The Book:
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
Published March 5, 2024 by Celadon Books
Date read: February 24, 2024
The Characters:
Lucy
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The Plot (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 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 that did it.
How did Listen for the Lie end?
The Reveal:
Around halfway, we flash back to a conversation between Lucy and Savvy five years ago. Lucy had just been abused by her husband Matt, and Savvy suggested they kill him. The voice in Lucy’s head telling her to kill was the memory of Savvy.
Emmett was the killer. He had a crush on Lucy and made a pass at her. When she denied him, he flew into a rage. He tried to kill Lucy with a hammer he got from his truck, but Savvy jumped in the way to save her. Savvy bled out in Lucy’s lap, which is why Lucy was covered in her blood when Matt found her. She had grabbed a tree branch for self-defense. Matt saw her holding it and assumed the worst when Emmett told him Lucy had killed Savvy. Matt and Lucy’s dad covered it all up to protect her, but I don’t know why no one ever mentioned that Emmett was there that night.
The Ending:
In classic thriller fashion, Lucy remembered all of this just as she was visiting Emmett. Luckily she called Ben and told him what she realized, so he came to her rescue. Ben exonerated her on his podcast, despite Emmett trying to tell people she was still lying.
I hope these Listen for the Lie spoilers were helpful.
The Review:
Thank you to Celadon Books for this gifted copy and to @macmillan.audio for the ALC!
This was such a fun, bingeable listen. It’s certainly a book I recommend listening to–the podcast elements make the audiobook so fun!
The first half is mostly just setup: Lucy goes back to her hometown for her grandmother’s birthday, and the podcast chapters outline Ben setting the scene. Once the secrets start being revealed, though, I couldn’t stop listening. Amy Tintera takes a fresh perspective on the amnesia trope, and in my opinion does something great with it.
Not a thriller fan? Listen For The Lie is somewhat thriller-lite–not too much murder or gory stuff, just a cold case podcast investigator doing his thing.
I think the hype is well-deserved, and I’m excited to participate in a Celedon LFL drop for this book on Wednesday! If you’re in the Poughkeepsie area, check the map for this copy’s location!
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For more books based on a podcast, check out this list.
For more amnesia thrillers, check out this list.
