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A review by justinkhchen
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.25
A whodunit in a podcast world, Listen for the Lie is almost purposely-written for audible production, because I found a lot of my enjoyment stemmed from its flashy audiobook production, featuring multiple narrators, sound effects, and a complete sonic branding for its fabricated podcast. And in the midst of it all, the mystery also delivered, with compelling characters and clever misdirection — even if the final outcome was less than suprising.
Going into it expecting a typical mystery thriller (based on its marketing and premise), I did not anticipate the amount of time the novel subverted my expectation: the story's immediate tone was a lot more chilled and kooky, with the larger-than-life characters seemed more fitting in a cozy mystery. Then a romance-novel-quality tension was escalating between certain characters (there was even some steam!). And just when I was ready to categorize this novel a 'cozy mystery romance', it became shades dark (subject matter-wise), and grim.
Listen for the Lie was pure entertainment — I even stayed up late just to get to the end! if I were to read it physically, the tonal shifts might be annoyingly jarring, but in audio the production itself helped in blending the genre-bending details into a coherent whole. No groundbreaking twist or literary masterpiece here, but rather a well-assembled mystery with a good dose of humor and romance.
**The Book Troop Book Club June 2024 Selection**
Going into it expecting a typical mystery thriller (based on its marketing and premise), I did not anticipate the amount of time the novel subverted my expectation: the story's immediate tone was a lot more chilled and kooky, with the larger-than-life characters seemed more fitting in a cozy mystery. Then a romance-novel-quality tension was escalating between certain characters (there was even some steam!). And just when I was ready to categorize this novel a 'cozy mystery romance', it became shades dark (subject matter-wise), and grim.
Listen for the Lie was pure entertainment — I even stayed up late just to get to the end! if I were to read it physically, the tonal shifts might be annoyingly jarring, but in audio the production itself helped in blending the genre-bending details into a coherent whole. No groundbreaking twist or literary masterpiece here, but rather a well-assembled mystery with a good dose of humor and romance.
**The Book Troop Book Club June 2024 Selection**