Listen for the Lie

Listen for the Lie (2024) is a crime fiction novel by Amy Tintera. It follows Lucy Chase, a woman believed to have killed her best friend years prior. Lucy, who has amnesia about the entire incident, was never officially charged or arrested for the murder, though it is generally believed that she did it. When Ben Owens, a true crime podcaster, digs up the cold case again for his podcast five years later, Lucy joins in helping him uncover who the true killer is. The book explores the themes of The Gap Between Perception and Reality, The Misogynistic Dismissal of Survivors, and The Effects of Physical and Psychological Trauma.

Amy Tintera is an American author who has penned numerous teen novels. Listen for the Lie is her first foray into fiction for adults, and it was a New York Times Best Seller and a Good Morning America Book Club pick.

This guide is based on the 2024 Celadon Books Kindle Edition.

Content Warnings: The book mentions descriptions of violence and murder, domestic violence, sexual assault, substance addiction, trauma, and slurs and profanity against women.

Plot Summary

Lucy Chase, an executive assistant in LA, loses her job after she becomes the subject of a true crime podcast. The podcast, hosted by Ben Owens, digs up a five-year-old cold case regarding the murder of Savannah “Savvy” Harper, who used to be Lucy’s best friend.

Lucy and Savvy had attended a wedding together five years prior. They left the event together, and Savvy’s body was found on a trail in the woods the next day. Meanwhile, Lucy was found wandering on the road with a head injury, covered in Savvy’s blood. Although Lucy was never charged or arrested with Savvy’s murder, everyone in her hometown, including her parents and former husband, believes Lucy did it. Lucy cannot remember the events of that entire night, which she believes is because of a head injury, and she doesn’t know for sure whether she killed Savvy or not. Ever since Savvy’s death, she has had intrusive thoughts about murdering people, and she constantly hears Savvy’s voice in her head.

In the present, Lucy’s grandmother, Beverly Moore, asks her to return to her hometown of Plumpton, Texas, to attend the latter’s birthday celebration. Lucy has not visited since she left after Savvy’s death. She begins listening to Ben’s podcast in preparation for the inevitable onslaught she will face upon returning home. The podcast covers the basics of the case and the townspeople’s attitudes about it: Savvy was remembered as an extremely sweet and likable girl, while people remember Lucy as having a temper and with a tendency to be violent. She was believed to be extremely lucky to have landed her ex-husband, the rich and handsome Matt Gardner. After Savvy’s death, people’s suspicions shifted toward Lucy because Matt threw her out of the house shortly after, and Lucy’s parents, Don and Kathleen, also acted as if Lucy was guilty.

Once back in Plumpton, Lucy reconnects with her parents, Kathleen and Don; Matt; Emmett Chapman, an old friend who always had a crush on her; and Nina Garcia, her high school best friend who never liked Savvy and is currently dating Emmett. She also runs into Ben Owens, who is coincidentally in town, too. Lucy discovers that Beverly, who has always believed in Lucy’s innocence, orchestrated Lucy’s return to Plumpton so she could work with Ben to uncover Savvy’s true killer. At Beverly’s insistence, Lucy agrees to help Ben, as she, too, wants to find out what happened. Kathleen, Don, and Matt are all unhappy about this and repeatedly ask Lucy to let things go. Nevertheless, Lucy persists, and throughout their investigation, Ben and Lucy also begin a romantic relationship.

Ben’s podcast uncovers new information: While Matt and Lucy’s infidelities throughout their marriage were common knowledge, Ben discovers that Matt was sleeping with Nina Garcia, who visited him the night Savvy died. Colin Dunn, Savvy’s boyfriend, was sleeping with Kathleen, and they both secretly left the wedding together. Matt’s second wife, Julia, who is currently divorcing him, reveals that Matt was abusive to her. She also mentions how Matt once insinuated he was with Lucy the night Savvy died. On Ben’s suggestion, Lucy begins to actively try and remember the night of the wedding by visiting places connected with Savvy’s death. In the process, she reminisces about her relationship with Savvy and begins to have flashes of memory from the wedding night.

Flashbacks reveal that Matt was abusive to Lucy as well, and Savvy knew this. She was trying to convince Lucy to kill Matt as revenge. Savvy had a dark secret herself: She once killed a man who tried to assault her. The night that Lucy and Savvy attended the wedding together, Savvy caught Lucy kissing a man who was not Matt and stormed away angrily. Lucy also remembers meeting Matt later that night, while she was covered in Savvy’s blood and holding a bloody tree branch.

Lucy is confused and overwhelmed by the onslaught of memories. This worsens when Matt confesses to seeing Lucy that night and getting rid of the tree branch to protect her. Lucy doesn’t want to know more and decides to go back to LA, despite Beverly reiterating her faith in Lucy’s innocence and asking her not to give up. Lucy stops by Emmett’s store to tell him that she is leaving, and he kisses her. Nina interrupts them, and as Lucy watches the tense interaction between her and Emmett from afar, she recognizes signs of abuse. Lucy realizes Emmett is hurting Nina; this, along with his earlier kiss, jogs Lucy’s memory, and she calls Ben to tell him the bits she remembers.

It was Emmett whom Savvy caught Lucy kissing at the wedding. She wasn’t angry, but concerned, because Lucy was constantly gravitating toward bad men: Matt was abusive, and Savvy revealed that Emmett is not as nice as he pretends to be. Savvy and Emmett slept together once some months ago, and he became physically aggressive with her when she refused to sleep with him again. As Savvy and Lucy left the wedding together, Lucy agreed that she would leave Matt but also that she didn’t want to kill him. Instead, Savvy and Lucy made plans to leave for LA together the next day and start their lives over.

Emmett intercepted the women on their way home and asked to talk to Lucy, but Savvy insisted on waiting. He tried to convince Lucy to leave Matt for him, as he had been in love with her for a long time. Lucy rebuffed him, and Emmett became angry and violent. He attacked Lucy, and hurt Savvy, too, when she tried to protect Lucy. Emmett struck Lucy on the head, and when he tried to do so again, Savvy blocked the blow and was killed instantly. Matt, who came searching for Lucy, found her holding the tree branch after she managed to escape Emmett and before she ran away again. Emmett told Matt that he saw Lucy kill Savvy with it, and Matt instantly believed Emmett. He told Lucy’s parents the same—though left out that Emmett was there—and they agreed not to tell the police to protect Lucy.

In the present, Lucy confronts Emmett about what she remembers and punches him. The two get into a violent fight as Emmett tries to kill her again. The fight is interrupted by Ben, who arrives on the scene following Lucy’s call. He believes Lucy’s version of events and backs her up to the police. Emmett is arrested and charged with Savvy’s murder, and Lucy’s parents are charged with withholding evidence. Lucy thanks Beverly for convincing her to come home and to meet with Ben. She then heads back to LA. Convinced by Savvy’s voice in her head, Lucy decides to keep seeing Ben.