BOOK REVIEW: Listen for the Lie

Amy Tintera’s 2024 novel, Listen for the Lie, was recommended to me more than once by a friend and I devoured it in a single sitting. A witty exploration of the themes of the ethics of true crime podcasts, misogyny, the myth of the ‘nice’ guy, domestic violence and sisterhood all wrapped up in a neat little murder mystery bow. I am absolutely blown away by how much I enjoyed this book, and how well Tintera approached such complex themes in a lighthearted yet honest way.

The novel is told from the perspective of Lucy, who introduces us to the premise of the story by revealing to the reader that she is on her way to buy an apology chicken because of a true-crime podcaster deciding to investigate the murder of her best-friend Savvy. From here we embark on a traditional whodunit style tale which utilises plot twists throughout to really highlight some of its key themes. Five years before the events of the book take place Savvy is murdered, and Lucy is presumed to be the murderer by almost everyone despite never being charged and having no memory of the events of that night thanks to a brain injury. Lucy returns to her home town for her grandmothers birthday and gets caught up with Ben, the true crime podcaster, who is determined to uncover the truth of what actually happened to Savvy. Lucy embarks on her own mission to try and find out what happened the night of Savvy’s murder, uncovering twists and turns along the way that highlight the frustrating inequities between men and women and the importance of sisterhood and having at least one person in your corner no matter what.

***there will be spoilers beyond this point***

Tintera explores a range of themes throughout her novel, beginning with the most obvious one about the ethics of true crime podcasts, however this really leads into more indepth explorations of the myths of both the perfect victim and the perpetual nice guy. Savvy is presented as the perfect victim by many throughout the course of the podcast, and yet Lucy’s mother states that “…the girl they’re talking about on that podcast bears little resemblance to the actual woman…” with Lucy stating more than once that she doesn’t recognise the victim presented since her death, and that that wasn’t the ‘real’ Savvy. In this same conversation, Lucy’s mother also reflects on the airing of Nina’s affair, and how she didn’t deserve ‘this,’ making it obvious that Nina fits the perfect victim archetype and that anybody who doesn’t DOES deserve to be wrapped up in the mess. In conjunction with the presentation of the perfect victim, we also see the impact that the idea of the ‘nice guy’ has on the way society understands the stories of women when it comes to abuse. Lucy never felt she could discuss the abuse she suffered at the hands of Matt because he was universally liked and she had retaliated at times, and Savvy was the one who tried to protect Lucy from the manipulation of Emmett and his ‘nice guy’ act. We also are presented with the brutal reality as Ben lies to the police about Emmett giving a confession, because both he and Lucy know that she would never be believed over Emmett, town nice guy who was in love with her since primary school – and killed Savvy when he was attempting to murder Lucy for rejecting him. It’s unfortunately an all to common reality. Nice guy turns nasty in the face of rejection, abused woman is doubted because “what did she do to provoke him?” We’re getting better at our perception of these events in the real world, but seeing it written in black and white, even fictionally, can still be confronting.

This book is a perfect book club pick, and isn’t overly graphic however there are some mild sex scenes so it may be worth a review before engaging a younger teen with the novel – but I don’t think this should turn you off of the novel. Teenagers and Young Adults straddle a very vast line in terms of maturity, and I believe that Listen for the Lie could be a perfect conversation starter to discuss some really important things in life. The version that I read on kindle even came with some reading group questions that I’ll list below. I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on the book or these questions if you feel like dropping a comment!

• lots of readers say that their favourite character was Grandma Beverly – why do you think she’s so popular? Who was your favourite character, and why?
• Do you think Savvy was justified in her desire to kill Matt?
• Should Lucy have backed up Matt’s second wife and revealed her own abuse?
• Should Lucy have revealed Savvy’s secret to the police after her death?
• Why did Lucy’s parents believe Matt over their own daughter? Why did Matt so easily believe Emmett’s story?
• Was there any point at which you started to sustepct who murdered Savvy? What made you suspicious?
• Are people ever going to change their mind about Lucy? What kind of evidence would they need to do so?
• Was it okay for Ben to air so many secrets and conjecture in the pursuit of the truth?
• True crime podcasts can bring much-needed attention to unsolved cases, but they also risk dredging up painful memories for victim’s families and can turn unwanted, intense attention to the people involved. Does Ben try to be mindful of this with his own podcast?
• Why do you think people are so fascinated by true crime nowadays?
• Does the media scrutinise men and women differently with these types of cases?