out if she really did murder her own best friend, as she suffered a traumatic brain injury that same night and has no memory of what happened. Ben is a podcaster for a true crime series, and he’s in town interviewing everyone involved in search of the truth. Lucy and Ben had fantastic banter! The dark humor had me laughing out loud but never got too too dark. The way I GASPED at the family drama! 👀🍿 This is absolutely a top fave book of the year!

🤷🏻‍♀️What didn’t work for me
NOTHING! It was perfection

🎧Audio Review
Though I bought the physical book (mostly as a trophy) Listen to the Lie should absolutely be read via audio! The sound fx for the podcast episodes made it an immersive experience. January LaVoy and Will Damron are top notch! Even the subtle Texas accents a few characters had were done just right.

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I was hooked right from the start! I love mystery’s, podcasts and true crime….so naturally I loved this book! What a crazy ride of who done it?!??! Thank you for the ARC of this book!

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I love true crime, and I love the sub-genre of books about true crime podcasts. Pair that with a really fascinating mystery about who killed Savi (thanks to amnesia, nobody knows—but everyone suspects Lucy), and you have a winning plot.

I really appreciated Ben’s tenacity, and I didn’t mind his blurring the ethics lines of journalism for the sake of furthering the story.

I appreciated that Lucy and her grandma had opposing but amazing personalities together. Grandma and her lifestyle are the epitome of what I hope I’m like at 80. I would have loved to know a little more about the after. And I very much loved the voice in Lucy’s head. It added levity (though maybe not intentionally?) to some very dicey situations.

The narration was excellent and added a lot of dynamic to this book!

Overall, absolutely killer book that I enjoyed very much!

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This book is an unhinged (in the best way) thrill ride as a murder suspect returns to her hometown for her grandma's birthday and gets roped in on a true crime podcast. She has no memory of what happened that night, and it comes back to her in bits and pieces with the help of her murdered best friend's voice constantly in her ear.

I really liked the way this book works as an audiobook. The chapters alternate between the main character's perspective and clips of the podcast that's delving into the unsolved murder. The narrators, especially the female narrator, are outstanding. The grandma, Beverly, needs to adopt me because she is hilarious and lovable.

The only complaint I have is that the ending felt a bit anticlimactic.

Big content warnings to anyone who is triggered by descriptions of domestic and sexual violence.

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An amnesia trope combined with a true-crime podcast, what's not to love? This thriller has it all. An unsolved murder, secrets from the past, small-town gossip, sarcasm, and a true-crime podcast are just a few of the gripping, entertaining elements that make this story so enjoyable. I was immediately drawn to the mystery, while also laughing out loud at the humor sprinkled throughout this compelling whodunnit. The narration added a layer of intrigue, especially with the podcast episodes following each chapter. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my audiobook.

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