Listen for the Lie | Mini Review

Rating - ⭐⭐⭐.25

"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. But after Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer.

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.

The truth is out there, if we just listen."

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Listen for the Lie is a standalone mystery thriller novel by Amy Tintera.

This book wasn't on my radar at all, but it popped up on my TikTok feed and had a whole bunch of reviews, so I ended up picking up the audiobook right away. Audio seemed like the right way to go since the book does involve a podcast, and I love a good podcast. Then again, I was hoping this would give me the same vibes as a true crime podcast, and it didn't. True crime podcasts have good hosts that convey the events well, and I can't say that having Lucy convey the story was great.

Lucy was...not a great character to follow. I can't say that I am crazy about unlikable characters, and she started showing some red flags early into the story. When everyone in her old town didn't favour her kindly, I had a feeling that I wasn't going to particularly enjoy following her, and I didn't. She bothered me to the point where I stopped caring about whether or not she had something to do with her friend's death. I also didn't fancy being in her head. A lot is going on internally when it comes to Lucy, and it just became a bit too repetitive for me.

Despite not particularly enjoying Lucy's perspective, nor her dynamic with the podcast host, Ben, I didn't mind the book. I will give the author some credit where it is due, as I didn't see the end coming. So, overall, not bad, but not as good as the rating would suggest.