Lit Vibes Only

Ep. 63: Lit It or Quit It: Listen For the Lie

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Join Kelsey and Amanda as they dissect 'Listen for the Lie,' a thriller packed with saucy small-town secrets, unrelenting sarcasm, and a podcaster turned detective. Expect laughs, eye-rolls, and the occasional outburst as they debate the murky morality of the book's characters.


00:00 Welcome to Lit Vibes Only!

00:29 Engage with Us on Social Media

02:48 Our Current Reads

12:17 Book Summary of ‘Listen for the Lie’

18:56 Book Discussion

40:08 LITerally the Best or LITerally the Worst

53:29 Engaging with the Podcast

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Kelsey:

Welcome to Lit Vibes Only, where we lit the shit outta books we love and hate. I'm Kelsey, the unhinged, diehard, romantic and fantasy reader.

Amanda:

And I'm Amanda, the insightful, thrill seeker and historical fiction nerd. Yay. Welcome once again. We are back for round two for littered or Quitted episodes. Yay. For the month of November. So we're so glad that you're here. Welcome. If you have not already checked out our amazing socials, you should absolutely do that. We are on Instagram at Lit Vibes Only podcast, and we are on TikTok and YouTube at Lit Vibes only podcast. So please go do all the things like, comment, subscribe, follow, and if you're someone who is not. Huge into socials. You may also email us at Lit fives only podcast@gmail.com. Be sure to reach out with recommendations for us suggestions. Just say, Hey, we love it. We love connecting with you guys. And most importantly, if you're out there and you still have not rated and reviewed our podcast, we kindly request that you take a moment today to do that. What hell are you doing? What have you been doing? We've been around for a minute now. Take a moment, hit that five star rating on Apple Podcast or Spotify, and if you've got a little bit more time today, you can also drop us a line or two. Letting us know what you like about the podcast, so you can leave a review on Apple Podcast. You can leave a comment on this episode if you're on Spotify, is just a great way for us to hear from y'all, figure out what we're doing well, what we can work on as we continue to grow as podcasters. I can, we love to. We really, truly, I think I speak for both of us when I say we love hearing from you guys. Yeah. It truly makes our day. Yeah. And reminds us that we're not just like. Talking to ourselves, like someone out there cares personally. It's actually, that made me think, so I had an event at school yesterday, Kelsey. And Yeah. I had a colleague who I don't normally see. Okay. Because she works a different building. Hi Sydnee. She listens to the podcast regularly and I was saying to her, I was like, oh my gosh I feel like I haven't seen you in ages. We need to find time to just catch up. And she's like, I feel like I see you all the time.'cause I'm like listening to all of your episodes. She's been catching up. Oh, that's so sweet. So it was just like the sweetest thing ever and she's really enjoying it and that just made my day. So thanks so much, Sydnee. We're so glad you're enjoying it. And yay. Hopefully you enjoy this episode too.

Kelsey:

Oh, where Amanda forced me to read another mystery.

Amanda:

Yes. I am so excited and curious to hear what Kelsey has to think. But before we get to all

Kelsey:

that,

Amanda:

yes. What are we currently reading?

Kelsey:

Before I get into what I'm currently reading, I wanted to share that I went to the new yes. Lovestruck Bookstore. And I actually bought this shirt, it's like band Book Lover. And it actually has a list of band books on the back. So I love it. I love that.

Amanda:

I might have to,

Kelsey:

it's, and it's so cozy. Oh my God. It's so soft. It feels so good. And is it gray or is it like a green or, this one's a green. Okay. Okay. I can tell. Yeah. Okay. Green. I love it. So that was really cool. And they have more space there than their previous site. And this is,

Amanda:

and Seattle's only our first,

Kelsey:

romance book. Brick and mortar. Brick and mortar. Romance. Romance. Bookstore. Bookstore. Yeah. I love that. We have to be careful about that because apparently there was another Uhhuh Romance bookstore that was like in a popup.

Amanda:

Yeah.

Kelsey:

Cart situations, I don't know. Yeah. Situation. But they're also getting their own brick and mortar down in like Pioneer Square, so we're excited about that too. Yeah. But yeah, so because they had more room in this, their location, there was just less of a line. So there was more people able to like, get in. They had more books. But leading into, I did bring a book, the book I'm reading with me and Okay. Is it a book

Amanda:

that you bought from this store? No.

Kelsey:

Oh, okay. I brought a book that I was reading. Okay. To the bookstore because like right down, oh, I down the street, there's one of our favorite cafes. And so anyway, we stopped in there, did some reading, then went to the bookstore and. It's one of the books that's on your TBR, Amanda? Actually on my TBR. Yeah. Oh my. Absolutely

Amanda:

not made by all one. I just threw up a little bit in my mouth. Gross. Okay. I, the amount of loathing I have for Bride, which is the first book in the series, if you all haven't, if you haven't listened to the Bride episode, you are doing yourselves a disservice because it is hilarious and unhinged. And I hate that book so much.

Kelsey:

But this, I just, I don't know what it is I love about this universe. It's so cringe and hilarious to me. Stupid. So stupid. I love it. So anyway I had this book and they were like, where did you get that book? And I was like, oh, I don't remember. Like Elliot Bay or something. I honestly didn't remember. I think it might've been third place though, in the end. Okay. And they're like, oh, okay.'cause we sold out like. Ago they were so confused as to why I found this book, like it was hidden in their store somewhere, but they were like, we sold out hours ago. Oh God, that

Amanda:

makes

Kelsey:

me so sad that it was sold out. Made me so popular. Holy

Amanda:

gross. But okay, so you've obviously started reading it. Yeah, and I did read like the book jacket description. Okay. Because you were interested, you couldn't help yourself. No, I no, I was like watching a train wreck anyhow. I saw that it's not, it doesn't seem to be following the same characters, like it's their kids or something, right? Or their No, it's not. Oh, it's the young

Kelsey:

girl. It's no sister. No, but it's really Serena who was misery's like best friend Oh. Who ends up being half werewolf and half human. And she doesn't know that until she's kidnapped by the vampires. It's about her and her mate.

