Title: Listen for the Lie
Author: Amy Tintera
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Published On: March 5, 2024
Publisher: Celadon Books
Source: Paperback via publisher
Pages: 352
Synopsis:
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.
My thoughts
(Spoiler free)
When a copy of Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera landed on my doorstep—kindly provided by the publisher—it wasn’t a book I’d planned on reading anytime soon. But I’d noticed all the buzz around this thriller, and I couldn’t help but be intrigued. It seemed like everyone was reading it! While thrillers and mysteries aren’t my go-to genre, I do enjoy them when they’re good, and within the first few pages, I was hooked!
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.
Amy Tintera, Listen for the Lie
I sped through this one quickly, entranced and entertained—a great cast of characters, a creepy small-town setting, all wrapped around a podcast I would listen to. A few things gave me pause, but let’s start with what I liked.
Books set around a podcast are popular right now, and I don’t mind it one bit. I just finished a romance/mystery that featured a podcast theme (The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn), and I thoroughly enjoyed it, as well. I like alternating between the narrative and the podcast, which breaks up the story, building the suspense. I like how podcast hosts are basically the modern-day version of an old school detective.
Listen for the Lie is set in my home state of Texas during the smoldering summer, and I could easily identify with every description of the oppressive heat. It also successfully matches the growing pressure to solve this cold case.
The cast of characters are pretty much all unreliable, but I didn’t mind. They’re each distinctive and easily recognizable. The story is told from Lucy’s point of view with the podcast transcripts and interviews alternating some of the chapters.
Even if Lucy is unreliable, I liked her. She’s witty and sharp-tongued, but she’s pretty much been forced to put up a wall of protection around herself since almost everyone—including most of her family—thinks she may be a murderer. And thanks to her amnesia, she doesn’t even know the truth herself. I found myself rooting for Lucy, even if she did kill her best friend!
A few things did make this story a bit unrealistic for me—most that I can’t talk about without spoilers. While they took me out of the book at moments, I was able to shrug them off and keep reading. For example, almost everyone in this town is cheating on someone. I can understand one or two instances but at some point it just becomes redundant. And as much as everyone drinks and sleeps around, I found it hard to believe that the key characters hadn’t let any secrets slip.
I rarely read a thriller where the ending wraps up perfectly for me, so I’m always prepared to be underwhelmed at the end—it’s just not something I necessarily require to enjoy a mystery. If the bulk of the book has been good, I can forgive a weaker ending. And while the climax of this story was rewarding, the reveal felt a little too predictable for me, but not so much that it affected how I felt about the entirety of the book.
Listen for the Lie kept me invested, I didn’t want to set it down, so for me that’s a win! If you’re a fan of podcast mysteries or dark comedies, add this one to your tbr. It’d be a perfect vacation or poolside read for the summer!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Celadon Books for providing me with a copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
Rating:
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About the Author
Amy Tintera started writing novels as a kid during her middle school science classes, which probably explains why she has always been very bad at science. She is now the author of several novels for young adults, including Reboot, a Kids Indie Next pick and YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, the Ruined series, The Q, and All These Monsters, a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection. Her novels have been translated into 16 languages and sold into more than 20 territories.
She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Texas A&M and a master’s degree in media arts/screenwriting from Emerson College. She worked as a talent agency assistant in Hollywood before becoming an author. Raised in Austin, Texas, she frequently sets her novels in the Lone Star state, but she now lives in Los Angeles, where there’s far less humidity, but not nearly enough Tex-Mex.
Her first novel for adults, Listen for the Lie, will be published March 5, 2024 by Celadon/Macmillan.
A Song For A Book
I was very happy to discover the author had created a playlist on Spotify of music she listened to when writing the book, which I’ve shared below. I decided to highlight “Everywhere Ghosts Hide” by Erin McCarley. As soon as I heard the music begin, it brought back the eerie feelings of the book.
Pull me
Under
Feels like
Thunder
Here, there
Everywhere
Ghosts hide
In my head
We fall
Up above, so long
As I
Don’t sleep
Somebody
Save me
It doesn’t matter
What the craving is
Here, there
Everywhere
Ghosts hide
In my head
We fall
Up above, don’t leave me
Alone…
Have you read Listen for the Lie? Or did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
This sounds like a thriller I would enjoy, too, even if the reveal at the end is a little predictable. I’m adding it to my summer reading list. 😀
Yay! I would love to hear what you think of it!
I can’t wait to read this one soon!
I hope you enjoy it!