Listen for the Lie
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Not to sound like an uppity betch but I’m truly shocked at how much I liked this book. Thrillers are hard to pull off! Listen for the Lie is less of a traditional, action-packed ‘thriller’ and more of a whodunit, suspenseful mystery, but the pace is quick, giving off PTE (page-turning energy). Devin saw the cover and said that it looked like I was reading a book bought at the grocery store. Thanks, babe.
But don’t judge a book by its cover, people! It’s set in Plumpton, Texas, a fictional town intended to resemble a small town in Hill Country, so I love the little Austin references. Lucy, the main character, even went to the University of Texas. In the book, Lucy reluctantly returns to Plumpton to face the reopening of the cold case murder of her best friend Savvy. Everyone thinks that Lucy did it, which means this visit sucks for her. The case is receiving renewed attention because a podcaster, Ben, started an investigative podcast a la Serial, and he wants to find the culprit even if it means tearing the town apart psychologically.
There are several pros to this book. Primarily, I lovvvved Lucy as a main character. She is sarcastic and irreverent despite the serious subject. She feels very realistic— she has layers of vulnerability behind the snark and you can tell that humor is her way of coping with a terrible situation. She still earnestly wants to find the truth. Alongside the vividness of her voice, it’s clear that the author is skilled at suspense. She ties all of her loose ends and is able to paint multiple theories in parallel for the reader all the way to the end. She sprinkles in so many little easter eggs that put me in full on detective-mode, getting all giddy when I made a connection. I think that in some suspense novels, this comes across as too try-hard, but not here. The small-town dynamics help with the authenticity of the story; everyone is in everyone’s business.
That being said, my only complaint is that it’s pretty aggressively anti-male. Hear me out– don’t make me turn in my feminist card. This story touches on abuse and how the abusers protect each other. I have no qualms with drawing attention to that, obviously. My issue is that every single male in the story ended up being a POS. One is ~okay~ but he isn’t very ethical and I don’t think he’s a great guy in his own right, just a good guy in comparison to the others. It took me out of the story a little bit– surely some guys in the town aren’t garbage?
So, overall, Listen for the Lie receives 4 out of 5 flames. I would recommend it for anyone. As someone who’s not typically drawn to suspense, I give it my stamp of approval for my fellow suspense-avoiding brethren. IF YOU DON’T WANT ANY SPOILERS, DON’T KEEP READING! I have a theory about a little easter egg, and I think it’s pretty good so I obviously have to flex it here on record…
…I think that Lucy’s dad is also an abuser, which is why he and Matt are buddy-buddy. It never overtly says that, but why the detail of her mom being on crutches? Her mom is really dismissive about the injury but then we see the crutch detail come up in subtle ways throughout the book (ex: just a mention of her mom placing them to the side before she sits down, small stuff like that), almost as a constant reminder that her mom is part of the cycle of abuse as well. Detective Lyndsay!
