Really interesting book. about Lore Rivera and what led to her being married to two men at the same time. When one spouse finds out about the other, it leads to a tragic ending. Cassie Bowman decides to tell Lore's story in a book while working through her own situation.
The world passes judgment on people without knowing the full story all too often. Lore's handling of her situation was her method. I'm glad Lore RIvera was given the chance to tell her story through Cassie. We often make decisions based on what's best for everyone else., as though we will be punished if we do something that makes us feel good. Everyone deserves to be seen and heard. I so wish Lore had spoken up and let Fabian Rivera know what she was feeling rather than doing what was expected of her. I wish she had spoken up and let Andres Russo know that she was married. I'm sure she would make different choices if she had to do this over. Well, maybe not.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story. It was a quick read for me and the true crime feel made it much more enjoyable. I look forward to reading more from Katie Gutierrez in the future!

This book really has me mixed about how I feel about it, which is why I gave it three stars. I liked the different timelines and the story line itself, but I felt like a good 50-75 pages could have been removed from this book and I wouldn't have missed anything. I would recommend it, but would also tell people that a lot of it could be skimmed.

What I loved:
1, Debut author who I would read again!
2. The two stories of the women in the book.
3. A book that was historical fiction, true crime and a little romance - interesting combination!!
4. Tackling issues that women face - and have to overcome.

What I didn't like:
1. It was too long - as with many first time books - it needed some editing
2. Time hopping - the chapters are short and time hopping becomes hard to follow
3. It is not a mystery as it was categorized (but in the end that was ok!)

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for sharing this a copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts

This book felt like it was marketed in the wrong way. I was expecting a mystery/thriller with a lot of drama, but it really just ended up being drama. And it was way too long. This easily could have been less pages and possibly more enjoyable??

This book was selected as Laredo Book Club’s July book, and the discussion about gender roles in the novel took center stage. One of our male members said he had to put the book down because he couldn’t stand the way Lore cast her struggling marriage aside so quickly for a man in another country. That her husband was going through difficult times and didn’t deserve to be abandoned with so little care. In contrast to that statement, female members declared that they appreciated the point of view this novel gave as men aren’t the only people that matter in a marriage.

Not that what Lore did was right or wrong, but that’s what can happen when peoples’ emotions are on the line. Lore wasn’t feeling wanted or appreciated and found herself in a difficult position. Take it or leave it, that’s what happened in this book that led to all sort of trouble for the protagonist. I agreed that it was a view we don’t often get to read about: a strongly opinionated woman going after her own desires even if it makes her world explode. And the fact that it was written around my own city added a massive element of excitement to the whole thing. The street names, the ambiance, buildings, and general culture is captured so perfectly the only way someone could have written this book is if they’d lived here.

I read varying reviews regarding the fact that so much of Lore’s dialogue is written in her Spanish/Splanglish way of speaking and many were upset that the author didn’t directly translate each statement. But for me personally, that aspect of the book I absolutely reveled in. It’s an amazing thing to feel seen when you read a book, when your culture and community shines on the page and you’re able to relate so strongly. One thing I can’t stand to read, as a Latina, is when Spanish phrases are directly translated after being spoken. I specifically seek out novels about Latinas because I want to relate, I want to feel immersed!

What gets me even more though is when no Spanish dialogue is used in a Mexico-based novel (looking at you, Mexican Gothic. I’m still not over that one). The way Lore talks is completely natural to the way we speak, that easy flow from one language to the other, even expecting the other person to know exactly what’s being said without asking them whether they do or not. That captured the essence of who we are as a people so well and I’m extremely grateful to Katie Gutierrez for writing this novel.

Thank you to the publisher William Morrow for providing an eARC for review and a hardback copy to promote this fantastic novel about our city.

This novel is amazing!!!! It sweeps the slan of 1980's to present time telling the story of a woman's double life. Unheard of is a woman leading two different lives but this author shows us how women can be deceitful and cunning . I highly recommend this book

I think perhaps my timing of reading this one, in the midst of reading many other thrillers, skewed my view. Overall, I felt the plot was fine, but the pacing and timeline a drug a bit for me. The mystery and characters were fine, I don't have any major flaws to note, it just didn't stand out compared to others.

What I loved:
✨The discussion around motherhood, womanhood, working mom/wife, and sense of self - I understood and related to the conflict and complexity of these roles we play. Examining this complexity offered lots of worthy discussion points in our book chat.
✨True Crime storyline - We’ve seen this many times now. But here, the story provides not only how the obsession with true crime tugs at the truth/justice vs. entertainment POV but also how those lines blur in and out of focus with amazing clarity when you become attached to the true crime subject.
✨Gutierrez writing - loved, loved, loved it! The Spanglish, the descriptive settings, the emotional roller coaster of both Cassie and Lore, the justifications of their actions, and the secrets kept. I’m amazed this is a debut novel and eagerly await her sophomore novel.
✨The narration - both narrators enhanced the story. As I moved between physical book and audiobook, I became drawn more to the audiobook due to their narration.

If you're a fan of historical fiction, mystery, or true crime genres or enjoy family dramas or complex women characters, I highly recommend both the audio and physical book! 4.25 stars!

✨ Review ✨More Than You'll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez

I'm SCREAMING. I'm in love with this book. Gutierrez, who grew up in Laredo and now lives in San Antonio, writes South Texas so so well. Her descriptions of each of the places in the book (from Austin and SA to Laredo to South Texas ranches) resonates so deeply, and I loved how she wove in both the historicity of these places and their contemporary identity. Her descriptions of the fluidity of the border, of how transnationalism complicates identity, of the messiness of motherhood, and so much more are off the charts.

