logo

61 pages 2 hours read

Amy Tintera

Listen for the Lie

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter 1-Interlude 9Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary: “Lucy”

Content Warning: This section contains mentions and descriptions of violence and murder, domestic violence, sexual assault, substance addiction, trauma, and slurs and profanity against women.

Lucy Chase, an executive assistant at an investment firm in LA, is let go from her job. Her boss tells her the company is downsizing, but she knows it is because of a recent true crime podcast about her. As she is being escorted out, the security guard asks Lucy if she really did commit the murder; Lucy replies, “The truth doesn’t matter” (3).

Chapter 2 Summary: “Lucy”

Lucy’s best friend, Savannah “Savvy” Harper, was murdered five years ago. Lucy was found wandering around early in the morning with Savvy’s blood on her dress. While Lucy was never arrested, everyone in her hometown assumed she did it. Now, a podcaster named Ben Owens has dredged up the cold case for his podcast.

Lucy makes dinner for her boyfriend, Nathan, whom she knows has been listening to the podcast. Things have been fizzling out between them, but Lucy wants to keep it going as she needs a place to live.

Interlude 1 Summary: “Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens: Episode One—‘The Sweetest Girl You Ever Met’”

Interlude 1 is the first of many interludes detailing Ben Owens’s interviews and research about Savvy’s death. In this portion of the opening episode of the podcast, Ben recounts the existent information he can find about the case: Maya Harper, Savvy’s younger sister, claims everyone knows Lucy killed Savvy. She got away with it because there wasn’t enough proof. People also claim to have seen them fighting earlier at the wedding they were attending together the night Savvy died. Lucy claims she has no memory of what happened that night, but Maya and many others don’t believe her. Lucy left Plumpton, Texas, soon after and hasn’t returned since.

Chapter 3 Summary: “Lucy”

Nathan doesn’t bring up the podcast or the murder, leaving Lucy with time to look for a new place before the inevitable breakup. She doesn’t need a new job immediately, as she has published three romance novels under a pen name.

Lucy goes grocery shopping, and at the store, imagines smashing a squash into a woman’s head and killing her. Lucy has had recurring intrusive thoughts about murdering people ever since Savvy’s death.

Lucy’s grandmother, Beverly Moore, calls and coaxes Lucy to return to Plumpton for Beverly’s 80th birthday. Lucy reluctantly agrees, and Beverly asserts she will buy Lucy’s ticket there. Before she hangs up, Beverly asks if Lucy has heard about the podcast.

Chapter 4 Summary: “Lucy”

Lucy tells Nathan she is going to Texas for a week. She brings up the podcast and is sure that Nathan has decided to believe that she committed the murder, as he seems disbelieving when she states she does not remember that night. Lucy’s mother, Kathleen, calls and insists that she must stay at home with them and not in a hotel, as she does not want people to talk. She implores Lucy not to make things harder for them, and she brings up the podcast before she hangs up.

Lucy has known about the podcast for a while. Ben emailed her five months ago saying that he was researching Savvy’s murder for a podcast and asking Lucy for an interview. Despite a couple of follow-up emails from Ben’s end, Lucy never replied, as she never does to emails about Savvy. Lucy looks up the podcast and realizes it has grabbed a lot of media attention. She is sure everyone in Plumpton has heard it and wonders if she should cancel her trip, but she decides not to for Beverly’s sake. Lucy begins to listen to the podcast.

Interlude 2 Summary: “Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens: Episode One—‘The Sweetest Girl You Ever Met’”

Continuing where Interlude 1 left off in the first episode of the podcast, Ben describes arriving in Plumpton, a small town with friendly people. They constantly express how sweet Savvy was and how they hope Ben will prove that Lucy killed Savvy.

Chapter 5 Summary: “Lucy”

Lucy arrives at her parents’ house. Her father, Don, greets her, and she imagines killing him by hitting him over the head with a lamp. She remembers every therapist she has ever spoken to telling her that she needs to deal with these violent fantasies if they are to stop.

Interlude 3 Summary: “Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens: Episode One—‘The Sweetest Girl You Ever Met’”

Returning to the first episode of the podcast, Ben talks to Gil Bradford, who discovered Savvy’s body on a running trail close to Byrd Estate, the wedding venue. Gil found Savvy dead with a huge gash on her head.

Ben also speaks to Billy Jack, who found Lucy wandering down the road that led out of town that morning. She had a welt on her forehead and her dress was covered in mud and blood. She looked like someone who was not completely present or conscious.

