Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera: Book Review

Listen for the Lie is Amy Tintera’s first adult book. Released in March 2024, it takes readers on an emotional journey and investigation in Texas. Lucy finds herself drawn back to the town she left five years ago, after her best friend, Savvy, was murdered and Lucy was found covered in her blood. Ben has a true crime podcast focused on Savvy’s murder. Can they work together to find the truth about what happened five years ago?

Synopsis from Goodreads

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, 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 that did it.

My Opinions

I decided to give Listen for the Lie a read because I’ve seen reviews calling it good. Now, let me say, I tend to avoid books that get a lot of hype because, most of the time, they don’t hit the mark for me. I am glad to say that Listen for the Lie lives up to all of the hype! One caveat, I honestly believe you need to listen to the audiobook for the full effect. I’m sure reading other versions would be as impactful, but the audiobook just made it easier to fall into the story.

The characters, oh my, what a cast of characters! What a small town, Plumpton, TX, is. I’m not sure if I want to visit, but I do know I certainly want to meet Beverly. She’s my hero, and the kind of person I want to be when I get older. At 80, she is so full of sass and snark, it’s beautiful.

Tintera did an excellent job of dragging out the story and introducing many suspects. She also didn’t shy away from the idea that maybe Lucy was the real culprit after all. But she didn’t make the story feel long, or any parts truly unnecessary. Everything that happened needed to happen. But when the big reveal happened, I will admit I was shocked. But now, as I think about it, I wonder why I was so surprised? It all made perfect sense.

If you’ve read Sadie by Courtney Summers, you need to read Listen for the Lie! But if you haven’t read it, that’s ok. If you enjoy reading mysteries with lots of twists and turns, real characters, and an unexpected ending, you will enjoy reading Listen for the Lie. Just be warned: you won’t be able to do anything else until you finish reading it.

Are you looking for some more books to read? Check out my bookish lists, book reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.