Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

39 reviews

gwenswoons's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

So good. I had been reading so much hype about this, and I was surprised when it was (for me) a little slow to begin! But it became so addictive so quickly - such good character building and detailed thoroughness in the plot and world, too. I love a thriller that is also a little sexy, and also one where the victims and narrators are complicated/imperfect, and this is awesome on both counts. And - so amazingly unexpected in all the turns and shocks, right down to the end - I loved it!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexism, Violence, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Mental illness, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, and Sexual violence

abookwanderer's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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!

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.

Check out my reviews and playlists at A Book Wanderer

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

soobooksalot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Alcoholism, Violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

colorcrystals'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

This book was amazing. I was literally hooked with the very first sentence, and I read the first 70% in one sitting, only stopping because I had to go to bed for work in the morning. I absolutely loved the main character, Lucy. She was sassy and snarky and tough, and yet Tintera was still able to show us how vulnerable and imperfect Lucy underneath the bravado. 

The cast of characters around Lucy were exceptional. There were some minor characters that didn’t get fleshed out, but all of the major players were dynamic and well-developed. Ben, as the podcaster investigating the murder, obviously played a major role, but I really enjoyed how Tintera wrote his character. He was decently developed, but he was written to be somewhat of a mystery. We never really know what he’s thinking. And not only does that fit really well with the purpose of his character within the story, but it also meant that he was never really central enough to upstage Lucy. This is Lucy’s story, not Ben’s. And I really like how Tintera handled that dynamic. 

And overall, it was just really engaging and fun. Even with the seriousness of the topics discussed (which include domestic violence, gaslighting, murder, etc.), Tintera still made me laugh. I was invested in the story from the beginning, and it was a fantastic ride. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Death, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Medical content

itsheyfay's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

crazybooklady89's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

This book was great! I’ve never laughed so much reading a murder mystery/thriller before. Putting this book down in order to go to sleep each night was painful. I could be heard proclaiming, “Just 1 more chapter” several times over. This is definitely an author I would read from again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

kimveach's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

With the unreliable narrator and excellent storytelling, I raced through this novel.  The author kept me engaged with the twists, and I didn't realize the ending until she told me.   I bet this would be great on audio, too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Bullying, Vomit, Blood, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Stalking, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Gore, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

lmcarr0314's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

OMG this book really had me captivated. I could not put the book down. I also couldn’t figure out the whodunit part till much later into the book. This book was really good. I gave it five stars because honestly I was really into the plot , the characters. Everything was a huge part of why I enjoyed it so much. I would read another book from the Author for sure.

Also her hearing a voice over and over again about killing really drew me in. The MC’s Dark humor and bad placed jokes were also a fun part of the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Minor: Grief

caitlinpfry's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Alcoholism

amalauna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual violence, Death, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Violence