Amanda:

Oh, okay. Okay. Who's a werewolf? So in terms of timing, like how much time passes between Bride and Nate? It's right. Is it pretty? It's like right after. It's right after. Okay. It might

Kelsey:

be like a couple months, but it's like right after. Yeah. Oh, okay. For some reason I thought there was like a bit of a time jump. Anna the younger Yeah. Human werewolf Half breed Yeah. Is in it, but yeah. And it's still about the idea of like kidnapping and stuff and like they're in danger type of thing, but, she's still young and little. Okay. Yeah.

Amanda:

Happy reading to you. You're welcome. I wish you all the best. I won't be making you read this one. I will not be touching that book. Oh my gosh. Ugh. No. I am, yes. I'm ecstatic for you because I know that. That series is bringing you a lot of joy. Yes, it is. I am not reading that. I am currently, and I'm actually gonna look up the name really quickly for the author, but I'm reading a book called The Restoration Garden. It's by, I think it's Sarah Blades or Blades. This is a book that I saw recommended by a Books to Grammar named book Huddle, who is quite popular. Oh yeah, I love her. Yeah, we're both really familiar with her and she was like recommending these books that were on. Oh gosh. It's like Amazon Prime Book deal, something. And it's a newer book. It's actually not released yet. It's not coming out until November 1st, but because I'm a prime member or something, I have access to it. And Kelsey, I think you would actually like it because it is historical fiction. But yeah. But it's a past and present historical fiction, so it's switching back and forth between past and present. Yeah. And. It's very much a romance. There's a romance happening in the present and a romance happening in the past, so it's very romance heavy and like within the first, like that's the only thing I will read within the first 15 pages. I'm like, oh, this is primarily a romance, but there's this is historical mystery associated with it and essentially this landscape architect american landscape architect has been hired to restore this historical garden at this British manner. And there's like this kind of World War II mystery around it. So it's very much kind of a light, fluffy read. I think there will be some, a little bit of grit in there. Really nice because the last book I read was Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier, which is like this gritty thriller. Which is a bit dark. And I'm like, I just need something quick and light, a good palate cleanser before I dive into the next book be reading, which is what Ugh. Which is Quick Silver by Kelly Hart. Kelsey's having me read it, so I for sure think

Kelsey:

you'll hate various aspects of it, but there's a lot of

Amanda:

smut in it, right?

Kelsey:

Isn't it pretty smut heavy or No? I thought, I actually don't remember. I feel like I'm desensitized to it at this point. Okay. I feel like I heard like this

Amanda:

book was pretty

Kelsey:

adult coated. There's a lot of heavy authorities and banter between the two. Okay. But it doesn't it doesn't start off that way for sure. Okay. And isn't

Amanda:

there like another, like one of those weird age gaps, isn't he like a f. Is he Fay Fairy? I don't know. I think you're right. I think you're right. I think you're, I think it's, I'm just like, I don't care. Okay. I already know. I'm probably gonna hate it, so it's fine. And it's also just, okay listeners, I've said this before, but I just wanna let people know the depth of my suffering compared to Kelsey's, because once again, this is like a 700 page book. Oh, is it that long? I never, maybe not. Maybe it's 600 or something. Okay. But all I will say is I have never. Ever had Kelsey read a book this long for the podcast? So my suffering is always prolonged because her books are often longer than mine. I'm just putting that out there. You're a reader. So you know what? And the suffering is

Kelsey:

still as intense. Okay. But

Amanda:

there's so many, it's

Kelsey:

compacted because of how fast you read, so no. Yes. It's awful.

Amanda:

Okay. Anyhow, so that's what we're currently reading and yes, also a little sneak peek as to what's coming up on the podcast. Ooh. But for today I'm excited because I got to choose the book this week and it's, yeah, listen For The Lie by Amy Tinter. I read it quite a while ago at this point, gosh, probably I don't even know, four months ago, five months ago. But it stuck with me and I also know it to really. Popular thriller, Uhhuh, like it's, popular on book talk. It's a book that people know. So I figured that'd be a good choice. I liked the fact that one of the characters is a podcaster. Hello Ben. And something that I think makes this thriller unique that I thought might appeal to Kelsey is that. It does have this element of humor to it. Okay. And she has these kind of tongue in cheek sarcastic moments, and you don't often see that in thrillers. Thrillers tend to be, I don't know, more dark and serious and heavy. And so having that lighter aspect to it, I found refreshing. And even the banter between the two main protagonists are Ben and Lucy is, I don't know, I think it just added an element that you don't often engage in the genre and I really enjoyed it. I thought, the twist was good. I don't know if Kelsey saw it coming, but I was definitely bouncing back and forth myself, so I was like hoping it would keep her engaged in that way. So those are primarily my reasons for having her read. It's also not a super long book. It's a fairly quick book to get through. So yeah. So yeah, I was able to start it like three days ago and finish it. Yeah. How many hours is it for the audio book, do you know? I feel like it's probably 10 or 11 or something.

Kelsey:

It was around there. Hold on. Okay. Oh, it says nine hours. Nine hours.

Amanda:

Okay.

Kelsey:

Oh,

Amanda:

super short. Gosh. Yeah. It was, it's a super short audiobook. So that was another reason why I chose it. I figured even if Kelsey didn't like it, she could get through it pretty quickly. Yeah. So Kelsey, my short question for you, short answer I should say is, was this book a lit it or quit it for you?

Kelsey:

It was a soft litter for me.

Amanda:

Yes. Yes. Okay. Sorry. I like yelled that. Sorry guys. Great. Yeah. I figured he wouldn't be like, ecstatic about it'cause it's not that crazy good of a book, but yeah. I'm glad it wasn't. People love it. Yeah. People really love it. Yeah. And I honestly, I'm not entirely sure why I can't tell if it's because it's got that additional element of funny banter going on. Yeah. I don't know. But yeah, people really love this book. No. But

Kelsey:

yeah, I enjoyed it. Okay. I'm not a die hard, and I have some critiques, but overall, like it was an interesting story and it kept my attention. Excellent. That's all we ask for.

Amanda:

Alright, then take it away with the summary. Tell us what it's all about.

Kelsey:

Okay. Here

Amanda:

we go.

