A double life leads to a murder and a true crime writer that wants to get to the truth of the story. This is very much a slow burn mystery with lots of family drama and I think that’s why I liked it so much. I’m not a big thriller reader but love reading about family dynamics and relationships.

We alternate timelines between 1985 and 2017 as the story unfolds. Lore has fallen in love with 2 men and creates lives with both of them. Writer Cassie has her own family drama but is drawn to this murder story and digs until she finds the murderer and motive.

I enjoyed the Spanish phrases sprinkled throughout. While I don’t speak the language, I was able to figure things out from context and personal memories of hearing family members use several of the words.

A nuanced and compelling debut! This mysterious domestic drama seamlessly alternated between the past and the present and dual POVs. Loved the Mexican-American rep with Spanish interspersed throughout. Born and raised in South Texas myself, this book felt so relatable as if I was reading about someone I know. I was captivated by the true crime vibes and interesting, complex, authentic characters . The author’s prose was excellent and deftly explored themes of love, marriage, betrayal, motherhood, addiction, abuse. This one will keep you guessing until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book took awhile to get into it but once you do you are hooked and wishing for more! I didn't want the story to end at all I wishing to know more and more! Very well written with likable characters and an intriguing storyline!

I was really excited to read this book, but it was a struggle to want to finish it. It was slow paced and extra wordy. I enjoyed the switching of the POVs and timelines. Lore was very interesting with her two husbands. I never found myself really caring about Cassie though. I liked the true crime vibes and atmosphere, but overall it was just a little boring for me. I was hoping it would be more suspenseful or thrilling.

More Than You'll Ever Know is a domestic drama that took me some time to get into, but once I did I was invested. I enjoyed the true crime vibes and the timeline and POV switches. The book had a tiny bit of Spanish interspersed which added to the atmosphere of the story. I know very little Spanish and didn't find it confusing at all. I suspect if you know Spanish it would add another layer of interest to the book. I'll be on the lookout for more of Katie Gutierrez's work in the future.

4.5 stars Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this novel as an ARC. This was an excellent read. The novel moves back and forth between Cassie, the aspiring novelist, and Lore, the woman who married two men, one of whom murdered the other. It also moves between modern day with the two women, and Lore in the 1980’s.
It would’ve been so easy as the reader to sit in judgement of Lore, and kudos to the author that she crafted a character who has so many layers that I thought to myself, I can’t just judge her choices. Clearly, Lore made selfish terrible choices, but yet she is compelling and interesting. And the relationship between her and Cassie in modern day is fascinating. Is Lore just spinning some BS to steer Cassie in the direction she wants her to go in? Is Cassie using Lore as a surrogate mother figure to ease her pain?
There are times I wanted to shake Cassie and say “wake up! You’re in danger of losing someone who loves you!” But I think Cassie learns things about herself along the way as she writes Lore’s story, and she changes as a person. I really liked this novel, and it made me think about the characters. I wish I knew a little more about Cassie’s future at the end of the novel, but I am sure the author wants us to make our own guesses. I will be recommending this one to my friends and family!

First of all thank you for allowing me to read this story! I am always thankful for the opportunity! This story has a lot of turns and a bit of twists here and there. While it was very appealing at first and it is still a good story, to me personality it lost me a bit with interest. The genre for me was not working this time around but again overall the story is intriguing and I am sure more people would absolutely love it!

How much I loved this book really snuck up on me. The plot of this one takes time to really get moving- readers get the contemporary perspective of Cassie, a true crime writer who finds herself drawn to a little known case from the 1980s- that of Lore, a woman who was married to two men with one of them ending up dead, murdered by the other, and we get Lore's perspective in the 1980s when this unfolds, as well as her contemporary perspective as she decides to work with Cassie to tell her own story. What really hit me about this book is how complicated my feelings are on Lore's choices. I can't justify them, but I see the nuance, and obviously it should never have ended the way it did, and I still really LIKED Lore. Cassie has her own story and background that she brings to her feelings on Lore. The true crime component of this is excellent as well, looking at what it really means about who does the telling and how we remember these events, especially while people are still living that were affected by it. Lore's parts of the story are set in Laredo, Texas, and Mexico City, and there is good representation for the culture, language, and places. Highly, highly recommend, and this is a great one for discussion.

Secrets are abundant in this story. A woman is leading a double life with two families. One of her husbands gets killed and the other goes to prison for it. Cassie, a journalist and blogger, is captivated by true crime. She wanted to find out what really happened and uncovers much more then she’s ever bargained. Cassie also has her secrets that resonate with her research, leading a life full of falsehoods.
I really liked this book. I share Cassie’s interest in true crime. I thought the story line was compelling and heartbreaking. Two families tour asunder because Of one woman’s actions. It’s also about dealing with the fragmented parrots of life that continue to lurk in the shadows and need to be vanquished.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an advance copy of this title. I must be honest and say the book just didn't appeal to me the deeper I got into it.

