Listen for the Lie (31 page)

Read Listen for the Lie Online

Authors: Amy Tintera

BOOK: Listen for the Lie
13.59Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Listen for the Lie
was a leap of faith for me. It took two years of writing and rewriting and pinning color-coded index cards to giant boards to shape Lucy's story into a book. I am eternally grateful to everyone who took this leap with me and helped bring the book into the world.

A huge thank you to my agent, Faye Bender, the first champion of this book, who believed in it with such passion and enthusiasm.

Thank you to James Melia for all your insights and positivity and for making me rewrite those last few chapters so many times. And thank you to Amy Einhorn for taking over and bringing the book over the finish line (and for making me rewrite the ending one more time—now it's truly perfect). Thanks also to Lori Kusatzky for all your work making sure every stage of the process went smoothly. A big thank-you to Ryan Doherty for stepping in to take care of this book as it made its way into the world.

Thank you to everyone at Macmillan who put in their time and effort to make the book shine—I don't always get to meet all of you, but I deeply appreciate your behind-the-scenes work.

Thank you to Shannon Messenger, who read a few chapters in the very early stages and told me that it did indeed make sense and told me to keep going. A shout-out to Kaitlyn Sage Patterson, who, when I shyly confessed I was thinking of writing an adult thriller, immedi
ately said that the genre was a great choice for me. I thought of that often when writing this.

I am so grateful to the authors who took the time to read and blurb
Listen for the Lie
—Stephen King, Courtney Summers, Liane Moriarty, Alex Michaelides, Alice Feeney, and Chandler Baker. You are all amazing and I'm honored to have your words on my book.

Thank you to my mom and my sister, the only people I let read a completed draft before querying agents. I appreciate you reading and giving me hope that it was safe to send out into the world.

Thank you to all the authors who answered my questions and were so generous with their time when I was panicking about finding an agent who would like this book. Thanks especially to Maurene Goo for helping me find such a great fit.

And thank you to Laura (again), Emma, and Daniel, with my apologies. This is what happens when you let a writer live with you for six months.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amy Tintera
is the
New York Times
bestselling author of several series for young adults. She earned degrees in journalism and film and worked in Hollywood before becoming an author. Raised in Austin, Texas, she frequently sets her novels in the Lone Star State, but she now lives in Los Angeles, where there's far less humidity but not nearly enough Tex-Mex.
Listen for the Lie
is her adult debut. You can sign up for ebook updates
here
.

 

Founded in 2017, Celadon Books, a division of
Macmillan Publishers, publishes a highly curated list
of twenty to twenty-five new titles a year. The list of
both fiction and nonfiction is eclectic and focuses
on publishing commercial and literary books and
discovering and nurturing talent.

CONTENTS
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Chapter One: Lucy
  5. Chapter Two: Lucy
  6. Chapter Three: Lucy
  7. Chapter Four: Lucy
  8. Chapter Five: Lucy
  9. Chapter Six: Lucy
  10. Chapter Seven: Lucy
  11. Chapter Eight: Lucy
  12. Chapter Nine: Lucy
  13. Chapter Ten: Lucy
  14. Chapter Eleven: Lucy
  15. Chapter Twelve: Lucy
  16. Chapter Thirteen: Lucy
  17. Chapter Fourteen: Lucy
  18. Chapter Fifteen: Lucy
  19. Chapter Sixteen: Lucy
  20. Chapter Seventeen
  21. Chapter Eighteen: Lucy
  22. Chapter Nineteen: Lucy
  23. Chapter Twenty: Lucy
  24. Chapter Twenty-One: Lucy
  25. Lucy: Five Years Ago
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two: Lucy
  27. Lucy: Five Years Ago
  28. Chapter Twenty-Three: Lucy
  29. Chapter Twenty-Four: Lucy
  30. Chapter Twenty-Five: Lucy
  31. Chapter Twenty-Six: Lucy
  32. Chapter Twenty-Seven: Lucy
  33. Chapter Twenty-Eight: Lucy
  34. Chapter Twenty-Nine: Lucy
  35. Lucy: Five Years Ago
  36. Chapter Thirty: Lucy
  37. Chapter Thirty-One: Lucy
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two: Lucy
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Chapter Thirty-Four: Lucy
  41. Chapter Thirty-Five: Lucy
  42. Chapter Thirty-Six: Lucy
  43. Chapter Thirty-Seven: Lucy
  44. Chapter Thirty-Eight: Lucy
  45. Chapter Thirty-Nine: Lucy
  46. Chapter Forty: Lucy
  47. Chapter Forty-One: Lucy
  48. Chapter Forty-Two: Lucy
  49. Chapter Forty-Three: Lucy
  50. Chapter Forty-Four: Lucy
  51. Lucy: Five Years Ago
  52. Chapter Forty-Five: Lucy
  53. Chapter Forty-Six: Lucy
  54. Chapter Forty-Seven: Lucy
  55. Lucy: Five Years Ago
  56. Chapter Forty-Eight: Lucy
  57. Lucy: Five Years Ago
  58. Chapter Forty-Nine: Lucy
  59. Lucy: Five Years Ago
  60. Chapter Fifty: Lucy
  61. Chapter Fifty-One: Lucy
  62. Chapter Fifty-Two: Lucy
  63. Chapter Fifty-Three: Lucy
  64. Chapter Fifty-Four: Lucy
  65. Acknowledgments
  66. About the Author
  67. Copyright

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

LISTEN FOR THE LIE.
Copyright © 2024 by Amy Tintera. All rights reserved. For information, address Celadon Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

www.celadonbooks.com

Cover design by Gregg Kulick

Cover photograph © Andrii A / Shutterstock

The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-1-250-88031-4 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-250-35161-6 (international, sold outside the U.S., subject to rights availability)

ISBN 978-1-250-88032-1 (ebook)

eISBN 9781250880321

Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact your local bookseller or the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at
[email protected]
.

First U.S. Edition: 2024

First International Edition: 2024

Other books

Chickadee by Louise Erdrich
The X-Files: Antibodies by Kevin J. Anderson
Greek Warriors by Chris Blake
Monkey Island by Paula Fox
Pam-Ann by Lindsey Brooks
The Keys to the Street by Ruth Rendell
Empire of the Worm by Conner, Jack