Member Reviews
More Than You'll Ever Know by Katie Butierrez was fantastic!! I was immediately drawn into the life of Lore Rivera, who has a loving husband, who works hard for his family and twin sons. With a recession occurring the world over, Lore is left being the sole stable breadwinner, while her husband does all he can to keep his company afloat.
Lore meets a handsome doctor while in Mexico working for her company. She, for a night, forgets her family and has a fling. That fling led to more days stolen together and more lies, some by just omission, to become part of her life. One day that all falls apart when the men meet. A life is taken and another spends his life in prison.
Writer, Cassie Bowman, reads an article about the event 30 years later and sees a story that needs to be told.
Cassie talks Lore into sharing her story and the two women end up in sharing the secrets they both hide. Secrets that could tear their lives apart.
This story goes back and forth between life in 1985 and today, life in Mexico and life in the US. The author tells an amazing story that I would highly recommend.
Wow, just wow. I don't think I was mentally prepared for this as I just welcomed a baby in early April but I couldn't put it down. I needed to know what happened. Well done by the author.
3.5
This one had such a good premise and I could not wait to read it, but then it was such a long story I thought I would never finish. In fact, I wanted it to be over...quickly.
"The dance becomes an affair, which becomes a marriage, which becomes a murder..."
1985- Lore struggles with her husband in Texas to make ends meet. Sacrifices must be made so her husband Fabian travels between two jobs. She is busy with her own job and twin boys. When she meets another man, Andres, on a business trip in Mexico city, she falls for the attention he pours on her. This story is more about the decisions and lack of she makes. She marries Andres without his knowledge of her family situation in Texas. When one husband is murdered and the other husband spends time for his crime, it reveals the right questions were never asked or investigated. It was a confession and a conviction.
2017- Cassie, a true-crime writer stumbles upon the case and decides to investigate Lore's side of the story and her separate identities. There is a lot behind Cassie's own family life disclosed during her interview with Lore.
I'm glad to see all the wonderful reviews on this book, and I wish I had been more into the characters as some of them were.
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for this ARC in exchange for my review.
By the time I finished this book I still wasn’t sure why it was classified as a mystery. But I will say it was a truly engrossing story. It’s more a family drama but this writer has crafted characters that you really care about. Everything about this book was so well plotted and well timed and while I usually prefer more classic mystery stories I would read this book again. And again. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.
This was such an interesting read, I loved the dual timelines and POV's. Lore and Andres were such a vibrant couple that I found myself rooting for things to work out between them but really, how could they when all was built on a lie? Her and Fabian's relationship was one of solidness and familiarity, almost to its detriment (to Lore, who seemingly craved excitement.) The lengths Lore and Fabian were willing to go to in order to protect their children shows how deep and endless parental love is while also highlighting the hold that parents have over children, and parental actions have long lasting consequences, as is the case with Cassie and her family story. I thought the book could have been slightly shorter, it seemed to go on for ages but overall, a really solid book that I enjoyed!
Cassie has always had a fascination with crime. When she comes across the decades old true story of a woman leading a double life, she cannot help but dig deeper.
Lore Rivera reluctantly starts sharing - and the narrative takes us through Lore's journey to a dual life while also causing Cassie to approach some demons from her past.
Overall this was a great read - I loved the two perspectives and how things changed. Weaving some of the challenges in Cassie's life as well. I would have liked the last part to have been teased out a bit further. A great way to spend a weekend!
Thank you to William Morrow and to Netgalley for the ARC.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#MoreThanYoullEverKnow was a true tangle of romance, mystery and drama! A woman leading a double life is exposed when one husband murders the other. A true crime obsessed blogger who needs to know more about the woman who tricked 2 men. We absolutely loved this book - there were a lot of story lines going on, which kept us hooked! It’s a slower burn, but well worth it in our opinion. And it’s set in the great state of Texas, so we loved spotting some of our local favorites in the story!
WHAT WE LOVED
+ shifts in timeline
+ double perspectives
+ plot twists
READ IF YOU ENJOYED
+ In My Dreams I Hold A Knife
+ Seven Husband of Evelyn Hugo
+ Something In The Water
More Than You'll Ever Know is a story within a story with the true crime aspect.
Perfect.
The book is a bit of a slow burn but once I got to know Cassie, the struggling true crime writer and Dolores who was married to two man at once, I found it hard to put down.
The ripple effect of Dolores or Lore as she is called, marrying two men has a profound effect on everyone in her circle.
The book is part family drama and part detective.
Well worth taking the time to read : clear you calendar because you won't want to put it down.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishers for a fascinating read.
