I received this book for free (hey, thanks!) in exchange for an honest review. I promise that this does NOT affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. For real.
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera Genres: Adult, Mystery/Thriller
Published by Macmillan on March 5, 2024
Format: eARC (352 pages) • Source: Publisher
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What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter?
After Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life.
But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast "Listen for the Lie," and its too-good looking host Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one that did it.
This book was exactly what I needed! I’d been slogging through HOFAS the entire month of February and kept telling myself I should just pick up a mystery/thriller and break my slump. I don’t know why I kept delaying but once I finally did it, I knew it was the right choice.
LISTEN FOR THE LIE was an incredibly engaging story that I never wanted to put down. I’m sure it’ll end up on some of my best-of lists this year. Lucy’s best friend was found murdered… and then Lucy was found wandering around with her friend’s blood all over her. The town made assumptions while Lucy couldn’t remember anything from that day/night. When she finally returns to town around the same time a new true crime podcast releases about the case, she ends up working with the podcaster to try to figure out what happened… even if that means she learns she’s the guilty one.
As usual, I loved the mixed media elements of this story. I don’t care what anyone says… I love a true crime podcast plotline still! There were a lot of interesting characters and connections that you learn throughout. I didn’t see the ending coming but I wouldn’t be surprised if other readers were able to.
The main character was super funny and sarcastic; she wasn’t always likeable but she was very entertaining, which helps! I liked that Lucy made mistakes a lot because she felt real but she definitely could frustrate some readers.
I really loved this one and debated giving it five-stars. I can’t really put my finger on why it’s not a perfect favorite… There was a romance element here that I didn’t really mind but also wasn’t necessary in this kind of book. The characters and small town vibes were great and very fleshed out overall. Highly recommend adding this to your spring TBR!
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins Genres: Adult, Mystery/Thriller
Published by St. Martin's Press on January 9, 2024
Also by this author: Rebel Belle, Miss Mayhem, Lady Renegades, Royals, Her Royal Highness, The Wife Upstairs, Reckless Girls, The Villa
Format: Audio/ARC (294 pages) • Source: Everand, Publisher
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When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate—along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish—pass to her adopted son, Camden.
But to everyone’s surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.
Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons in the wake of his uncle’s death brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place.
Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Cam’s estranged family—and the twisted secrets they keep—the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have.
But Ruby’s plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will—and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.
Most of Hawkins’ books have been total wins for me and I am not complaining! I’ve seen a lot of them (especially lately) be kind of hit or miss for people. Her latest, THE HEIRESS was a very quick read… both due to the plot and short length! It follows Camden and his wife Jules as they head back to his family’s estate years after his mother died and left it all to him. His cousin calls him back and he finally obliges. Jules is super curious to see why her husband left town and never returned, but she has secrets of her own.
This reads like a general domestic thriller with gothic vibes for the majority of the book. Not a complaint, but I think I was expecting something…spookier? I really liked the direction the story went and the overall format though. It alternated between Camden and Jules POVs while also mixing in articles and letters that provided his deceased mother’s perspective. There was kind of a lot going on but it really worked!
I saw someone compare it to THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO, which I can kind of see. Camden’s mom had four husbands and they all died under mysterious circumstances.
There were a ton of reveals in the final chapters and I really didn’t predict any of it… and basically all of the characters were keeping secrets from each other. I don’t know the last time I read a book with this many twists and reveals, all the way through the end… especially after a slow start. It didn’t take me long to read – it wasn’t slow in that way. It was more like a suspenseful buildup, wondering what is going to happen and when.
I think readers who haven’t loved some of of Hawkins’ other books may like this one. It pulls on some of the same gothic vibes but is a new story for sure.
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