The Lies You Wrote Audiobook – Raisa Susanto, Book 1

Sometimes, the best thrillers sneak up on you on an ordinary day—like when I listened to The Lies You Wrote while organizing my art studio. What started as background noise quickly hijacked my attention: paintbrushes abandoned, mug of coffee forgotten and cooling beside me. By the second hour, I was pacing around with my headphones in, absolutely spellbound by Brianna Labuskes’ clever blend of forensic linguistics and chilling psychological suspense.

Let’s start with Raisa Susanto—our protagonist and my new personal hero. As a forensic linguist, she doesn’t chase killers with badges or bravado but rather dissects their words for truth hidden in syntax and subtext. Her “weapon” is observation, wielded with razor precision. As someone who has always found comfort (and sometimes discomfort) in analyzing the things people say—and don’t say—I felt seen through Raisa. There’s this deliciously meta undercurrent: you find yourself dissecting your own emails or texts after every chapter.

The cold case premise hits close to home if you’re fascinated (as I am) by how past traumas echo into the present. Twenty-five years ago: Alex Parker kills his parents and himself—or so everyone believed. Now there’s another double murder on the anniversary, same town, eerily similar details. From minute one, Labuskes seeds doubt—is history repeating itself or did we all miss something crucial before? That anxiety hums beneath every scene.

What sets this book apart is its brainy structure; it asks more from its listener than most thrillers do but rewards curiosity tenfold. Through digital forums full of conspiracy theories and podcasts that capitalize on real pain, Raisa sifts clues not just from evidence but from online static—the way people talk about tragedy becomes part of the mystery itself.

Caroline Hewitt brings this entire landscape to life so deftly that at times I forgot I wasn’t inside Raisa’s head myself. Her performance is subdued yet magnetic; her voice as Raisa keeps such tight control that even slight cracks in her composure made me tense up right alongside her. The supporting cast—especially Callum Kilkenny as both foil and complement—were distinct without ever falling into cliché.

I loved that there were no cheap jump scares here—the horror was quieter but lingered much longer because of it. The unease creeps in during seemingly mundane exchanges—a turn of phrase here or an odd silence there can shift everything you think you know about a character or motive.

The only thing I didn’t love? Maybe just that initial learning curve; it takes a little patience to track all those threads—theories discussed on Reddit-like boards, podcast transcripts layered between scenes—but once I got used to jumping perspectives (much like flipping between open tabs), it actually heightened the immersion.

As a listener who craves smart women solving complex puzzles—and who maybe wants her mind twisted into knots—I couldn’t have asked for more satisfying company than Raisa Susanto for nine-plus hours straight.

I’ll be thinking twice before hitting “send” on any message for weeks! This is a masterclass in suspenseful storytelling for our digital age—and now I’m officially counting down until Book 2 drops.