Kelsey 2.0:

I have it chunked out in like the setup and then returned to Plumpton, and then the podcast and the investigation, the revelations and the resolution. Okay, so we're, so we start with the setup. Lucy. Lucy Chase returns to her small Texas hometown of Plumpton. Five years after her best friend, Savannah Harper was brutally murdered. The morning after Savannah's murder, Lucy was found wandering. The town essentially covered in Savannah's blood and had no memory of what happened that night. Though she was never charged most of the town, including her own family or members of her own family, believes she killed Savannah, also known as Savvy throughout the book. Lucy has since moved to Los Angeles building a quiet, isolated life. She's been reluctant to revisit the past until Ben Owens a true crime po podcaster. Announces he's covering Savannah's case on his hit show. Listen for the lie. His arrival Reignites interest and hostility in town. Lucy reluctantly agrees to return home for her grandmother, Beverly's 80th birthday. Beverly, who fiercely believes Lucy is innocent, convinces her to meet with Ben Owens and help tell her side of the story. Lucy begins participating in interviews, hoping to piece together what really happened that night. As Lucy reconnects with people from her past, her ex-husband, Matt S's parents and Townsfolk who turned on her. She encounters a mix of suspicion and buried resentment. Everyone seems to have secrets and Lucy starts questioning what she might have repressed. Ben's podcast episodes are interspersed throughout the narrative offering, contrasting perspectives from townspeople, highlighting the gossip, bias, and inconsistencies of stories. And through these interviews Lucy's growing memories, new clues emerge. Savannah and Matt were having an affair before her death. Savannah's husband Daniel had a volatile temper. Ben and Lucy began collaborating more closely, trying to reconstruct the missing hours of that night. As Lucy's fragmented to memories start to resurface, she begins to suspect that someone close to her has been deliberately manipulating the story and thinking about these details that were uncovered. Some of them turn out to be untrue as you go through the story. Through a mix of podcast interviews, flashbacks and loosies, recovered memories. The truth about what happened the night Savvy died. Gradually comes to light. The actual events reveal who killed, savvy and why. Exposing long berry jealousy, betrayal, and hypocrisy in the seemingly idyllic small town, if you're looking from the outside. Okay. The final chapters deliver the full reconstruction of the murder, showing how Lucy was caught in the aftermath and why she couldn't remember the truth. Essentially, Lucy was hit in the head. She had a concussion essentially, and like a big head wound when she was found, but that caused this amnesia in Lucy. And she was unable to recount the whole night. She only remembered arriving to the wedding.

Kelsey:

Near the end of the book, Lucy is able to remember that night and it comes in like bits and pieces. And it turns out that she was in an abusive relationship with her husband Matt. And he and her would physically hurt one another and she was more in retaliation, like trying to protect herself according to Lucy and the story. And then they also both cheat on each other frequently. And so that night at the wedding, Lucy is found with this man Emmett, who used to be her best friend in high school, and he's. Continued this crush on her throughout his since high school and to now as an adult. And he owns this art store. Because when he was younger he was like very artistic and that was his passion. And it turns out that he actually is just a creep. And he and Lucy were making out that night and he was trying to have sex with her and Savvy Interrupts and s's let's go. And they leave, he follows them. And then it turns into a violent encounter where he hits Lucy over the head and then kills savvy. And then her husband saw the very end of this encounter and believed. Emmett, the ex best friend that Lucy killed. Savvy and Lucy has no memory anymore, and she's ends up walking around town after this. And so Emmett and Matt returned to the wedding and he has an alibi for the wedding. And or the murder. And so he was never thought to be the suspect. And so in the end at the revolution, a resolution after the truth is revealed, Lucy is finally freed from the cloud of suspicion that has defined her life the last five years. The final podcast airs shocking the town and redefining Lucy's public image. Sheri claims ownership of her story and begins to move forward both emotionally and physically, no longer trapped by the past of others' perceptions of her. Essentially that is what happened. There's a lot of in between that between the characters that we can get into Sure. In our conversation. Yeah. But basically that was the most important is that, is the reveal of

Amanda:

the murder the killer. It does get a little muddled in the middle, which is often common I think, with thrillers because there's so much going on and different intentions and different entanglements that are like all tied up with one another. But the only other thing I would add is that there is like this growing. Attraction and romance between Ben and Lucy over the course of the story.

And

Amanda:

then by the end of it, they do make to these tentative plans to meet up again once they're both back in Los Angeles. So like the idea is that yeah there's something that's gonna continue to unfold between the two of them. Bless. So a little bit of a happy ending, but Yeah. Gets a little, it gets a little messy in the middle there. Yes. So let's get into it. And as always, start with some of the, hopefully many positives from this book, Kelsey. It's

Kelsey 2.0:

funny. So I enjoyed. I enjoyed Lucy's character. I ne and I also never suspected that she was the murderer. But I wondered if it would go that way just to be like a shocker. And I'm glad that it didn't. Because it made no sense for her to be the murderer of her best friend. And there was like one point in the book where it's like, oh my God, they were fighting. And then you're like, oh, okay. That was like debunked like five minutes later. Yeah. It's a red herring. Yeah. But I really I enjoyed that the fact that she was not the murderer. And I also I felt like it was fairly realistic the ending and who actually murdered. Okay. Savvy. I felt like it like touched on my own experiences with men. Oh my God. Okay. Just like thinking about people with unrequited, like crushes and love or whatever. And feeling like they have this sense of not belonging. It's like this sense of like ownership or Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Ownership of that person because they felt this way for so long. You're just like, oh my God, that's such a guy. Move. Yeah. I don't owe you anything just because you have these feelings. Exactly. So that felt very realistic to me. Yeah. And yeah, it's always like the boyfriend or like the the love interests that doing these things. And I did enjoy the showcasing of misogyny throughout the book. Where Lucy finds out that Matt, her husband at the time, told her parents that she killed. Savvy. And they just believe it. Point blank. Yeah. And then try to like, protect her throughout this whole time. And they just make things worse. And then they ultimately are charged with what being like an accessory or something. Or not accessory. Not accessory, but they're like messing with evidence. Yeah. I can't remember what that's called. Yeah.

Amanda:

Obstructing, obstructing the course of justice or something. Tampering with evidence. I dunno. One of those things. I should know this.

