Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Listen for the Lie

I was hooked from the very first page. I’m admittedly someone who loves a first person murder mystery and/or thriller type book, but this one had all the right pacing, character development and plot twists to keep me guessing. I liked that the plot twists weren’t so outlandish - it all felt very realistic and you could easily picture this being the plot of a real life true crime podcast. There have been a few books in this genre (true crime pod) that I’ve read lately and I think this is among the best. It’s fast paced, doesn’t get overly loaded down in irrelevant details or red herrings, yet still provides you with a fleshed out story and plenty of classic whodunnit moments.

I really liked all the characters - not in the sense that I liked who they were as people, but they were intriguing and complex and imperfect in a way that was satisfying to read. It makes me want to continue uncovering the details chapter after chapter.

Also, side note: this book really drives home the wisdom between women of never trusting the “nice guy.”

TL;DR I devoured this book in a little over 24 hours and it only took me that long because apparently you have to sleep and eat and show up to other life obligations. I strongly recommend if you need a fast paced twisty thriller that isn’t so scary it won’t keep you up long after reading. It would be fantastic to pull someone out of a slump!

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edhyndman's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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stephanieluxton's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book is about Lucy, a woman who has to return to her hometown for the first time since she was accused of murdering her best friend on a night she has absolutely no memory of. There she meets Ben, a podcaster who is investigating the cold case for his true crime podcast and they try to unravel the mystery of what happened that night.

This book was fun. There was a nice mixture of humour and mystery. It's set up in first person perspective from Lucy as well as contains snippets from Ben's podcast and interviews with the townspeople. I didn't guess the final outcome which is a big plus for a whodunnit. The characters were interesting and complex enough.

I rated this book highly because I enjoyed the journey. That doesn't mean there was nothing I didn't like.
The author handled the amnesia trope a little better than most but I did find it a little cheesy in the end when Lucy starts to remember the events of that night at the most convenient time for the plot. The romance aspect of the story felt a little forced - I wish there was a bit more time spent on this subplot.

This book isn't groundbreaking but it's a fun read.

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lisettemarie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense

3.5

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karinreadsalot's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

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

3.5

This book was good until the last 2 chapters and then the ending fell flat. The twist wasn’t a shock. Disappointing.

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riella_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was so good, and the audio was top tier 👌

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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

Lives up to the hype, totally unputdownable. I sped through this one because I needed to know what how everything ended up happening and was totally surprised by the ending. I love a good podcast-based mystery and would definitely recommend this on audio. Just a note though that there's a repetitive "let's kill" voice that gets grating after a bit, but still worth prioritizing this format for the podcast element.

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