True Crime has had Cassie in a vise since she was a child when she bonded with her mom once a week while watching Dateline. Now a lowly paid journalist/ true crime blogger, Cassie sees an opportunity to tell the story of one of the few female polygamists in the country, Lore Rivera, and reveal the events leading up to one husband's murder and the other husband's incarceration for that murder. Things change when she forms a tentative friendship with Lore and once the pieces of this true crime puzzle no longer fits together as neatly as she thought. Who really is responsible of the death of Lore's beloved husband? Pick up More Than You'll Ever Know and read for yourself
More Than You'll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez is an outstanding read. As a long time suspense reader I found that nothing in the book was predictable; Guitierrez's storytelling was fresh and her actual prose was poetic and provacative; the mystery element was quite strong especially for a debut writer; the character perspectives, backstories and dialogue felt unique, I really loved all of these flawed characters, even at their worst. Finally, enjoyed having Mexico City as backdrop character, the book supplies the reader with such vivid descriptions of the beautiful city and its history which establishes why more diversity of thought and culture is so important to the mystery/thriller genre. I highly recommend this one if you like suspense books that are steeped history and full of telenovela drama. One of the best books I have read all year, maybe all time. Really excited to read more from Katie Gutierrez.
It’s 1985 and Lore Riviera is a mom of twin teenage boys. She’s an investment banker. And she’s married to two men.
She married her childhood sweetheart, Fabian, in Laredo, Texas. When economic troubles result to marriage troubles, Lore finds herself falling in love with Andres in Mexico City. Instead of deciding between the two men, she lives a double life that ends in tragedy with one husband dead and one in prison.
Enter present day, True Crime journalist Cassie Bowman. Cassie finds Lore’s story and wants to get to the bottom of what actually happened.
This was such an interesting book. There were so many times when I found myself feeling sympathy and rooting for Lore - even though she’s a liar and manipulator.
Though this one was long and slow at times, I was always interested and needed to know WHAT HAPPENED! The writing was beautiful and Katie Gutierrez knocked it out of the park for an unique debut
I really enjoyed this book. It was a little longer than usual but did keep my interest. The story revolves around two women. Cassie, who is very interested in true crime and stumbles upon a crime where Lore Rivera, an international banker, is involved. Cassie decides she want to write a true crime novel about this and calls Lore to see if she would be interested in being interviewed for the book. She is and they start meeting each other and talking about what led up to the crime. They also discuss Cassie's life. Lore Rivera is a bigamist and she is married to a wonderful man Fabian and they have two sons together. On one of her trips to Mexico City she meets Andres Russo and falls in love with him. She then starts living two different lives. One with Fabian and her boys and one with Andres and his kids from another marriage. They end up getting married. After a couple of years of marriage Andres comes to Texas to visit his wife only to find out she has another husband. He ends up dead in his hotel room and Fabian is in jail for murder. As Cassie learns more and more about the Rivera and Russo families she also discovers that there are secrets kept about the night of the murder. Poor Cassie is also going through some private emotional stuff of her own with her fiance. She also has not come to terms with her father and his alcoholism. During this book you never know who to route for: the narcissistic bigamist of the poor pathetic writer. There are twists and turns in this book. You have to find out how it ends and when you do, you will not be disappointed.
Thanks to #netgalley, #Willammorrow and @katiegutierrezwriter for an ARC of this great book.
Thank you to the publishers at William Morrow and Netgalley for this e-ARC of More Than You’ll Ever Know.
Read this if you
🕵🏻♀️ love true crime
🤱🏽 are a mother
🇲🇽 love books with mixed language
📖 love long books
More Than You’ll Ever Know is a dual POV story told from Cassie and Lore’s perspectives. Cassie, a down on her luck true crime blog writer, is looking for the next big thing, so when she comes across the story of a woman who had two husbands simultaneously back in the 80s, she’s immediately intrigued. Lore, on the other hand, isn’t willing to discuss the past, at first, but when Cassie tugs at her heartstrings, Lore decides to tell her everything, or at least her version.
As the timelines shift between the 80s and the present, aka 2017, we see directly into Lore’s past, with Fabian and Andres, and why she made the choices that led to one husband’s death.
After reading More Than You’ll Ever Know, the title is more important than I would have ever guessed. Cassie and Lore come from two very different families and lives, but they connect on a level that only women can recognize; that need for more, that need to have it all - motherhood, a career, true love. I loved that Lore was able to help Cassie recognize that she needed to fix some parts of her life, and that Cassie was able to really tug on Lore’s heartstrings. By the end, they have a great relationship. Katie does a great job of creating two very real people for us to empathize with. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next for us!
WOW! This was a really good story to get wrapped up in! Not really a thriller, more of a family drama, but WHAT DRAMA!! Reporter Cassie Bowman thinks the story of Dolores "Lore" Rivera will be the story of a lifetime. Lore is married to two men, and one is accused of murdering the other. She agrees to an interview years later with Cassie. The timelines alternate back and forth and all is not as it seems. This would be a solid 5 stars, but I felt it was a little too long and i had to stop several times to Google some of the Spanish words, but all in all, a fantastic debut and I look forward to more from this author!