Kelsey:

I feel like that was like earned. Like they fucked with that and then didn't believe their daughter. And I'm just curious it didn't really get into like why they would do that, but it was just like this underlying idea of oh, we believe men versus women. And that was like the through line of the book.

Amanda:

Yeah. Yeah. I think though, the thing about all of the characters in this book, except for maybe Ben because even Lucy they're all pretty messy characters. Oh yeah. Like they, I would argue Ben is too. Yeah. I guess so.'cause he does. Yeah. If you're looking at this book and you're trying to look for like the shiny good guy or good girl, there isn't one. Yeah. All of them have done things that are regrettable. Like all of them have made mistakes. All of them have made questionable choices. And so there's nobody who comes out of this like smelling like roses, including Lucy. Yeah. And I think that's one thing that like. In general, thrillers do a lot better than some other genres where other genres, it's like part of that genre to have the knight in shining armor, right? Yeah. Or like the perfect heroine who's just like completely flawless. And I get bored with that so easily. You, y'all know this, if you've been listening to this podcast, I say this all the time, and that really drew me in. Yeah.'cause even with Matt and Lucy's relationship, right? Because like it's an abusive relationship and yes, in no way am I excusing Matt's behavior or letting him off the hook. But you do see that sometimes in those relationships there can be violence going both ways. And for the most part, like Lucy was defending herself against matt's aggression, but they both found ways to hurt each other. And whether it was through physical violence, whether it was through cheating on each other, whatever it was. And like neither of them are completely free of. Blame in that situation. And then even when people had good intentions, they were still doing things that had negative impacts. Because I think, I do think Lucy's parents, for the most part are acting or thinking that they're acting thinking Yes. And Lucy's best interests by protecting her from herself, right? Like they, because of course they just believe hook, line, and sinker that she did the deed. And so in their minds they're like, okay, we're gonna do whatever we can to make sure she doesn't end up in prison. That's the most important thing. Instead of starting from the beginning and being like, wait, is this guy even telling the truth? Should we be accepting, Matt and Emmett's version of the story? So I liked that a lot about the book, that there are no like perfect people and they're all

Kelsey:

A little gray. Yeah. I enjoyed that as well. Yeah. I agree with you in that aspect where thrillers are mysteries. They never put people on pedestals. Yeah. The characters might put one another on pedestals Sure. But you don't really see it through their perspective you're seeing from the outside. Yeah. And I enjoy that and yeah. I liked that nobody was just like innocent in all of this. Yeah.

Amanda:

And one huge part of that, that we didn't talk about in the summary is that Savannah, who is Lucy's, bestie, she was assaulted by a man when she was back in college mm-hmm. and ended up killing him and getting away with it. So she's she's, she is a murderer, right? Yes. Maybe for the right reasons, quote unquote but she's a murderer, right? Yeah. And so the other thing that you find out, imagine out. Prior to Savannah getting killed, prior to Lucy getting injured, this whole kind of series of events they were plotting to murder. Lucy's husband, Matt. Yes. Lucy and Savannah were actively plotting Matt's murder. Yeah. So again, these are not like these angelic characters. They were like walking the straight and narrow. They are, they're making choices that, that are human. I think like maybe in that situation you'd be like, yeah, I can't exist in this space anymore. And maybe this is the best option at the moment. But yeah, they're messy. They're all a little messy

Kelsey:

and twisted and un

Amanda:

hinged, and it made me love this book so much more.

Kelsey:

Yeah. And I, it was funny because like small towns mm-hmm. they truly harbor all these secrets and Yes. Undertones of like people's actions. Yeah. And I really enjoyed the uncovering of all those things and the people. And then the fact that Savvy's reputation was still intact because it's like everybody understands we don't mess with the honor of the dead. Yeah. It was so interesting. Yep. But it was what Lucy and Savvy's sister that held that secret

Amanda:

mm-hmm.

Kelsey:

For life. It's it's so wild. Yeah.

Amanda:

Yeah. Absolutely. Because like savvy, after she dies, as Kelsey pointed out, she becomes this, like martyr, this golden girl. Yeah. When in reality she was a flawed human just like everybody else. Yeah. But there is this inclination as humans when someone has passed, or even just like when someone is no longer in her life to Yeah. Look at them in that situation through rose cluttered glasses. Which absolutely happened with, sadly. Yeah. And that often happens though, in order to make the perpetrator more of a villain, right? By making Savannah more of a golden girl, it made Lucy's perceived actions. Her supposed killing of her best friend. That much more awful. Yeah. And it allowed the townspeople to draw these really stark lines between black and white and be like, mm-hmm Seth, it was great. Lucy's horrible. And so it just feeds into that mom mentality. It oversimplifies things so people don't have to think so hard about the complexities and nuances of. Life and living in humans. You see that happen a lot in real life. Yeah.

Kelsey:

I had a question for you. Yeah. I'm not sure if you remember, but Okay. At the beginning of the book, Lucy is with this guy Nathan. And I did not understand the point of his character or why he was there. Oh. Did you have any thoughts on that? Because

Amanda:

I, so this book, because I remember I made a TikTok post about it. The book opens with her making a chicken or wanting to make a chicken. Do you remember this? No, I don actually. Okay. There's a really funny, I don't remember the quote exactly, but she's like thinking about making this like meal for her person, boyfriend, whatever. Yeah. I think he was just like the foil for Ben. So basically. We see her being in this relationship that's not great, like not healthy. And so that way when Ben shows up I don't know, maybe it makes him look more appealing and I don't know. It seemed like he was there just to be his spoil, to be like in comparison between the two. Like he doesn't really serve that much of a role. Like it actually reminded me. When I was reading great Big, beautiful Life, Uhhuh, it reminded me of what is the protagonist, the funeral protagonist name. I already forgot. I actually dunno, I don't remember. But it reminded me of the guy that she was seeing and they were just sleeping together. And he like, yeah, wasn't that great of a guy and was using her, they were kind of using each other and it reminded me of that situation where like, got it, the protagonist starts off seeing this kind of douchey guy and then a much better man appears comes along. And so it's, yeah, exactly. So it's like, all right, we're, but in

Kelsey:

My opinion, Ben isn't like a great guy, he's just there. He's know, I think he is better. I think he's definitely better. She has feelings for him, but'cause she didn't really have feelings for Nathan. She didn't like, she's just yeah, he's there. I'm like, wonder when he's gonna break up with me? I just feel like they

Amanda:

had, like Ben and Lucy had better. Rapport and like a better connection. Sure, yeah. That felt more like genuine, authentic.