Okay so I was going to give it 3 stars but then it got more interesting toward the end when I became more invested in the story and wanted to know the answers to what really happened with Lore, Fabian, and Andres on that dreadful night. I was very into the story and trying to figure out the puzzle right along with Cassie and when the truth comes out, I saw parts of it coming from a ways away, but the last twist at the very end threw me a little bit.
This is about Dolores “Lore” Rivera who marries Andres Russo in Mexico City, even though she is already married to Fabian Rivera in Laredo, Texas, and they share twin sons. Through her career as an international banker, Lore splits her time between two countries and two families—until the truth is revealed and one husband is arrested for murdering the other. Then in 2017, Cassie is immediately enticed by what is not explored: Why would a woman—a mother—risk everything for a secret double marriage? Cassie sees an opportunity—she’ll track Lore down and capture the full picture, the choices, the deceptions that led to disaster. Soon, her determination to uncover the truth could threaten to derail Lore’s now quiet life—and expose the many secrets both women are hiding. Told through alternating timelines, More Than You’ll Ever Know is both a gripping mystery and a wrenching family drama. Presenting a window into the hearts of two very different women, it explores the many conflicting demands of marriage and motherhood, and the impossibility of ever truly knowing someone—especially those we love.
Cassie and Lore form some kind of close relationship/bond and find a friend in the other it seems, but it's a weird situation with Cassie looking into the murder of Andres and questioning Lore digging into her life, everyone's lives, and everything. Going through this investigation and questioning Lore brings things to the surface for Cassie to have to face and deal with as well as for Lore and her family also. It starts a bit slow but then picks up and then at the end I was racing through the pages to find out all the answers to what happened with Lore and her double life back then and everything. It's a rollercoaster ride that has a bit of a surprise twist right at the end.
I would put content/trigger warnings for abuse, miscarriage, a few instances of a bit more on the page discussion, or a description of intimacy/spiciness and such.
Thanks so much to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Scene of the Crime early reads for letting me read and review this intriguing story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First, I'll say that this book was very well written. However, it I had trouble connecting with the two. main. characters and it ultimately effected how much I enjoyed the book. It's definitely a 'me'' problem, but when characters don't make choices which I consider logical and reasonable, I tend to judge them bit.

I think many people will like this book more than I did, but I think it wasn't quite what I expected and was a bit more subtle than I anticipated which also likely impacted my appreciation of the book.

More Than You'll Ever Know alternates between two points of view: Cassie Bowman, a true crime writer, and Lore Rivera, the subject of her research. The premise is eye-catching since Lore had two husbands, one of whom is serving time in prison for murdering the other. Cassie thinks there could be more to the story and is all in on doing the research and trying to set up an interview with Lore. It's interesting that Cassie saw parts of herself in Lore, even though the two women had different backgrounds, and how that influences some of the decisions she makes. However, I didn't connect with either woman so it was hard to be fully invested in the story.

In addition, the book wasn't as suspenseful as I had hoped it would be. I was expecting a juicy thriller, but it was more of a slow-moving domestic drama. Lore's chapters at the beginning of the book were especially hard for me to get through. Also, something to be aware of is when Lore is speaking, she often uses a lot of English and Spanish words together in one sentence and translations of the Spanish words and phrases aren't included. I'm not fluent in Spanish, but luckily I know enough basic words that I was usually able to get the gist of what was being said without having to look anything up.

The pace of this overly long book picks up in the last part of the book and I became interested in how the story would turn out. The ending was unexpected and for the most part, satisfying. The book has a slow start and a relatively strong finish, so I settled on a rating of 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Scene of the Crime Early Reads for this ebook. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

A book about a double life...and it's not the man leading it.

Lore has it all in the 1980s. Married to her high school sweetheart, twin boys, a good career...but when she meets someone at a wedding, she wonders if she could have more.

And Lore gets more (lol at the rhyme). But it's too good to be true and before long, her second husband is dead.

Flash forward to 2017 and true crime blogger Cassie Bowman stumbles upon Lore's story. In the article she stumbles upon, Lore refused to comment. Cassie decides to reach out herself and see if she can connect with Lore and tell Lore's side of the story.

Ok so this book was good. It was, imo, too long (Goodreads says it's around 450 pages). There were some chapters that were very detailed and honestly kind of repetitive. I did love the dual POVs and the dual timelines. But I just could not connect to Lore. I could barely connect to Cassie. Of course Cassie has her own demons so she and Lore end up with heart to hearts. Lore was also pretty manipulative. I just could not figure out her deal. Also, there was a lot of Spanish in the book and a lot of cultural? references (instead of saying Mexico City, it was always referred to as DF, without explanation) that I had to look that up myself, which of course slowed down my reading. FINALLY, I wish I learned a tad bit more about Cassie since she had her own demons.

If you want a domestic drama with a little historical fiction, this is the book for you! Honestly if the book was a little shorter and just a little faster paced, it would be a higher ranking.

The book did keep me entertained and the ending was definitely something I didn't think would happen.

MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER KNOW will be released June 7.

