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astoriareader's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
SYNOPSIS
- Lucy left her hometown, a small town in Texas, five years ago after being accused of killing her best friend, Savannah, aka Savvy. Unfortunately, Lucy doesn’t remember anything about what happened to Savvy.
- She’s been living in LA and trying not to revisit the past. Ben, a podcaster, decides to investigate Savvy’s murder for the 2nd season of his podcast. When Lucy returns to her hometown to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday, she links up with Ben to uncover the truth.
MY THOUGHTS
- I loved this one. Two POVs - Lucy’s and the podcast episodes - with alternating chapters. Fast-paced. Compelling. Satisfying ending.
- Lucy also has dark humor, and I enjoyed her as a main character. Since the story covers some tough topics, the comedic relief was a nice balance.
- I loved Beverly (Lucy’s grandmother), too! She was a fun character, and she truly loved Lucy
- There were lots of twists and turns. I appreciated reading about a woman who doesn’t fit in with societal norms & no one listens to her or believes her. When a male podcaster comes along, it’s the only thing that may bolster Lucy's credibility, which is pretty realistic.
TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 stars. Compelling writing. Satisfying ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Infidelity, Gore, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual violence, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault
isabelmeade's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
dblue236's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Trigger warnings: Blood, violence, discussions of past domestic violence, brief mention of sexual assault.
I've been really looking forward to this book for a while now and was thrilled to see it as a Book of the Month selection for this month. I was not disappointed. The story sucked me in almost immediately and I genuinely had no idea what to expect until the very end. My only (very minor) complaint is that there is one small thing left unresolved toward the end, but I think that was likely intentional because the reader is supposed to draw their own conclusions. This was definitely one of my favorite reads so far this year and left me wanting to seek out more books by this author.
I've been really looking forward to this book for a while now and was thrilled to see it as a Book of the Month selection for this month. I was not disappointed. The story sucked me in almost immediately and I genuinely had no idea what to expect until the very end. My only (very minor) complaint is that there is one small thing left unresolved toward the end, but I think that was likely intentional because the reader is supposed to draw their own conclusions. This was definitely one of my favorite reads so far this year and left me wanting to seek out more books by this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
shannonlian's review
fast-paced
4.75
I loved this. I’m not a huge fan of dark and twisty thrillers but this was somehow hilarious at times and a solid take on the true crime podcast.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Murder
thrillofthepage's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Murder, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Sexual assault
angelinaangelo's review
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.75
I liked this book! It was a little bit more of a scary plot line than I normally go for, but it was entertaining! I finished it in two days I just couldn’t put it down. In the end, I was completely wrong about who killed Savvy! I loved Lucy’s character development and seeing her realistic family dynamics too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault
sandiet's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Publication Date: March 5, 2024
#ListenfortheLie #NetGalley
The debut adult novel (she typically writes YA) from Amy Tintera is simply in a word engaging! I'm not typically a lover of the thriller genre but this book kept me up to the wee hours of the morning.
I was reeled in from the first line "A podcaster has decided to ruin my life, so I'm buying a chicken".
With a start like that you'd be expecting a funny book but this book deals with domestic violence, toxic relationships and dysfunctional families. Lucy, the main female character is the unreliable narrator, who hears voices telling her to kill people. It becomes clearer whose voice she's hearing as you get deeper into the story. Lucy can't remember what happened 5 years ago when she was found wandering around covered in her best friend's blood. She was never charged with Savvy's murder, but most of the people in the small town of Plumpton, including her parents and ex-husband were and still are convinced she's guilty.
Ben, who has a very successful true crime podcast, comes to town to try to figure out what happened. Unbeknownst to Lucy, her kick-ass grandmother Beverly has orchestrated the whole thing because she's never believed Lucy was the murderer. Lucy agrees to help Ben but only because her grandmother has asked her to.
There are many twists and turns and a lot of suspects, but the journey to get to the truth was never boring. I really enjoyed this book despite the subject matter.
This is a true "me too" movement book and a lot of good points are made about how a woman's version of the truth is completely dismissed in favour of the man's version.
A quote from the book "Men always believe each other".
5* + read and I'll be looking for more adult novels from this author.
Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
#ListenfortheLie #NetGalley
The debut adult novel (she typically writes YA) from Amy Tintera is simply in a word engaging! I'm not typically a lover of the thriller genre but this book kept me up to the wee hours of the morning.
I was reeled in from the first line "A podcaster has decided to ruin my life, so I'm buying a chicken".
With a start like that you'd be expecting a funny book but this book deals with domestic violence, toxic relationships and dysfunctional families. Lucy, the main female character is the unreliable narrator, who hears voices telling her to kill people. It becomes clearer whose voice she's hearing as you get deeper into the story. Lucy can't remember what happened 5 years ago when she was found wandering around covered in her best friend's blood. She was never charged with Savvy's murder, but most of the people in the small town of Plumpton, including her parents and ex-husband were and still are convinced she's guilty.