Kelsey:

Yeah.

Amanda:

So I

Kelsey:

don't know. And they were all, they were both like fucked up in their own way. Yes. But I'm curious, you know, what would be so great is if Amy Tintera wrote a book about Ben's background to like, make him the way he is the interest in like the podcasting. Yeah. And then also do you remember that sex scene where she chokes him and he's like really into it? She, do you remember? Oh, like at,

Amanda:

was this at the hotel? God, it's been a minute. Like at this hotel?

Kelsey:

Yeah.

Amanda:

And

Kelsey:

she had just, he was like, what? What happens when you're like. Gone. Yeah. And she's like, I'm thinking about killing you. And he's like, oh, oh. And he likes that. He, it's so there, yeah. In order to enjoy things like that you have to have some sort of trauma Yeah. Around violence. Yeah. And that would be interesting. Yeah. I mean she could do a, she could even a novel or something. Yeah,

Amanda:

she could definitely do. It's so funny'cause you've made these comments before Uhhuh with books I've had you read, you're like, oh, I wish there was like a follow up book. And I'm like, oh, you are such a series reader. You always wanna know what happened after what happened to this character. Whereas I'm like, I really am. It's one and done. Because you said that about Verity and you're like, how cool would it be to have a book from the kid's perspective? Oh my

Kelsey:

God. Right though. And

Amanda:

yeah. Like how, so it's interesting how your brain works'cause my mind doesn't really go there at all.

Kelsey:

Oh yeah. The other thing I liked about this book too, I will say. Is that to me, the way that I read the ending, it did have a conclusion. It wasn't like open-ended around like oh my God, did it actually happen? Mm-hmm. Or what actually happened? I hate it when books do that. Yeah. What was the book that hap there? I guess Verity does that a bit. Yeah. Yeah. It's kinda ambiguous. I feel like there was another one that we've read that I had you read. Yeah. Oh, okay. I feel like none of this is true. Had that oh yeah. It did. It did.

Amanda:

Yeah.

Kelsey:

But I would like to speak to a few things I did not like. Great. Go for it. Which gives it a soft litted. Okay. The podcasting element I liked it in a sense, but it also was traumatizing because it reminded me of none of this is true and I hate that

Amanda:

book. Okay. Wait, I have to interject really quickly. So I, and I didn't say this at the beginning of the episode, one of the reasons that I also chose this was because it was another thriller with a podcaster character. And I wanted to redeem myself from none of this is true because I know you didn't like it. So I'm kind of sad that you didn't like that aspect.

Kelsey:

Like I did. It was good. Okay. And I listened to the audio book and so that was like, okay. It was, it. It added to it for sure. Yeah, for sure. But yeah, it just reminded me a little bit of if this is true, and I was like, Ugh, A little triggering

Amanda:

trap.

Kelsey:

That's fair. Okay. I also I didn't necessarily like that. It felt like the only way to what is the word I'm looking for? It's like when people have, flaws, uhhuh

and

Kelsey:

the author showcased all of those flaws. But it felt like the only way that was done was through cheating and drinking. And those were like the only, oh, I see. Flaws that people had. I see. I felt like it was a little lazy and there could have been better yeah. Details other than everybody was cheating. Yeah. That's fair. Yeah. That was just one criticism. Okay. Okay. Because yeah, in the end it just seems like everybody's sleeping with everybody. Because wait, wasn't her dad, Lucy's dad also cheated on her mom? Yes. And her and the mom. Mom. Yeah. You're right. I forgot. I forgot everybody. Cheating was cheating. Matt was cheating. Yeah. Lucy was cheating. Emmett Savvy was cheating. Yeah. Yep. Whoever Savvy was with was cheating. Yeah. Anita, or wait, what's her, Nina? Nina was cheating. Yeah. Uhhuh Emmett was cheating. Like it was just everybody and everywhere. Yeah. They're all just swingers and the mom, the grandma had a open revolving door. Like it That was wild. Like every Beverly, just speaking with everybody. Love Beverly. I know. That was my favorite character, honestly. She was like The core of Yeah. The humor

Amanda (2):

to me. Yeah. She's fantastic. Beverly is the grandma for folks who couldn't keep all these characters straight. Lucy's grandma who invited her to come back. Okay. That actually is a really good point and I do remember at one point when I was reading it. Getting a little tired of the fact that mm-hmm. everyone's one flaw was cheating. Yes. And I'm also just like, Amy, dear Amy dearest, did you, have you been cheated on Are you just like, I am so full of rage at this man or men who have cheated on me. And so I'm just making every person in this book a cheater. Are we just this cathartic for you to write about?

Kelsey 2.0:

Yeah. So that was like one thing. Yeah. That's fair. It wasn't like a huge detail. Sure. But I feel like it could have Yeah. Furthered the plot a bit more if that was Yeah. Those details were a bit more diverse. That's good. And then at the end, I felt like that last chapter with the grandma was this attempt at leaving the book, like open-ended, but it fell pretty flat. Because I think that was trying to leave the book like open-ended a bit and I don't think there was anything there like to leave. I don actually don't remember much of that chapter. What happened And it made you feel like it was, so it was just a conversation between Lucy and her grandma. Okay. And the grandma says Ben did what he needed to do and then grandma acknowledges like that she's still keeping secrets that Lucy's still keeping secrets and so those two things happen. Oh yes. Yeah. Yeah. And I just, I feel like I. The way I interpreted it was it, it doesn't feel like there's anything like left up to what's it called? Left to uncover yeah, okay. It just, it felt closed, but then the grandma says those like two things and you're like, yeah, is it supposed to spiral you? But I'm like, yeah, no, there's nothing more there. It doesn't, yeah. There, there were no stones unturned, and it's what it felt like.

Amanda:

Yeah. I think there's two sides to that. Like one is yeah, maybe ab tinter is like trying to do the thriller thing and leave it ambiguous at the end. Yeah. Because that's what you do. Yeah.

