A review by rosemaryandrue
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

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

4.5

Five years ago, Lucy was found wandering the streets, dazed and covered in the blood of her best friend. No one knows what happened, but everyone believes that it was Lucy who killed Savvy – until a podcaster comes to town to dig up the whole case again.

I generally avoid the recent spate of mystery books that use podcasts as plot devices. For one, I’m not even a fan of investigative podcasts, and it’s always seemed more like a framing gimmick than anything else. But I decided to try out this book because of all the rave reviews from my friends on Goodreads, as well as the fact that the narrator is not the podcaster but the subject of the story, Lucy Chase.

This is a fast-paced, intriguing mystery with an amusingly dark and sarcastic narrator. The characters are colorful and lovable despite their flaws, of which there are many, and the author leans into their ambiguities, presenting us with no clear cut villains or heroes. I also loved how the story unravelled, with us learning more about the case alongside the ‘listeners’ of Ben’s podcast.

However, the final section sags oddly before we get to the big climax, maybe because I felt like things were getting stretched out. It was a bad place to lose tension. I also got bored of Lucy’s romantic travails – though they do have bearing on the plot, I felt that they sometimes took on a boringly soapy tone, and would have liked to see less of them on the page.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and the narration was excellent. The narrators are January LaVoy and Will Damron – the latter narrating the podcast sections as Ben. The podcast chapters are produced so that you feel like you’re really listening to a podcast. Both narrators did a great job with the voices, bringing plenty of emotion and personality to minor characters. They really elevated the story for me.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
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