Thanks to William Morrow and Scene of the Crime (on Facebook) for my advance e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

More Than You'll Ever Know is the story of 2 women, told in dual timelines. Cassie, a young reporter, sees the opportunity of a lifetime to tell the scandalous story of Lore, a woman who back in the mid 80's was married to 2 different men, one of them tragically killing the other. In all this time, no one has been able to talk to Lore about the events that happened long ago and Cassie, being a true crime junkie with her own secrets and past trauma, sets out to tell Lore's stories, from Lore's perspective. This deep dive into the past will have ramifications neither of them will expect.
This was a great story that held my interest throughout. There is ALOT of spanish in this book, so be prepared for that. Thankfully I'm a spanish speaker and it didn't affect my opinion but I can see how not understanding what is being said might. Overall it was a unique story told in a unique way and I really enjoyed it!

The story has a dual timeline between the present (2017) and the past (early 80s) flipping between the story of Lore, a woman who was married to two men at the same time and Cassie, a true crime fanatic and aspiring writer whose blog material keeps her immersed in murder. Cassie is fascinated by Lore’s story, how her double life ended when her first husband kills her second husband and has spent the last decades in prison. Lore’s first family has stood by her while her second family vilifies her and mourns the unnecessary death of their father. Cassie’s obsession is starting to impact her own relationship as her focus takes her away from planning her future. As Cassie explores what and why Lore led a double life, she learns more about the complexity of Lore, her motivations and actions, it’s not as simple as it first seems.

I enjoyed the story which had a steady pace and was easy to follow despite the dual timeline. It was also interesting how the author focused on these two characters and the relationship they form. I would calling it a simmer vs. a slow burn and it held my attention and pulled me through to the conclusion.

More Than You’ll Ever Know
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (Rounded up to 4 ⭐️)
Genre: Thriller / Mystery
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 6/7/22
Author: Katie Gutierrez
Publisher: William Morrow and Company
Pages: 448
Goodreads Rating: 4.18

TW ⚠️: Alcoholism and domestic abuse

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow and Company for providing a digital copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: In 1985, Dolores “Lore” Rivera marries Andres Russo in Mexico City, even though she is already married to Fabian Rivera in Laredo, Texas, and they share twin sons. Through her career as an international banker, Lore splits her time between two countries and two families—until the truth is revealed and one husband is arrested for murdering the other. Fast forward to 2017, Cassie is immediately enticed by what is not explored: Why would a woman—a mother—risk everything for a secret double marriage? Cassie sees an opportunity—she’ll track Lore down and capture the full picture, the choices, the deceptions that led to disaster. Soon, her determination to uncover the truth could threaten to derail Lore’s now quiet life—and expose the many secrets both women are hiding.

My Thoughts: The story is narrated in alternating timelines from 1985 by Lore to the present, 2018, by Cassie, in their persepctives. The first two parts are more historical fiction with a twist of domestic drama and were a slow burn for me. However, the last part was the mystery aspect and was fast paced and page turning. The book was a little long for me and some parts probably could have been cut to get the book around 300 pages. The characters are well developed with depth, mystery, emotion, infallible, and secrets, and at the same time relatable and real. The author’s writing is complex, intriguing, and creative. My biggest concern was there was a great deal of Spanish in the book with no translation and I had to look up the words that I did not know, or skip them. However, with this being a debut novel, this author can only grow and I know she will do great things! Overall, a good read and I would most definitely pick up another novel from this author.

The premise of this book hooked me — a young journalist in 2007, Cassie, goes after the story of a woman in 1983 who had two families, one in the U.S. and one in Mexico, (children and step-children involved!)which ended in one of the husbands dead in a hotel room. What could make a woman want too families? It sounds so exhausting and so.much.work. —especially since the woman, Lore, has a senior position at a community bank in Laredo, Texas.

Cassie is broke and in a relationship with a really nice guy who has a great family. But she’s not happy in the relationship. Cassie’s mom is dead, her dad physically abused her mom and is an alcoholic, and she has a younger brother who she left with the dad. Lots of unresolved issues there, but honestly — I didn’t care about or connect with Cassie.

What I learned about a female who has two families is that they are just as unlikeable and selfish as a male who does the same thing. It’s just not interesting. There is a story in there, but not the one I spent 448 pages reading. The unrealistic thing I could not wrap my head around is why Lore would talk to Cassie. Why would she open that door? The reason given just didn’t work for me.

I did love the descriptions of Laredo, Texas, which were spot on! It is such an interesting area of the country.

A woman living two lives, married to two men, that all ultimately ends up in one husband murdered and one in prison. What a premise, and this author definitely delivered!

Now, to be clear, this book is definitely not the thriller I went into this expecting it to be. It has a much slower pace than I was expecting so I'd categorized this more as a mystery. But despite this I was pulled in the whole time and didn't want to put this book down. I just love when authors are able to use little details you don't initially notice to pull the story together.

I loved both Lore and Cassie, they were both great and believable characters. I'm still not sure if Cassie's relationship added or detracted to the story, but I guess it did round her out more. I did love how her family dynamics played into this though and added layers to her, helping us better understand her career choice. And Lore was just a fantastically complicated and incredible and flawed character. Her character was written so well.

Overall this was a fantastic book that I highly recommend!!

More Than You’ll Ever Know is a gripping fictional “true crime” novel set in South Texas and Mexico. Lovers of true crime and mystery will definitely want to pick up this novel once it’s released. Twists abound!