And

Amanda:

the other side of that is no one ever truly knows another person. I think we can get Sure. Pretty close to it. And so I think it's also maybe just speaking to that, we learned a lot about Lucy over the course of this novel. We did uncover a lot of things and turned over a lot of stones. Yeah. But there's probably still a lot more there between her relationship with Matt, even with Savannah, that we didn't get the nitty gritty'cause like how much do you truly know another person, especially in a situation like this that's so messy. Yeah. So I see your point, and I think as a reader engaging in this story, like we got all we needed to in order to feel closure and resolution. Yeah. So it did feel maybe a little gratuitous to be like, but also yes, because I It could be more wink, wink.

Kelsey:

It just, if that's what she was trying to do, it fell flat. Yeah. I don't know that she was, but if she was trying to Yeah. It would, it didn't make sense. Yeah. But also I think, some of the secrets that Lucy is still keeping is about savvy rather than what happened. Sure. And I don't know that it was like uncovered that Emmett was violent because of Lucy, because of the way he felt about Lucy. I don't know if that was uncovered by everybody or if

Amanda:

yeah.

Kelsey:

What

Amanda:

I mean, Emmett's such an interesting character because he. For the majority of the book. He's very much painted as like this great guy who's super caring, super attenti. He's got an artistic soul. And Nina is it wife or girlfriend? Are they married? I can't remember. No. Girlfriend. She girlfriend. They have a Don't they have a kid or Nina has a kid. She has two kids. Yeah. So he does seem like this good guy who's just like there for Lucy. And which honestly when I first read I was like, oh he's gotta be the bad guy because he's too good. He's like too nice. Which I guess ultimately I was right. But yeah his volatile, his volatility. Volatility. I think that's right. I don't know. Yeah. That sounds right. Is, it's interesting because it comes out in random times and I'm not entirely sure what motivates it. Is he just a naturally volatile, violent person with a crazy temper, even though he seems pretty mild mannered most of the time. Is he a, I don't know. You know what I mean? My

Kelsey:

interpretation is that his emotions are repressed and that's what happens with like men who repress their emotions and feel like they've, they haven't been given like, their lot in life, essentially. Sure. They feel dated, and feel like they have this ownership of what it is they want. And I, that felt really realistic to me. Sure. Yeah. One, because I've experienced that with people where it's like, oh yeah, you seem like the nice guy, but yeah, if I make you mad or upset, you burst out like this. Yeah. And I'm like, that's, that actually is quite realistic and Sure to, to my own personal life. Yeah. Yeah. Experience. Yeah. Experience.

Amanda:

Was he, I can't remember, was he. He was he violent with Nina or was he just oh, yes, he, okay. I thought so. Yeah. Okay. It was like the very

Kelsey:

end before Lucy figures out and remembers everything about Yeah. That night.

Amanda:

Yeah.

Kelsey:

Where Nina goes into Emmett's art store.

Amanda:

Yeah.

Kelsey:

And Lucy is, can see them and he grabs her wrists and that's what it was, gives her flashbacks to what happened with Matt.

Amanda:

Okay. But that's interesting because like in that situation, he's already with Nina and but I guess they're cheating on each other too. I don't know. It's, yeah, he was very, I think to your point, very realistic, but, there is this sense sometimes, and I guess, women can be this way too. I don't wanna be like, it's just men, but I think sometimes manifests more in men because men aren't always given space to express and process their emotions in a way that totally, that's deemed acceptable in our society. And yeah. And then it can just manifest in these really unhealthy, violent, volatile ways. I've been in a situation before, situations before where I've been told by a guy that I'm like seeing or dating when I'm like, oh, like I don't want this, or I'm not interested, or whatever, right? And they're like, you're literally, you're lying to yourself. This is actually what you wanna this is, I'm just like, whoa. Yeah. I am a grown woman with my own mind and I know what I want and what I don't want. And there's this idea that like, no, this is what I want and therefore you must also want this. And how could you possibly contradict me in this way? Yeah. Which is a little alarming. But yeah, you definitely see that happen or happening with Emmett's character. Yeah. Ugh. Yeah. Yeah. But I, I think for me, the reason why it was a twist, because even though I did ultimately suspect Emmett, because as you go through the book, you find out everyone has all of these dark secrets, and they all technically have motivations for doing bad things to each other. I'm like, oh yeah, Emmett's just a red herring. Like he's being shown as like the super good guy so that you do suspect him. Yeah. Because he's always the good guy. But then I was like, but no that's just a red herring.'cause everyone else has so much shit going on. Yeah. Then I ultimately, I was like, oh no, I should have stuck with my original. So I really enjoyed that. I enjoyed getting turned around and not knowing exactly who was who. So I like that.

Kelsey:

I didn't suspect it Okay. Until the last minute and I was like, oh my God, that makes so much sense. And then it was like right before it was revealed. And, I didn't really understand who would've done it. I didn't have Yeah I understood like the dad was suspicious Sure. Because of him trying to protect Lucy. Sure. It was like something's there. Yeah. But, and ultimately there was, but I didn't know exactly what, but yeah.

Amanda:

Kelsey, do you have any final thoughts about this book that you didn't get to get off your chest? They might come up during the reviews. I feel like they often trigger things that we like,

Kelsey:

oh, we didn't mention this and we wanna talk about it. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like the reviews always bring something up. Yeah. Okay.

Amanda:

No. Would you recommend

Kelsey:

this book. I would okay. Just for, not for just for entertainment. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Amanda:

I think this book for me definitely falls into the beach reads category. Like it's fun. Yeah. It's entertaining. It's quick to get through, it'll keep you guessing. Great. For like, you know, an airplane ride or whatever. And I think regardless of what genres you typically read you could still enjoy this, I think. So yeah, I definitely recommend this one. I'm really glad that Kelsey liked it. Got another litted underneath my belt. So we're going to shift to our literally the best or literally the worst. The best worst. Literally the best reviews. From Good Read's. Five star and one star. So I've got the five stars this week. Kelsey's got the one star, which means Yeah, I do. You're gonna start.