Chapter 6 Summary: “Lucy”

Kathleen encourages Lucy to go out and meet people, asserting Lucy has nothing to be ashamed of. However, Lucy knows Kathleen does not believe this, as she has been trying to get Lucy to confess to Savvy’s murder for years. Before Lucy leaves, Kathleen tells her that Ben is in town.

Interlude 4 Summary: “Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens: Episode One—‘The Sweetest Girl You Ever Met’”

On the podcast, Ben speaks to Ivy Harper, Savvy’s mother. Ivy describes her daughter as joyful and confident. Savvy and Lucy weren’t friends in school, as Savvy was popular while Lucy was not. They became friends after Lucy moved back to town after marrying someone she met at university. Savvy was already back, having dropped out of college. Although Savvy and Lucy hit it off after they reconnected, Ivy didn’t like their friendship, as she thought Lucy was taking pity on Savvy. Lucy had moved back with a rich, handsome husband and just bought a beautiful house, while Savvy, the former homecoming queen, was now a college dropout working as a bartender.

Chapter 7 Summary: “Lucy”

Lucy has dinner with her parents, musing about how her father’s disappointment and resentment are never reflected in his food, which always tastes great.

Interlude 5 Summary: “Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens: Episode 2—‘She Would Not Hesitate to Cut a Bitch’”

Interlude 5 begins the second episode of the podcast. Ben speaks to one of the townspeople who grew up with Lucy, named Ross Ayers. He calls Lucy names, implying that she is not a nice person.

Chapter 8 Summary: “Lucy”

Lucy and Kathleen visit Beverly, who warmly welcomes Lucy. She mentions that Ben is in town and asks Lucy if he has contacted her yet. Lucy mentions the old emails as she tries to ignore a familiar voice whispering “Let’s kill—” (50) in her ear.

Interlude 6 Summary: “Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens: Episode 2—‘She Would Not Hesitate to Cut a Bitch’”

On the podcast, Ben speaks to Joanna Clarkson who lived in Lucy’s old neighborhood. She describes how Lucy and her husband, Matt Gardner, bought a big, beautiful house in the area. Everyone thought Lucy had lucked out by marrying someone so handsome and rich.

Ben also speaks to Lucy’s old school friend, Nina Garcia. Nina states their friendship fizzled out after Lucy moved back, as they were in different places in their lives. She describes Lucy’s friendship with Savannah as almost obsessive. However, she denies reports that Lucy has a temper, insisting that she is just good at standing up for herself.

Chapter 9 Summary: “Lucy”

Lucy bumps into Nina at the grocery store; Nina greets Lucy warmly and invites her home to meet her children. Lucy feels less resentful toward her, having heard her speak on Ben’s podcast.

Interlude 7 Summary: “Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens: Episode 2—‘She Would Not Hesitate to Cut a Bitch’”

On the podcast, Ben speaks to more people who went to school with Lucy. Jill Lopez, whose wedding it was the night Savvy died, describes Lucy as having a temper and a tendency to be violent. Ross reveals that Lucy punched and broke his nose when they were still in school.

However, Emmett Chapman, one of Lucy’s closest friends from school, describes how Lucy used to stand up for him when he was bullied in school. He was friends with both Matt and Lucy, and he knew Savvy a little, who was always nice to him. Emmett thinks Lucy and Savvy had a good friendship, and he couldn’t believe it when Lucy was accused of Savvy’s murder.

Chapter 10 Summary: “Lucy”

Beverly sends Lucy to the local diner to pick up dinner, and she runs into Ben there. She approaches him even as the voice in her head tells her to kill him. Lucy asks to speak off the record. She admits to listening to the podcast and asks Ben what his verdict is. He declines to give one yet and asks for an interview again, but Lucy doesn’t want to put her relationship with Savvy in the spotlight.

Ben reveals that he knows Lucy is Eva Knightley, the pen name under which she writes, and has read her books. Alarmed, Lucy asks him to please not disclose this, and Ben assures her he won’t, regardless of whether or not she does the interview. Before Lucy leaves, he asks if she knows Colin Dunn, Savvy’s boyfriend, well.

Chapter 11 Summary: “Lucy”

Lucy confronts Beverly about calling her to Plumpton to meet Ben. Beverly openly admits to this, insisting Ben is Lucy’s only chance at finding out what happened to Savvy. Despite Lucy’s doubts, Beverly is sure that Lucy didn’t kill Savvy. She encourages Lucy to work with Ben, insisting that people believe what men say. Ben has even been able to dig up new information.