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

This dual POV book follows Cassie, a journalist from Austin in 2017 who discovers the story of Lore, a Laredo woman who was married to two men, and the Laredo husband was arrested for killing the husband from Mexico City (DF) in 1986. The book alternates between these characters -- Cassie seeking to learn more about Lore in the present day, and Lore's story from 1983-1986 as well as in the present day. I love dual POV historical fiction, and this was beautifully done, weaving in mid-1980s economic crises and border banking, the 1985 earthquake that levels much of DF, and more.

She also really brilliantly reflects on the genre of true crime and the relationship between author and subject through the relationship that grows between Cassie and Lore. The ways that the stories paralleled and intersected and both characters grew because of their interactions with each other was incredibly beautiful. I also loved how she took you so deeply into Lore that she made her choices understandable while also not shying away from the consequences of her actions.

Admittedly, Cassie isn't always likeable or relatable as a character and some pieces of her story might feel a bit peripheral, but I think much of this is still helping advance the larger narrative.

This was an incredible debut, and I'll be back to read whatever she writes next!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: family drama, literary fiction, with light thriller/mystery vibes
Location: South Texas (Austin, SA, Laredo) and Mexico City
Pub Date: Out now!

Read this if you like:
⭕️ really well-done bilingualism, blending some Spanish into the narrative in really natural ways
⭕️ family drama with female protagonists
⭕️ borderlands stories with strong Latinx / Mexican / Mexican American representation
⭕️ dual POV historical fiction + true crime

Also - our whole bookclub agreed that we loved this book - something that never happens! It was a GREAT book club pick. Thanks to @bookclubgirl and William Morrow for sending us a copy of this!

This riveting debut novel is told in alternating chapters set in 1985 and 2017 from the perspectives of Dolores "Lore" Rivera and Cassie Bowman. Cassie, a struggling true-crime author, encounters an article about the double life Lore led in Laredo, Texas and Mexico City in the mid-1980s when she was a successful international banker, and the murder of one of the men she married. Cassie feels compelled to investigate further, hoping it will be the break she has been seeking. Lore is resistant to Cassie's overtures but eventually lets her in; her charisma is evident from their first encounter. As the investigation unfolds, Cassie questions the facts surrounding the murder and she wonders what really happened. Did Lore's husband Fabian really kill her second husband Andres? Cassie's relentless pursuit of the answer to that question threatens Lore's now quiet life.

I really enjoyed the way the story was presented and felt that the alternating chapters captured each woman's voice and the places and times in which they were told. I can't say that either was particularly "likable" (which I don't have an issue with), but I found them both fascinating and thoroughly enjoyed the story, which kept me hooked from the first page to the last. This was an impressive debut and I can't wait to read this author's next novel based on this thriller of a tale. Many thanks to the Book Club Girl Early Reads program and HarperCollins/William Morrow for a chance to read this NetGalley version!

While this read more like domestic suspense than a thriller, it was still an overall enjoyable read! It was slow to start but picked up once some twists were thrown in. The writing was good but I felt this story was a little too long and parts of it dragged.
Thank you William & Morrow and The Scene of the Crime for this eArc.

More Than You'll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez starts off slow but picks up and once it does, I was unable to put it down. The different timeline device worked really well in the construct of this book. The characters were not very likable, but they kept my interest. I also enjoyed the diversity throughout the story. Two families, one woman, many, many different emotions.

Lore is living two lives, with two families, waiting for the day things come crashing down. Fast forward 20 years, and Cassie is investigating how one of Lore’s husbands was possibly murdered by the other, while also hiding secrets of her own. Their stories weave together as they get to know one another, realizing they may be more similar than they thought.

I really liked this book and the way the author portrays the struggle each woman faces and creates some serious levels of empathy for both of their situations. Add in a little mystery and it rounded out well. Would recommend!

I’ve been having a true crime / thriller mismatch where I’m just not super into them right now. I think that’s why this book was only okay for me

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

Told in three parts with an alternating timeline, this book truly is a work of art. Gutierrez has chosen to write about something that is virtually impossible for many of us to imagine - a person that married two people, and lived separate lives..... and that person is a woman, which made this even more thrilling. Add a murder mystery, and you have it! Dolores 'Lore" lives a dual-life - one with a husband and two children in Texas and another with a husband in Mexico. She risks it all and this book has it all... it is a slow-burner, suspense-thriller, and did not disappoint.

The writing was fantastic. I actually stole some quotes, and it started out great with the true crime fanatic. I think my problem is I really didn't have any interest in the true crime case Cassie was trying to solve with Lore's dead husband and the double life she led. The little twist at the end might have hit me harder if I didn't want it to just end at that point. I feel like it didn't hold my attention and really rambled on, but I got it as an advanced reader's copy from @netgalley, so I wanted to finish for an honest review.

Lore Rivera is an unusual protagonist, who makes decision based on her heart and not her hear. She finds herself in a complicated and strained marriage and seeks out a new relationship that leads her to even more heartache. But eventually realizes that her first and legal marriage is the more supportive one and needs to hide the truth from from both husbands.

This was an interesting concept but I felt like it was way too long and I expected a thriller but got more of a domestic suspense story. That being said, I enjoyed the two POVs and the true crime aspect and I was surprised by the ending.

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the copy to review.

I received this from William Morrow and Scene of the Crime for the early read copy.

This is the story of a woman who ends up being in love with two men and is married to both of them. She ends up struggling to maintain two households and children at her homes. Then one of her husbands ends up dead.

It was an interesting story and scenario. I enjoyed the story and book.