by Amy Tintera
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?
REVIEW
To be honest, I chose to read Listen For The Lie because I love the ‘True Crime Podcast’ trope, but other than that I really had no other expectations before I started reading. As a complete surprise, I just loved every second of it, and it’s taken a top spot in my favourite reads from 2024 so far.
Dark and wickedly funny, I think I laughed out loud at every other page but what was so brilliant about this book was that the balance between the crime elements and the humour was absolutely perfect. Rather than being a straightforward psychological thriller or shifting more into the cosy crime genre, it’s actually taken up a space in between in a way that I haven’t seen before.
The characters in this novel are the real standout and despite having a secondary role, Beverly is now my favourite character from any book I’ve read this year! She’s outrageous and loyal and hilarious - I think she might be my new role model! But seriously, the sections in the book where the three generations got together to gossip, bouncing off each other were fantastic to read.
It seemed strange sometimes to be rooting so much for a person who probably murdered her best friend, but again that’s a testament to the writing, the author made Lucy so likeable and relatable, in spite of her murderous and bizarre thoughts.
Listen For The Lie is full of rage and revenge but it also uses this dark humour to explore a range of sensitive issues including abusive relationships. It really highlights the fact that you never really know what’s going on behind closed doors.
Thanks to Anne Cater - @RandomTTours, Amy Tintera @AmyTintera and Bantam Press - @BantamBooksUK for the opportunity to read and review.
Publisher: Bantam Genre: Psychological Thriller / Crime Thriller
ISBN: 978-0857505705
Pages: 352pp