Interlude 8 Summary: “Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens: Episode Three—‘Matt Was Too Good For Her’”

Interlude 8 begins the third episode of the podcast. Ben speaks to Colin and reveals a guest saw him get into a car with a woman after the wedding. This is in opposition to Colin’s original claim that he went straight home. Colin eventually admits to driving off with a married woman whose identity he doesn’t reveal. They had sex in her car and Colin walked home after, meaning he was out and alone at the time that Savvy was killed.

Chapter 12 Summary: “Lucy”

Kathleen invites Lucy to join her and her friends who are coming over for wine and tea. They bring up Ben and the podcast and wonder who the woman is who cheated on her husband with Colin. Lucy drily jokes that she is waiting to hear whether she is Savvy’s murderer, and Kathleen admonishes her for trying to shock people.

Chapter 13 Summary: “Lucy”

Lucy drives up to Matt’s house, which she once shared with him; he now lives there with his new wife. As she reflects on her marriage, Matt comes up to her car window, startling her.

Interlude 9 Summary: “Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens: Episode Three—‘Matt Was Too Good For Her’”

In a continuation of the third episode, Ben speaks to Stephanie Gantz, another woman from Matt and Lucy’s old neighborhood, who claims Matt was too good for Lucy. He was always friendly and charming, while Lucy wasn’t very warm. She also reveals that Matt and Lucy fought a lot; she often heard them yelling at each other. Stephanie suggests that Ben speak to someone named Kyle Porter.

Chapter 1-Interlude 9 Analysis

Listen for the Lie is one among numerous books that follows the trend of its time: crime fiction that employs the context of a true crime podcast. Lucy Chase, the protagonist, is the subject of a true crime podcast, as she is suspected of having killed her best friend five years prior. The true crime podcast is the vehicle that delivers the conflict—discovering whether Lucy is guilty. It also contributes to the narrative structure of the book, as chapters alternate between Lucy’s present-day perspective and transcripts of podcast episodes. This narrative structure does two things: First, it immerses the reader in the unraveling of the mystery just as a podcast does. Second, it clues in the reader to important aspects of the story via revelations on the podcast, such as Colin’s affair with an anonymous married woman, and Matt and Lucy having trouble in their marriage. Thus, the context of the podcast becomes important to the book’s narrative, plot, and tone.

One of the earliest themes that is set up and explored in the book is The Gap Between Perception and Reality. Ben’s earliest episodes of the podcast mostly feature different people’s perspectives on Lucy and Savvy. These perspectives provide important context for the case, and thematically, for the book itself. They show how people’s perceptions of Lucy and Savvy greatly influence their opinion regarding Lucy’s supposed guilt, regardless of reality. An additional indicator that there are gaps between perceptions and reality is the differing perspectives people provide on Lucy and Savvy’s relationship: Ivy thought Lucy pitied Savvy, while Nina believed the two women had an obsessive relationship. All of these varied ideas of the two characters highlight how people’s perceptions of others and their relationships are less driven by fact and more by their own beliefs and motivations.

A second central theme that emerges in these early chapters is The Misogynistic Dismissal of Survivors. It is apparent that most people don’t believe Lucy’s version of events, especially her claim that she doesn’t remember what happened. Some of this is fueled by people’s perceptions; for instance, Ross name-calls Lucy and describes how she hit him in high school. Lucy’s believability is affected by her persona as someone who is short-tempered, not very friendly, and potentially violent. In sharp contrast to how little people listen to and believe Lucy, however, is the number of people who tune into Ben’s podcast. Many people in Plumpton also welcome him and openly share their views with him. There is trust in and willingness to listen to someone who is a complete stranger over a person the town has known their entire lives, and the most obvious distinguishing factor between Ben and Lucy is gender. Very early on, the book establishes that some misogyny underlies whose version of events is believed, and this is even directly acknowledged by Beverly, Lucy’s grandmother, early in the story.

The Effects of Physical and Psychological Trauma is another theme that is woven throughout these chapters, though it is explored more deeply in future sections. Lucy has no memory of the night Savvy died. She has also had intrusive thoughts about murdering people and hears a voice in her head to this effect ever since Savvy’s death. While the latter adds to the mystery of the case at this point in the story, all of these aspects of Lucy’s experience are eventually explored within the context of trauma.

Important symbols and motifs that appear in these initial chapters are the podcast itself and the phrase “The truth doesn’t matter.” The name of the podcast and the episode titles highlight important aspects of the plot and the book’s themes. The phrase about truth reappears throughout the book; at this point in the story, it highlights how people have assumed Lucy is guilty irrespective of the lack of proof. These opening chapters set up the characters and relationships that will drive the action throughout the rest of the story and work to align the reader with Lucy’s perspective and apparent reliability.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text