Thank you to #NetGalley #WilliamMorrow and #KatieGutierrez for this ARC. All opinions are my own.
I LOVED THIS BOOK. A lot. More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez is Good Morning America’s book club selection for June, and my gosh, they picked VERY well! It’s a mega book. Not only because of it’s size, but also it’s content. It has everything you could possibly wish for. There’s SO many elements to this story, yet it’s not overwhelming at all. I was completely enthralled from start to finish. There’s truly something for every reader:
True crime? ✔️
Murder investigation? ✔️
Family drama? ✔️
Mystery and suspense? ✔️
Historical fiction? ✔️
Motherhood & marriage? ✔️
Lies, secrets, and deception? ✔️
Love story? (Heck, we get two!) ✔️
The concept of this novel is brilliant. We have two protagonists: Cassie, the struggling true crime blogger, and Lores, the woman who once led a double life, married two men, and then one of them murdered the other! Cassie is fascinated by this story, and approaches Lores, begging to share her side of the story. Lores is very hesitant at first, but finally agrees. The novel flips back and forth between each woman’s perspective, and also back in time, as Lores recounts that period in her life. I adored the relationship formed between the writer and her subject. I also loved learning about Cassie’s past and present life as well. Gutierrez developed both characters perfectly. I really don’t want to say too much more, I just REALLY want you all to read it. 5/5 impressive stars for More Than You’ll Ever Know!
Two husbands. Two Lives. All collide into a tragic ending. One true crime writer feels there is much more to the story that's been told.
Described as literary suspense and a gripping mystery, I was anticipating a fast paced thriller of a story. My expectations were not met.. not to say that was a bad thing, it was just the story didn't necessarily match the story I had built in my head. A slow burn indeed. The story is told in three parts with the last part being my favorite, since that's were the story peaks and the mystery begins to unfold.
I enjoyed the style of writing and found it to be well written, just lengthy at times. For a debut novel it was well done. Thought provoking. I"d be interested in reading Katie Gutierrez's next book.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review honestly in exchange of an advanced digital copy.
“More Than You’ll Ever Know” is a debut novel by Katie Gutierrez that should be on your TBR list for this summer! This novel is about a woman who is caught leading a double-life after one husband murders the other husband and a true crime writer who becomes obsessed with telling the story! I loved the plot and the twists. I also enjoyed that the dialogue was written with both Spanish and English phrases. I am not bilingual, but found it interesting to look up the Spanish. It made the dialogue more realistic to me, like I could imagine being there for the conversations. The book was published this week, so make sure to grab it for your beach or pool bag!
Thank you @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.
This book is exactly what I look for in a fun thriller/mystery. This book follows a women who is living a double life and is married to 2 men- one ends up murdering the other. This book goes between a journalist investigating the murder and the wife which gives a good look into both sides of the murder. This domestic thriller had such a phenomenal ending- that really just elevates the reading experience for the reader! Definitely recommend for the summer.
A woman in the 1980s lives a double life, married to two men. And this results in the murder of one man by the other. In 2017 a crime blogger is intrigued by this woman. But what she learns may turn many lives upside down.
This book was fast-paced, well-written, and though provoking. It explores women and their needs, abuse, and family secrets. It’s fantastic.
Writing a true crime blog gave Cassie Bowman a small income. An article that described a murder from 1985 involving a female bigamist caught her attention. Lore Rivera was married to Fabian in Laredo, Texas and Andres Russo in Mexico City. Fabian was accused of killing Andres and is still serving time in prison. Cassie sees an opportunity to update this story, telling it from Lore’s point of view, and possibly turning it into a book.
Lore was a successful banker, married to a man in a failing business. It had taken a toll on her marriage. On a trip to Mexico City she met Andres, whose attentions made her once again feel wanted. Kate Gutierrez alternates scenes from Lore’s story with Cassie’s growing need to tell this story. Lore was in love with both of her husbands and split her time between the two cities. Eventually Andres learned of her double life and confronted Fabian. This lead to Andres’ death, but Cassie questions the circumstances of his death and Fabian’s confession.
More Than You’ll Ever Know gets off to a slow start and continues to build slowly. It finally begins to move quickly in the final third as Andres not only confronts Fabian, but Cassie also confronts issues from her past. Cassie grew up with an alcoholic father who became abusive when he drank. As Cassie questioned Lore about her past, Lore challenged Cassie to look at her own life. While Andres’ death provides a mystery, this story contains so much more. It is a domestic drama that explores family and a mother’s role. Lore has twin sons who have now grown. She speaks to them in a mixture of English and Spanish, which sometimes became a distraction. Overall, Gutierrez provides a satisfying story with memorable characters. This book was provided by NetGalley and William Morrow Publishers through Scene of the Crime for my review.
This book was so good! On the surface it was about a reporter trying to get a story from a reluctant person. But it was so much more. I love how it flashed back and forth between Lore and Cassie. There was so much depth to this book and I loved the writing so much.