Listen for the Lie
by Amy Tintera
Summary
After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life.
But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast “Listen for the Lie,” and its too-good-looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one who did it.
GoodReads Nominee for Favorite Mystery & Thriller 2024 and Favorite Audiobook 2024
My Review
This book was a fast, binge-worthy read that kept me hooked from start to finish. The story moves between past and present timelines, with short chapters that make it easy to fly through. It is more of a mystery than a full-on thriller, with fewer action-packed scenes than I expected, but the pacing was still strong and kept me engaged.
Lucy, the unreliable narrator at the center of the story, was fascinating to follow. I loved the banter, snarky comments, and dry humor sprinkled throughout, which gave the book a lighter tone than most in this dark genre. Even though the characters were deeply flawed, dark and terrible people making dark and terrible choices, I found myself enjoying them anyway. The novel had a refreshing mix of lightheartedness and darkness that worked surprisingly well.
The podcast element was another highlight. It truly felt like listening to a real true crime show, and the audiobook narrators did a fantastic job bringing it to life. The “killer” voice Lucy kept hearing was annoying at first, but once the reveal came, it added an intriguing layer.
There are definitely some heavy themes here, including domestic abuse, toxic relationships, and alcoholism, so readers should be aware. There is also some language, cheating, and a couple of fade-to-black spice scenes, though nothing overly graphic.
Where the book fell short for me was in the ending. After all the build-up, the reveal felt disappointing. The motives behind the murderer’s action did not quite land for me, especially given the strong twists and turns leading up to it. Still, the journey to that reveal was entertaining and kept me guessing.
Overall, this was a highly entertaining mystery with strong pacing, great humor, and a podcast element that elevated the storytelling. It may not stick the landing perfectly, but I had a great time reading it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a bingeable, twisty mystery with a unique voice. Highly recommend listening to the audiobook – it was quite the experience! I can’t wait to read more by this author.