Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
Title : Listen for the Lie Falls
5 Word Review "Grandma's Great, the Rest's Not"
Detailed Review:
My excitement for Listen for the Lie quickly waned, as the book ultimately fell short of my expectations. While I've enjoyed several books centered around podcasts, Listen for the Lie simply didn't meet the same standard.
Listen for the Lie tells the story of Lucy Case, whose best friend, Savannah, "Savvy" Harper, was killed five years ago. Lucy was considered the prime suspect; though everyone in town believed her guilt, there wasn't enough evidence to charge her. Lucy claims she suffers from amnesia regarding that night and can't remember what happened. The story opens as a popular podcast, Listen for the Lie, unearths this cold case, which quickly goes viral and costs Lucy her job and boyfriend. The podcast, hosted by Ben Owens, aims to find Savvy Harper's true killer and put them behind bars.
Lucy's grandmother, Beverly, invites her back to her hometown for Beverly's birthday. Beverly is the only one who believes Lucy is innocent. Lucy meets up with her parents, Don and Kathleen, and her first husband, Matt . Ben is also in town, trying to get more interviews for his podcast. Lucy agrees to do an interview, even though Don, Kathleen, and Matt are all against the idea. Convinced of her guilt, they fear further repercussions for Lucy. Lucy also reconnects with an old best friend, Nina. Nina never liked Savvy and is friendly towards Lucy. Nina tells Lucy that she's currently dating Emmett , someone who was very close to Lucy when they were kids.
As Ben digs deeper into the murder, he uncovers some things that weren't discovered before. Matt's current wife, Julia, recently filed for divorce, alleging spousal abuse. We realize Matt isn't the perfect husband everyone thought he was. Notably, Lucy minimizes the abuse she endured in her past relationship with Matt.
When the murder first happened, Lucy was seen covered in Savvy's blood, holding a bloody tree branch. Lucy was diagnosed with a concussion and was initially believed to be a victim as well. Later, public opinion shifted when Matt quickly kicked her out of the house, and Lucy's parents also acted as if she were guilty.
Ben finds out that Matt was cheating on Lucy with Nina at the time of the murder. Colin, Savvy's boyfriend at the time, was sleeping with Lucy's mom, Kathleen. Ben takes Lucy to the places where everything happened that day to see if it would jog her memory. It was the day of Jill's (a mutual friend's) wedding. Memories start flooding in. Lucy remembers Emmett trying to kiss her at the wedding. Contrary to his innocent demeanor, Emmett was quite aggressive when he tried to kiss her. In the present day, Lucy notices Nina's behavior and immediately recognizes it as signs of a domestic abuse victim. This made more memories flash back - on the night of the wedding (in her flashback), Emmett confessed his feelings to Lucy, but Lucy rebuffed him. Emmett got angry. Savvy, who was with Lucy at the time, tried to protect Lucy. Emmett's blows were blocked by Savvy, which ended up killing Savvy. Matt, who saw Emmett and Lucy right after the attack, believed Emmett's version of events, who lied and told him Lucy had killed Savvy. Matt told Lucy's parents, who also believed Matt. Matt and Lucy's parents decided to cover it up to "protect" Lucy.
Ben tells Lucy he believes her. They are romantically involved by this point. Emmett is charged with murder. Lucy's parents and Matt are charged with withholding evidence. The End.
I didn't really care for this story because I found it quite annoying. The book is cluttered with many unimportant characters (whom I won't detail here). Beyond that, the narrative is rife with infidelity, and the male characters are universally either violent or unintelligent—a point exemplified by Don's actions, or Ben's willingness to sleep with Lucy despite initially suspecting her of murder. Moreover, none of the female characters are particularly likable; Savvy, for instance, wanted to kill the abusive Matt, and Lucy appeared indifferent to achieving justice for her friend. The only truly likable character is Beverly, the hilariously funny grandmother. Everyone else got on my nerves and just isn't fleshed out very well as characters. I'm giving this one a 2 out of 5 stars.