Kelsey:

So there were very few, one star I know reviews. It was like two under 2000. Yeah. Reviews out of I don't know, a lot. It's 50,000 something. Yeah. Slim picking. Yes. Yes. Say, like outta of 2000. I guess not, but yeah, it felt like it. Okay, so my first one star review comes from Alexia. She says, I want to start this by stating without any hesitation that I'm the number one hater of Ben Owens. If he doesn't have any haters, then I would proudly wear that title. Now let's dive into my rant about this thoroughly disappointing book. What was I even reading? I'm seriously questioning whether this book can be classified as a thriller at all, because it certainly didn't feel like one. Instead, it came off as poorly scripted, telenovela, full of melodrama and empty plot twists. The plot itself is. Hardly worth discussing as it mostly revolved around an excessive amount of sex with only a scanned amount of murder, Myster mystery sprinkled in to justify the genre label. Oh, and let's not forget the obligatory small town drama, which felt contrived at best.

Amanda:

To your earlier point there, there was a lot of sex. There's a lot of cheating happening. Yes. So that's, I think that's valid.

Kelsey:

And yeah, she's not, they're not wrong.

Amanda:

Yeah. And also I think she is very much playing into the small town tropes, right? Yes. For sure. I think that is just part of this genre that she was leaning into, and I don't know, every genre has tropes, so I, I didn't mind it, but I can understand if that's not your thing, it's totally okay. Yes, it's fair. Okay, let's do my first five star. This is from. Yun. Oh, yes, I do enjoy a humorous thriller. Thank you very much. When it comes to this genre, it often feels like it's a race to see who's got the darkest, grittiest, most nail biting, anxiety inducing story. And that's all good and fine, but I don't always want dark, darkest. Sometimes I just want a bit of fun. And listen for the lie is exactly that. From the very first page. This was Unputdownable. The format of alternating between Lucy and the podcast and having each chapter be nice and short kept me turning the pages. Wanting to read just one more page. The podcast transcripts were surprisingly engaging with every character dishing on every other character, and stirring up small town drama. Yes, I was worried this was turn, would turn out to be another one of those dreaded. Unreliable narrator situations where the main female character drinks to excess and indulges in. Woe is me. Pity parties, but thankfully it wasn't. Instead, Lucy's voice is so fresh and wickedly honest. She's often sarcastic and funny, and it sets the tone for an extremely entertaining read. Yeah,

Kelsey:

absolutely. That was the thing that I wanted to ask earlier is yeah, why do you think the book is called Listen for the Lie? I know it's the podcast name, but Yeah. Yeah. Why do you think Amy chose the name in

Amanda:

that way? Yeah, I think it does definitely tie into the fact that this is a book about a podcaster. I would say maybe that. Every single book in this, every single person in this story is lying or has lied at some point, and a lot of it has to do with their, obviously their deceptions around cheating on each other. But Lucy lies to pretty much everyone that her husband is abusive. Nobody in the town knows that. They think they're like this golden couple. Yeah. Her parents are lying to each other, about their extramarital affairs. Emmett is lying and putting on this kind of front of being the good guy, and he's not so I think it's that. It's every single. Primary character in this book is lying. And if you are listening carefully, being perceptive, you'll see that. So that was my understanding. I dunno if there's much more truth than that. Yeah.

Kelsey:

Yeah. I just, with that title, I felt like there was gonna be more nuances and you're trying to like still figure out like Yeah. The lie. Yeah. So I don't feel like it directly translated to a lie.

Amanda:

It could tie into that last chapter that you didn't like where the grandmother's like, you know, maybe didn't tell everything there is. So maybe that does hint at that. Like unreliable narrator a bit. Like everything that just came out. Like how is it? Is that where's the lie? Yeah. Is that a hundred percent the truth? Like maybe we feel like we got our closure and it's all wrapped up and maybe it's not. So maybe it also ties into that. But Yeah,

Kelsey:

maybe,

Amanda:

To this person's point I did and I mentioned this earlier, like that it wasn't. Just about who can write the darkest thriller, like it really did allow space for there to be some humor and levity and sarcasm, and I enjoyed seeing that in the genre. So Awesome.

Kelsey:

Okay, my next. Review is a little longer. From Daniella. I had to cut it too, so Yeah. I cut. Yeah, I

Amanda:

cut my first one actually. That was only half of it. Yeah.

Kelsey:

So this book is a fucking farce. There's nothing mysterious or suspenseful about it. Listen for the lie is a wannabe dark comedy with an incredibly unlikable protagonist. Lucy is dumb, rude, and bitchy. She's also beautiful because of course she is. We didn't really talk about that'cause. Yeah, ev everybody really is attracted to Lucy, apparently Uhhuh. Lucy narrates most of the book and I could barely stand her voice. So I guess, I don't know if they're talking about like the audio book or just like the writing style and the tone. Yeah. Yeah. She's not funny or clever or interesting. She's sarcastic in a scripted way and doesn't seem remotely sad. That savvy, her best friend was murdered. On nearly every page, a little voice pops up telling Lucy to just kill someone. Was this supposed to be scary, humorous because it was just really annoying and stupid, stupidly annoying. Oh, and Lucy has amnesia. Am amnesia. Supposedly even Lucy's 80-year-old grandma is getting some, and her mother had an affair with a man 20 years, her junior. This small Texas town is filled to the brim with overs sex, adulterous, idiots. Everyone is an asshole. Literally everyone except maybe the killer. The killer is nice. I don't blame them for wanting to kill Lucy. I wanted to kill Lucy too. What even is this book? I hate it every minute of it.

Amanda:

That is like one of the most entertaining reviews I've heard in a minute of, what is it? Overs sex adulterous idiots.

Yes.

Amanda:

That could be the name of a podcast. Oh my God. Props to this person just for writing a stellar review. Yes. Thank you, Tanya. I totally forgot about the voice. She has that voice in her head the entire time where she's like constantly thinking about murdering people. Yes. Which I actually did find that annoying. I forgot about that.

Kelsey:

It, and in the audio book, it was weird. It just, it didn't feel like it

Amanda:

fit. It was overdone. Yeah. Because it pops up so often and Yeah. It felt I don't know, it felt like Amy was really trying to drum up this did she do it? Did she not? Is she reliable? Is she unreliable? Yeah. And it felt like too much. It did. I totally forgot about that.

