A review by ryreadsreviews
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Title: Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

• Publication Date- 03/05/24
• Publisher- Celadon Books
• Overall Rating- 4.5 out of 5 stars 

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

What a solid, unhinged, 4.5 star read, I did not expect that. This book is truly unhinged that’s probably the first thing you should know going in. But, take unhinged in the best way possible. This is like a murder happened mid season of desperate housewives. I loved it. 

The first thing I want to say is about the writing. The banter throughout, between different characters and even within our MC’s brain is just top tier. I ate that up. I will read any thriller (this author used to write YA fantasy) that this Amy Tintera publishes just for the banter. I highlighted up and down my kindle edition. Read it for that alone. The writing otherwise is okay, it’s not the best I’ve ever read but it’s not bad. In fact, it was pretty simple but I think that really aided in it’s favor because it really felt like a popcorn thriller you could just fly through. I actually skipped my morning workout to finish this books. 

The mystery is good, I really liked all the characters even if I loved to hate them. I found the ending surprising in some ways and not in others which is actually what I prefer in a thriller. I can’t stand when there are too many twists or twists that just don’t make sense. This was straight forward and made sense and I loved it. About the ending, we do get mostly a clear cut answer but it’s also left slightly open ended and some things we will never know. If you would have told me this I probably wouldn’t have read the book. BUT I felt like that really worked here and will leave me thinking. The openness wasn’t so much that I don’t feel like it was worth reading it is. Read it so we can be stuck in this slight limbo together. 

I’m really interested to see what everyone thinks of this story. The only reason it wasn’t a 5 star for me is because there were some aspects of mental health that either weren’t addressed (as a therapist I know I can be a hard ass about this) or just weren’t believable in my opinion. Now, the ending does make the math, math but I just had a few mild complaints that kept it from being a 5 star. 

I am so excited to see what this author will publish next, read this for the banter and a fast paced, unhinged women, interesting thriller with podcast elements that actually add to the story.