“‘So, did you do it? Did you kill her?’ I sigh. ‘I don’t know.’ ‘Seriously? That’s the truth?’ The elevator door opens again with a ding. I step out and look at him over my shoulder. ‘The truth doesn’t matter.’”
Listen for the Lie, Amy Tintera
This fast-paced thriller features a true-crime podcast, a case of amnesia, and small-town idiosyncrasies. The best way I can describe it is a Mary Kay Andrews setting with an HBO plot, and I loved every aspect of the combination. The small Texas town and its many occupants are hysterical, full of life, and poking their noses into everyone else’s business. Lucy, our main character, has long been the main suspect in her friend Savvy’s death.
When a podcaster named Ben comes to town, determined to solve the case, Lucy’s grandmother guilts her into meeting with him. What follows is a high-stress, fast-paced race to get as many answers as possible from the townspeople before they realize Ben isn’t looking for evidence to prove Lucy’s guilt.
Ready for my full summary (with spoilers)? Continue reading here!
I INHALED this book. Every moment I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. I have really liked every thriller book with a podcast element (probably because I like podcasts), but this was the best version I’ve read so far. The plot’s pacing, woven together with Lucy’s memories and Ben’s podcast episodes, clearly had me on the edge of my seat.
In addition to the pacing and the plot, the more impactful part of this story was Lucy’s grandmother, Beverly. She was hilarious, with an amazing personality and stellar sense of humor. On top of that, she notably was the only one who fully believed in Lucy’s innocence, and had some incredibly poignant lines that stuck with me. Those quotes are listed below the link to the rest of my review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. After completing it, I realized the concept that women as a whole will never be able to fully trust men was embedded into every part of the story. As the protagonist, Lucy clearly struggles to trust anyone, but her trust in men is proven to be worthless over and over again. Once she’s returned to Texas, she easily identifies the multitude of ways the women around her are bending over backwards to keep the men happy and appeased. To be a good thriller, it has to feel like it could happen to you. And Tintera does an excellent job of reminding us as the readers that it does happen to us.
“‘Yes, you do. People believe men. Especially men who look like that. If he says you didn’t do it—if he even casts enough doubt—people will actually believe him.’”
“‘My life vastly improved once both those men were gone. Men don’t protect us, not really. They only protect themselves, or each other. The only thing men ever protected me from was happiness.’”
“‘I don’t need you to tell me everything.’ She holds my gaze, her dark eyes serious. ‘I don’t need you to lay out every single secret and detail of your existence for me to judge. I know you.’”
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