Title: Listen for the Lie
Author: Amy Tintera
Publisher: Bantam
Synopsis:
Am I a murderer? You tell me . . .
You probably already know about me. Lucy Chase, the woman who doesn’t remember murdering her best friend.
You all think I did it. That’s OK, I get it. Being found wandering the streets covered in her blood wasn’t a great look.
Believe me, I’m as frustrated as you are. I’d love to know if I’m a murderer – it’s the sort of thing you really should know about yourself, isn’t it?
And now, thanks to true-crime podcast Listen for the Lie, I finally have the chance to find out. But will I be able to live with myself if it turns out it was me?
And if it wasn’t, will digging into the secrets of the night I forgot make me the next target of whoever did?
My review:
This twisty, entertaining thriller was a delightful blend of murder and comedy. Lucy Chase’s best friend, Savvy, was murdered many years ago, but Lucy has lost all her memories of that night. Everyone around her is convinced she did it, but she’s never been convicted. Now a true-crime podcast investigating the case threatens to stir everything up again…
I loved the characters in this story, whether they were likeable or frustrating! I thought Lucy was brilliant – jarring and abrasive at times but very entertaining to read about, and I was really rooting for her to find out what really happened that night. I enjoyed the interplay between her and podcaster Ben, and her interactions with old school friends, partners, and fairly odd family as she returned to her hometown for her grandma’s birthday party (her grandma was another brilliant character!)
I liked reading the ‘extracts’ from the episodes and enjoyed the richness they added to the overall story – I’ve read a few books recently with a ‘true-crime podcast’ element to them (they seem to be a bit of a trend!) and often find them an interesting addition.
The writing in this is very readable, making it a fun, easy-to-read novel that offers plenty of escapism. The writing isn’t convoluted and the plot isn’t overly complicated, and getting inside Lucy’s head as she narrates her thoughts lets us get closer to her. Her thoughts and observations are comedic and wickedly dark at times, making this an entertaining read that I hugely enjoyed.
My rating: 5/5
Many thanks to the publisher, Bantam, for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest review.