Listen for the Lie

Talk about a book that grabs you and doesn't let go! Tintera hooked me from the start with her writing style that includes a fast pace, well-placed reveals and delightful bits of sarcastic humour.

Five years ago, Lucy was found incoherently stumbling down the road, covered in her best friend Savvie's blood. It's presumed by many in the small Texas town that Lucy violently murdered her best friend, but Lucy, who sustained brain trauma (and now hears murderous voices in her head), says she remembered nothing of the incident. Lucy swiftly left town and has kept her distance, but when her beloved (and delightfully sassy) Grandma Beverly asks her to come home for her 80th birthday party, the prodigal daughter returns. 

The story is told from Lucy's POV, and she is flawed, erratic and wonderfully snarky. She's used to having only her grandma in her corner, so when Ben, a popular true crime podcaster, arrives in town and offers to investigate the crime, Lucy decides to help him. The revealing podcast segments from some of the locals are included that shed some light onto what happened that fateful night.

This is a riveting and well-paced story about the power of small-town secrets and gossip with a flawed character, bits of humour and a main character readers are unsure they can trust. 

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Amy Tintera

Genre: Suspense

Type and Source: Hardcover from public library

Publisher: Celadon Books

First Published: March 5, 2024

Book Description from GoodReads: What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter?

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.