Kelsey:

Yeah. And ultimately it made sense for what happened that night. Sure. Where she has this PTSD and trauma around the event, which anyone would, if they were of course, attempted. To be murdered. Yeah. And then their friend was murdered in front of them. Like it's, yes, it all tracks and makes Lucy actually, to me, like more likable or like at least more human. Yeah. Yeah. More relatable. Sure.

Amanda:

Yeah. Okay. My next one is from, and I've actually read this person's reviews before. Oh. This is Nina from Ninja's books. When I saw this book on good reads, I felt something fluttering inside that delicious anticipation combined with hope. Finding good psychological thrillers is like looking for. A gold stone amongst lots of gray ones. I'm happy to say I found that stone, and I will put it on a shelf to remind myself of this one, when I felt disappointed from future thrillers. Nothing will top this for a while. At first, I felt unsure about the podcast angle, but it only added to the plot and didn't get in the way from what was going on in the now. It took some time to get used to the snarky main character, but I liked her exponentially more as the story progressed. Being like that, despite her trauma was impressive. The pace really picked up the last chapters without the need for any twist really. You just wanted to know how it would pan out? Yes. What really made this stand out for me though, was that I felt something while reading it started with some sympathy here and there, but as more was revealed, I really struggled not to cry. Such a satisfying read that will stay with me for a long time. Wow, okay. I didn't get close to tears with this one, but neither did I. I'm glad this person was moved. That's always a great feeling and is the sign of a good read. But that's funny. Yeah. It can be. To her point it can be so hard finding good psychological thrillers. I I don't know how imagine psychological this one is, to be honest. It definitely has that angle, but it is hard. Yeah. As a thriller lover. Okay.

Kelsey:

Alright. My next review from Emma. Alt Bad Characters. Bad story Twist was Predictable Plot Holes. Why is every chapter titled Lucy when there was never a chapter about another person's perspective? That's it.

Amanda:

Okay. Was it just to differentiate between that and like the podcast chapter? I would imagine so.

Kelsey:

So I don't know, but I guess it's not necessary annoyed about that, but I didn't either. It's fine.

Amanda:

Alright. The next five star is from Esta Or Esta? It's literally spelled ESTA. I don't know. Okay. Esta?

Probably,

Amanda:

yeah. Okay. Taking a hiatus from psychological thrillers was a necessity for two main reasons for me. Firstly, the genre had become predictable, like a tired old song playing on repeat. Secondly, I grew weary of protagonist making implausibly ridiculous and foolish decisions solely to advance the plot. However, listen for the lie. Defied both of these grievances. Skeptical but intrigued. I dove into the arc and emerged pleasantly surprised. Lucy Chase our charmingly, sarcastic protagonist, and suspected murderous had me chuckling from start to finish with her dark humor. And let's not forget her totally legendary scene. Steeler of a grandma, a true gem in this twisted tail. Trust me, you'll want to meet her. To avoid spoiling the experience, I'd recommend diving into this tale without too much prior knowledge. Suffice to say it is a must read for fans of psychological thrillers, dark humor, amnesia, tropes, past, present timelines, and seriously messed up small towns with more skeletons in their closets than a graveyard. You might also encounter some timely and relevant themes. I really like that one. Yeah.

Kelsey:

Yeah. I really enjoy, like we didn't talk about this, but I really enjoy this like grandma. Trope in books like The Loving Funny Grandma that like Hope takes Care. Yeah. Who speaks

Amanda:

her mind.

Kelsey:

Yeah. There was a recent book I read that also had this in it and I, gosh, I don't remember Grandma or grandpa it could be like an older, an elderly person that I just love, like the Whispering Door. I loved the inclusion of the elderly man. Yeah. Which I think is related to Wallace. What's his name? I, as soon as I'm done with books, I forget their names. Oh, same

Amanda:

memory of the goldfish

Kelsey:

over here. Oh, idea. But yeah, there was another one recently. Dang it. But yeah, I just love that. I do too. It's so fun. Alright. My final one star review is from, is very short for one. Okay. Is from Jed Walker. An interesting and suspenseful premise ruined by a spectacularly unlikeable cast of hypersexual characters. Major disappointment.

Amanda:

There we are with the sex again. Yes. It's so funny because even though like I was tracking that everyone was cheating it didn't annoy me in the way that it's clearly grading on the nerves of some of these other folks, but that's fair. Okay. My last one is also pretty short. This is from Debbie. What? Okay. Debbie. No, really. You've got to be kidding me. That was me commenting on this crime suspense thriller as I listened to it, part mystery, part podcast. I listened to this slightly over nine hour audiobook while on a long car ride. There was no napping on this trip. The time flew by. I thought that the narration was wonderful. It was a great who done it with a dash of humor and plenty of red herrings and twist. I would highly recommend this as an audio book, though. I'm sure it's good in any format. There you go. Yeah. You did the audiobook. I did the book. Yes. We both enjoyed it in both formats. Yeah. Did they, for the podcast chapter, did they have different narrators do the voices or was it just the same person?

Kelsey:

Oh, yes. Yeah. When Ben was interviewing people. Yeah. Yeah. They were all different voices. Oh, I love that. Okay. Yeah. So that was fun. And then the, they also had an intro music to the podcast. Oh yeah. So yeah, it was very clear when the podcast was happening, so I love it. Yeah, it was good. Dang it, there was one last thing I wanted to talk about there. Now I forgot. Oh,

Amanda:

okay. Maybe. Oh, okay. Oh

Kelsey:

yeah. Did you?

Amanda:

Oh, you okay. Okay. No. Okay. Alright. So that's all we've got on our end. Obviously if you've read this book, loved it and or Hated It, we want to hear your thoughts. Kelsey, how can they find us? Where can they find us?

Kelsey:

So go to this episode and review our comment and rate our podcast so that more people who enjoy this book and enjoy this podcast or books in general can find us. We are on Instagram Lit Vibes only underscore podcast. And on TikTok and YouTube at Live Vibes Only podcast. So we wanna see you over there. Plus on Spotify or Apple rating and reviewing. So we'll see you there. Yes.

Amanda (2):

Make sure to follow us. If you haven't hit that little subscribe button, you can be the first to get notified when these episodes drop every single Monday. So thanks for hanging out with us as always, and we'll see you next Monday. Bye

bye.