Ben, who has a very successful true crime podcast, comes to town to try to figure out what happened. Unbeknownst to Lucy, her kick-ass grandmother Beverly has orchestrated the whole thing because she's never believed Lucy was the murderer. Lucy agrees to help Ben but only because her grandmother has asked her to.
There are many twists and turns and a lot of suspects, but the journey to get to the truth was never boring. I really enjoyed this book despite the subject matter.
This is a true "me too" movement book and a lot of good points are made about how a woman's version of the truth is completely dismissed in favour of the man's version.
A quote from the book "Men always believe each other".
5* + read and I'll be looking for more adult novels from this author.
Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Violence, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Murder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
shesflippinpages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I absolutely flew through this book and really enjoyed it. I loved the idea of a true crime podcast interviewer digging up the details from people in the small town in order to help solve this cold case.
It kept me guessing throughout as there were so many suspicious characters with intertwined storylines. It was one of those books that kept you on your toes and just when you thought you had it figured out, another curveball was thrown your way. Definitely recommend this one!
Thank you to Celadon Books & NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It kept me guessing throughout as there were so many suspicious characters with intertwined storylines. It was one of those books that kept you on your toes and just when you thought you had it figured out, another curveball was thrown your way. Definitely recommend this one!
Thank you to Celadon Books & NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Minor: Sexual harassment, Vomit, Sexual content, Rape, Drug use, and Sexual assault
the_boozy_baking_bibliophile's review against another edition
5.0
Holy shit. If this is Tintera’s debut - I cannot wait to see what else she writes.
Imagine being the subject of a cold case murder podcast where everyone is convinced you killed your best friend. And you can’t say you didn’t because you have no memory of the night. Welcome to Listen for the Lie.
I read this one in two sits - last night and tonight. It was engrossing, it was fast paced, I couldn’t stop. Grandma Beverly is the best character ever and tbh - I loved Lucy and her dark humor, even when it was mistimed. I laughed at the things she said multiple times.
And the ending? Damn. Wasn’t expecting it but wasn’t surprised either.
Don’t skip this one.
Imagine being the subject of a cold case murder podcast where everyone is convinced you killed your best friend. And you can’t say you didn’t because you have no memory of the night. Welcome to Listen for the Lie.
I read this one in two sits - last night and tonight. It was engrossing, it was fast paced, I couldn’t stop. Grandma Beverly is the best character ever and tbh - I loved Lucy and her dark humor, even when it was mistimed. I laughed at the things she said multiple times.
And the ending? Damn. Wasn’t expecting it but wasn’t surprised either.
Don’t skip this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse
jess_xen's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
After ungluing myself from the pages and untangling myself from this web of mysteries, I can finally write this review. I could not put this book down.
Listen for the Lie is a brilliant and gripping combination of a podcast & a whodunit novel. Lucy, long suspected of her best friend’s murder in her small Texas hometown, is the subject of a true crime podcast 5 years after the murder. No suspects have been arrested, and Lucy can’t remember a thing about that night, adding to the town’s suspicions of her guilt. Preferring obscurity, Lucy moved away to start a new life in LA, only to be forced to return to her hometown to confront her dark past.
From the very beginning, the pacing, voice, and perfectly articulated emotions had me in a chokehold. I was hooked; there were so many questions that I needed answers to. Amy Tintera is a master at weaving together a tale that feels like wandering through an ill-lit hedge maze, always thinking that around the next corner all the secrets will yield themselves, only to be confronted with a new path in a new direction.
From the very beginning, the pacing, voice, and perfectly articulated emotions had me in a chokehold. I was hooked; there were so many questions that I needed answers to. Amy Tintera is a master at weaving together a tale that feels like wandering through an ill-lit hedge maze, always thinking that around the next corner all the secrets will yield themselves, only to be confronted with a new path in a new direction.
I was completely invested in the true crime podcast, Lucy’s sarcastic behavior towards those who distrusted her, and the small-town vibe complete with quintessential small-town gossip emanating throughout. I was squealing by the time the conclusion came satisfyingly to a close.
I wish I could speak more on some of the elements of the novel that I really appreciated, as they were depicted perfectly and poignantly, but I would prefer to keep this review spoiler-free for now. Suffice to say, the author does a fantastic job of showing interpersonal relationships, the good and the ugly.
Some caveats: this was definitely chick lit-y and millennial-coded; I personally loved those aspects and it added to the overall story to me, but I can understand if those could be a drawback for some.
Listen for the Lie is Amy Tintera’s adult debut, and I’m excited to read more of her work in the future, as this was everything I could want out of a whodunit novel.
A sincere thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books & Amy Tintera for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Listen for the Lie will be published March 5, 2024.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Violence