TANDEM READALONG: Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera

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?

"People don't believe women who fight back. When a man lashes out, people say he's lost control of his temper or made a terrible mistake. When a woman does it, she's a psychopath."

Listen for the Lie is a deliciously dark thriller about a small-town murder with big consequences. We first meet our narrator Lucy five years after Savvy died, things have settled down to some sort of normality before nosy Podcaster Ben brings it all up again so she finds herself back in her hometown where it happened - does Ben want to help, or hang her out to dry? This story latches onto the morbid part of our psyche that is obsessed with the darkest parts of humanity, creating a feverish boiling pot out of a suffocating small town.

And I absolutely adored Lucy and the way she told her story. She kept people at arms length but not the reader. She was dry, witty and cold at times but she was so charming. Her internal monologue was darkly funny, with her thoughts often being shown through conversations with Savvy creating this strangely jarring question of if we've really gotten to know Savvy or just Lucy's version of her. Lucy narrates in a feverish, conversational way with her thoughts interrupted by emails, podcasts and texts to create a full, multi-media experience.

Aside from the deeply twisty murder mystery and a few questionable romantic decisions, there's also a daring and striking commentary about female friendship and the damning way society and media often portrays them, making out women are always jealous or hateful to each other in a nonsensical, outdated sexist logic - showing the true beautiful power of womens love for each other and the fury of real female rage.

A story of small town violence, misogyny and murder with a dark mystery.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Listen for the lie is available from 5th March with Bantam Press. I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for a review.
This title contains subjects that may be upsetting for readers including domestic abuse, violence and murder.

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