Listen for the Lie

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.

The truth is out there, if we just listen.

These book club questions are from the publisher, Celadon Books.

Book club questions for Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

Listen for the Lie alternates between Lucy’s point of view and Ben’s podcast interviews. How did this structure impact your reading experience? How did you navigate the many points of view? How much did you trust the people of Plumpton?

As a narrator, Lucy has a bold and sarcastic sense of humor. How do you believe this affected her credibility among the people of Plumpton and the listeners of Ben’s podcast?

Throughout the book, we encounter many characters who had loose alibis for the night of Savvy’s murder. How did gender bias contribute to the fact that Lucy’s guilt was presumed from the start, while the men who surrounded her were never questioned? What are some examples?

How does the small-town setting of Plumpton, Texas, contribute to the perspectives of those who surround Lucy?

During the book, we watch Lucy form a romantic relationship with Ben. How does this compare to the other relationships she has?

As we know from the beginning, Lucy has no idea if she killed Savvy or not. How was your reading experience affected by the way you learned what happened at the same time that Lucy did?

When Lucy began to embrace Savvy as her inner monologue, what did you think this would reveal? Did you see this as her leaning into the investigation? Or succumbing to it?

How many different people did you think did it? What were the clues that led you to these conclusions? Suggested by Book Club (Chicago, Illinois)

At any point in the book did you believe that Lucy was responsible for Savvy’s death? If so, what factors contributed to this conclusion, and when did you change your mind?

If Lucy’s family were more supportive and not so dysfunctional, how might that have affected the trajectory of Lucy’s life? Suggested by A Novel Bunch Bookstaclub (Austin, Texas)

If you listen to true-crime podcasts, did reading this book change the way you approach the facts and investigations presented on those shows?

Listen for the Lie Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Listen for the Lie discussion questions