Reviews

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

Only show reviews with written explanations

karlyo83's review

4.0

My Rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rounded down from 4.5, witty, funny and suspenseful really great!!

What if you thought you murdered your best friend?
What if almost everyone who knows you thought you murdered your best friend?
What if you were covered in your best friends blood … but you can’t remember anything let along murdering her??

For Lucy this is her world, she is found wandering the streets, covered in Savvy’s blood with no memory of what happened a massive head wound. Initially thought to be a victim the tables soon turn and everyone thinks Lucy did it… trouble is there is no evidence and she cannot remember.

Lucy moves away and tries to make a life for herself in LA but she is haunted by Savvy’s death and now years later a hugely popular True Crime Podcast “Listen for the Lie” is investigating and they want her to come on the show….

Lucy returns to the scene of the crime… as it were… but will she find what she is looking for or will the town finally get what they hope and see Lucy behind bars once and for all?

Ok wow, so I loved this… but the missing 1/2 star (because believe me I was set for 5 big fat stars) is due to the OTT ending.. it was just a little too far out in space for me… however… Please do not let that stop you reading this.

First of all Amy Tintera - keep them coming… this was so well written and so funny. I loved Lucy’s character. Some people may find her annoying but I found her extremely real with her sarcastic humour even in the most dire of moments… as a person who uses inappropriate gallows humour to get through tough situations I really loved her dry sarcastic take on … well everything.

This was so easy to read the entire way through it was just one of those books that I didn’t want to put down. I had read so many positive reviews that I thought for sure I would be the outlier in the end… but I was very pleasantly surprised. I actually laughed out loud a number of times at Lucy’s take on things….

Literally something I would actually say…
I finally muster the strength to step out of the car. It’s six o’clock in the evening, still light out, and still hot as balls. The heat’s relentless this time of year. It was a real dick move on Grandma’s par to be born in August.

Also this…
I can’t stop thinking about what Grandma said - that Ben is actually going to figure this out.
I feel like I owe it to Savvy to stay until he does.
Not to mention that I have nothing to go back to. I’m still fired, my boyfriend is now my ex-boyfriend, and I’ve yet to sign a lease on a new apartment. I might as well be here, even if here makes me want to punch myself in the face.

This sentiment is 100% true about kids…
A small, dark haired child with something blue smeared across his mouth opens the door after I knock.
“Hello,” I say.
He says nothing. He just stares. I’ve always admired the way kids unabashedly stare at you. They don’t care whether you’re uncomfortable. Kids have zero fucks to give about your feelings.

Safe to say those had my giggling and I loved every minute of it. I also really enjoyed the podcast which is different for me… because I normally really hate books featuring True Crime podcasts because I am yet to read one done well… Until now that is. This is excellent and I really enjoyed the angle it wasn’t taking itself too seriously and Ben was a great podcaster/love interest… he was likeable in an unlikeable way… so basically he was just a dude doing dude stuff.

I also really loved Lucy’s grandma she was excellent, shes a bit of a horn bag and a bit of drunk but she says what shes thinking and who doesn’t love a Texan Grandma who tells everyone what’s on her mind… I thought she was great. She was also one of the rare people in town that didn’t think Lucy was guilty so that was great.

So it all sounds really good as you can see and my only real qualms were I did kind of guess the baddie … which was fine but the final showdown / flash back was OTT as I mentioned. I was just a bit too ridiculous and got a bit stupid where I was doing a fair bit of eye rolling but.. it didn’t ruin it… just got a bit silly. I am really glad I read it…

Overall, if you like a bit of sarcastic humour with your mysteries (I wouldn’t really call this a thriller) and you don’t mind a little bit of sexual tension and sexy times… (nothing too crazy) then this is for you. I highly recommend to most people I think its going to be a super hit.

Thank you to Celadon Books, NetGalley and Amy Tintera for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!!

zaisgraph's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Well that was funnn... and I love how the podcast was factored in the story stelling

This has excellent flow and pacing which made me extra forgiving with the leaps in logic.

Hope Ben tackles another case.

sydhoops's review

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

christinas11's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Audiobook. I frickin loved this on audio. If you're a multi medium reader, do this one on audio. The format is perfect for this story. Super engaging, I loved the main character, and the ending was satisfying.