Listen for the Lie - Amy Tintera - ★★★.½

AUTHOR: Amy Tintera

NARRATORS: January LaVoy & Will Damron

GENRE: Mystery Thriller.

PUBLICATION DATE:

RATING: 3.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A slow-burn mystery-thriller that contains plenty of snark and suspense but misses out on character development and logic. Twisty and silly at the same time. Still, it could work well as long as you know how contemporary thrillers work. Take off the thinking cap to enjoy it better.

Plot Preview: 

Five years ago, Lucy had been suspected of murdering Savannah, but after there was no evidence to confirm the same, Lucy wasn’t arrested. However, as she doesn’t have any memories of that night, even she isn’t sure if she actually killed her best friend.

Now, the hit crime podcast “Listen for the Lie” has chosen to investigate Savannah’s murder for its new season, and all the old accusations are back. Lucy is divorced, jobless, and has to return to her hometown for her grandmother’s 80th birthday. Will podcast host Ben Owens be able to clear Lucy’s name, or will he confirm her worst suspicion about that night?

Lucy's first person updates us about what's happening in the small town after her return to celebrate her grandmother's eightieth birthday. The podcast interludes update us, through the third person interviews and through the podcaster's speculation, of what might have happened on the night of the murder. We also have another timeline of Lucy’s past with Savannah.

When you read such a storyline, you know that there are only two ways the book can go:

Either Lucy is innocent and gets her redemption at the end with the possible discovery of the true murderer, or she did commit the murder and is a pro at lying the heck out of the situation to save her skin.

Will you have the patience to “listen for the lie” and take a call on Lucy’s potential guilt?

Bookish Yays:

😍 Lucy’s grandmother Beverly is the only character in the book I could root for from start to end without any dip. Excellent character!

😍 There are many sarcastic and witty remarks that add a layer of fun to the serious story.

😍 The podcast format works quite well, especially in the audiobook. I’m not a fan of podcasts in real life; I have never even felt like hearing one. So this felt like I was eavesdropping on some gossipy neighbours. Over the top, but entertaining.

Bookish Mixed Bags:

😐 Lucy seems cocky, so she isn’t exactly a likeable character. But I feel that there are just three broad human reactions possible when accused of murder: defensiveness, offensiveness, or escapism. Lucy uses her brash persona to hide a lot of things. In that sense, she is a fabulous character. Her decision-making skills, though, are highly questionable.

😐 The amnesia trope has been done to death in contemporary thrillers, but I like how it was handled in this book. That said, Lucy is an unreliable narrator because of her memory issues, and the other characters are also unreliable because of the podcast interviews revealing only bits and pieces of the truth. In other words, a whole lot of unreliability here, though some of it is handled well.

😐 There were enough and regular twists to keep me hooked, but some of the turnarounds were outlandish.

😐 Lucy hears a creepy voice in her head, and this was very appealing for most of the way but after a point, it seemed forced into the plot.

😐 The ending left me with slightly mixed feelings. Liked certain parts, rolled my eyes at the rest.

Bookish Nays:

🙄 Same old thriller tropes: gaslighting, sexual harassment & abuse, alcoholic characters, amnesia, deliberate red herrings, unreliable narrator, unlikeable characters who are portrayed as one thing and turning out to be another. No novelty. Very formulaic. Even the culprit is guessable after a point as it’s the standard modus operandi of mysteries.

🙄 What’s wrong with the town? (Said to be Plumpton, Texas, but I hope it isn’t like this in real life.) It feels like the whole town has amnesia about certain characters. Moreover, everybody seems to be sleeping with everybody else without qualms.

🙄 The ad hoc changes in character behaviour didn’t appeal to me. The transition felt awkward. The police also seem to be nincompoops, not that we get to see much of them in the book.

🙄 There are many repeated words and phrases. This becomes even more apparent while hearing the book.

🎧 The Audiobook Experience:

The audiobook, clocking at 9 hrs 18 min, is narrated by January LaVoy and Will Damron, who are married to each other in real life. Both of them are excellent. I don’t think I would have liked the book as much had it not been for their skilful portrayal of these grey characters. Moreover, the podcast structure is produced excellently in the audio, making us feel like we are actually listening to one. If you want to try this novel and enjoy audiobooks, then you should definitely go for the audio version, as long as you are comfortable listening to multiple timelines.

All in all, this is a fairly entertaining popcorn thriller. It has its shares of highs and lows, but for the most part, I did have fun. As is common with thrillers nowadays, don't overthink the proceedings and just go with the flow. It is a slowburn story, so don’t expect pacey thrills.

Recommended to thriller readers who would enjoy an entertaining podcast + amnesia trope.

My thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “Listen for the Lie”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.