A review by bratatouille
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

When I was looking to cleanse my palette of the thousand page, high fantasy, political intrigue book I’m currently struggling with, I had imagined myself with a cozy, witty, trashy romance book. In no way was I expecting this small-town true-crime podcast detective book to fill that hole for me. Life works in mysterious ways. Is this the best book I’ve ever read? No. But sometimes I’m not looking for the world’s most impactful piece of literature. I don’t necessarily always want wagyu steak. Sometimes I just need some fucking Mac and cheese. And this book? This is Annie’s shells and white cheddar, baby. 

I was concerned about the podcast formatting, but it switches between Lucy’s POV and the podcast episodes. Which, surprisingly, largely propel the plot forward. The characters in this are incredibly entertaining which overshadows how one dimensional some of them are. This is Tintera’s adult fiction debut and although you can feel the young adult fiction roots in the writing, this gives it room to be whimsical and downright funny. Some stuff felt gimmicky, but ended up panning out surprisingly well. BIG fan of the grandma in this story. Although I have mixed feelings about the ending, I find that mysteries as a genre struggle to pin an answer that is a satisfying culmination of the last 300 pages. Simply put, you cannot please everyone. But I am quite pleased and would totally read this again.
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