*Some of the links in my posts are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase a book through them - at no additional cost to you. All reviews reflect my personal opinions and honest thoughts about the books I read.
Listen for the Lie tells the story of Lucy Case, whose best friend, Savannah, "Savvy" Harper, was killed five years ago. Lucy was considered the prime suspect; though everyone in town believed her guilt, there wasn't enough evidence to charge her. Lucy claims she suffers from amnesia regarding that night and can't remember what happened. The story opens as a popular podcast, Listen for the Lie, unearths this cold case, which quickly goes viral and costs Lucy her job and boyfriend. The podcast, hosted by Ben Owens, aims to find Savvy Harper's true killer and put them behind bars.
Lucy's grandmother, Beverly, invites her back to her hometown for Beverly's birthday. Beverly is the only one who believes Lucy is innocent. Lucy meets up with her parents, Don and Kathleen, and her first husband, Matt . Ben is also in town, trying to get more interviews for his podcast. Lucy agrees to do an interview, even though Don, Kathleen, and Matt are all against the idea. Convinced of her guilt, they fear further repercussions for Lucy. Lucy also reconnects with an old best friend, Nina. Nina never liked Savvy and is friendly towards Lucy. Nina tells Lucy that she's currently dating Emmett , someone who was very close to Lucy when they were kids.
As Ben digs deeper into the murder, he uncovers some things that weren't discovered before. Matt's current wife, Julia, recently filed for divorce, alleging spousal abuse. We realize Matt isn't the perfect husband everyone thought he was. Notably, Lucy minimizes the abuse she endured in her past relationship with Matt.
When the murder first happened, Lucy was seen covered in Savvy's blood, holding a bloody tree branch. Lucy was diagnosed with a concussion and was initially believed to be a victim as well. Later, public opinion shifted when Matt quickly kicked her out of the house, and Lucy's parents also acted as if she were guilty.
Ben finds out that Matt was cheating on Lucy with Nina at the time of the murder. Colin, Savvy's boyfriend at the time, was sleeping with Lucy's mom, Kathleen. Ben takes Lucy to the places where everything happened that day to see if it would jog her memory. It was the day of Jill's (a mutual friend's) wedding. Memories start flooding in. Lucy remembers Emmett trying to kiss her at the wedding. Contrary to his innocent demeanor, Emmett was quite aggressive when he tried to kiss her. In the present day, Lucy notices Nina's behavior and immediately recognizes it as signs of a domestic abuse victim. This made more memories flash back - on the night of the wedding (in her flashback), Emmett confessed his feelings to Lucy, but Lucy rebuffed him. Emmett got angry. Savvy, who was with Lucy at the time, tried to protect Lucy. Emmett's blows were blocked by Savvy, which ended up killing Savvy. Matt, who saw Emmett and Lucy right after the attack, believed Emmett's version of events, who lied and told him Lucy had killed Savvy. Matt told Lucy's parents, who also believed Matt. Matt and Lucy's parents decided to cover it up to "protect" Lucy.
Ben tells Lucy he believes her. They are romantically involved by this point. Emmett is charged with murder. Lucy's parents and Matt are charged with withholding evidence. The End.
I didn't really care for this story because I found it quite annoying. The book is cluttered with many unimportant characters (whom I won't detail here). Beyond that, the narrative is rife with infidelity, and the male characters are universally either violent or unintelligent—a point exemplified by Don's actions, or Ben's willingness to sleep with Lucy despite initially suspecting her of murder. Moreover, none of the female characters are particularly likable; Savvy, for instance, wanted to kill the abusive Matt, and Lucy appeared indifferent to achieving justice for her friend. The only truly likable character is Beverly, the hilariously funny grandmother. Everyone else got on my nerves and just isn't fleshed out very well as characters. I'm giving this one a 2 out of 5 stars.
Comments
Post a Comment