More Than You'll Ever Know: The suspenseful and heart-pounding Radio 2 Book Club pick Paperback – 28 Sept. 2023

Well... this was exciting and kept me on my toes all the way through. We follow true crime blogger Cassie in 2017 as she stumbles on an old case that really piques her interest. That of Delores (Lore) Rivera who bucked the trend in crime by having two husbands. A situation that completely imploded one night when one, Fabian Rivera, killed the other, Andres Russo, back in '85.How could she have pulled the duplicity off - well, Fabian and her lived in Texas, and Andres in Mexico City. Lore herself worked for a credit union with clients in both places, enabling her travel.Cassie's interest comes about when she reads an article about the crime which, she feels, did not represent Lore properly and really wants to redress that balance. Which is how she spins it to Lore and others involved when she is setting out.Told in alternating chapters - past and present - and told by Cassie and Lore, we see how it all began for Lore's bigamy, and how it all fell apart in the past, as well as follow Cassie's investigation in the present. The two timelines complement each other as they meander along until finally the whole truth is fully exposed. And boy what a truth it is!As well as being interesting and intriguing, it's also quite an emotional read. I did feel for many of the characters along the way, also changing my mind about several too! There's a lot of historical background to be found within which added another layer to what was happening, and another emotional level too. And explained a lot of Lore's motive.The truth when it arrived wasn't quite as shocking to me as it could have been as I did guess certain things a little early. But I did have fun as it crescendo-ed towards its final conclusions. And although I did guess the who, the why and other details did escape my wiles.I know we all have secret but Lore's were a bit of a doozy. Do I condone her actions? Of course not. But it doesn't mean that I can't sympathise and empathise with her. Circumstances and all that. And doing a bad thing does not make you a bad person.The narrative is peppered throughout with Spanish. Most of which is directly translated soon thereafter. It did irk me a while initially but then I got used to it and it didn't really bother me thereafter. Not enough to drop a rating anyway!My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Actual rating 4.5.This is such an addictive read but I don’t recommend reading it in a heatwave because it is SCORCHING enough! 🔥🔥So compelling and realistic that you’ll think you’re reading true crime, this is a story of two women both dealing with tragic pasts, finding a connection. Cassie Bowman is trying to get her career as a true-crime writer off the ground, so when she hears about the story or Lore Rivera, a woman who was married to two men until one killed the other, she just knows it’s what she needs to finally make it! Except as she gets to know Lore and investigates the story, she realises that maybe everything isn’t as clear as it seems, and whilst she could blow the lid off it all, she’s not sure it’s worth destroying so many lives for…OMG this is SO good! I picked it up after a so-so read because so many people had already raved about it, and it didn’t disappoint - despite its size it was finished in a day! This is a surprisingly feminist story in many ways - of a woman trying to forge a career, and another who is tired of losing herself as a wife and mother. I felt for both Cassie and Lore, and loved the dual narratives and timelines so we could really get to know both women and their stories.This is an emotional and tough read at times - there’s domestic abuse, murder and heartache as you’d expect, but it’s not done in a creepy thriller way, it’s far more moving and thought provoking. Whilst I did expect the ending (it’s a classic and you might guess it pretty early on), that didn’t in any way reduce my enjoyment or the page turning nature of this. This is a brilliant insight into families, relationships and how our actions can reverberate down the years, all done in an exciting, murderous way! 🤣 Highly recommend!

Thanks to netgalley for my ARC.This is a debut novel and I really want to be positive about it. But I have mixed feelings over this.I really enjoyed the start of the book. We learn about the wife in both of her relationships, how they started and how much she loves them both.The characters are well crafted and you’ll love most of them.My problem is with Cassie and her life. Cassie is writing the book about the murder and this could be her big break. At the start I did think it was an incel book because Cassie as an author doesn’t come out straight away.However, I feel lost about the ending. What happened to Cassie’s boyfriend and did she ever text his family back?Lore’s story seemed to take over at the end and I wasn’t prepared for so many unanswered questions.The pace seemed to slow for me in the second half of the book as the interviews deepened. But I did think that the ideas around the necklace and the driveway were clever.It’s a good book but it didn’t blow me away.

Fantastic, beautifully written, engrossing story. I stayed up all night and read it in one go. Incredible layered characters and I was so invested in their life. I will definitely buy anything else by Gutierrez.

What a very unusual novel! I loved it. I loved the story, but above everything the author's writing. She made me 'feel' so many of the interactions between Lore/Fabian/Andres. Part of me can understand how Lore absolutely loved both Duke and Andres. Put aside the 'morality' question- i.e. how could a woman deceive two men (& families), and just enjoy the descriptions of her journey. This novel is sweeping in the author's writing style, her character portrayals, the flavor of Mexico, the suspense of learning the truth behind Andres' death.And oh, the description(s) of the earthquake....heartbreaking.Per other reader's comments, I was not put off by the Spanish words/phrases...I just would highlite for Translation to come up and if it didn't I moved on...I got the 'gist' of most of them.And I did not find 400+ pages too long for this novel...if a story keeps me interested throughout, I'm lost in it. (And I actually prefer novels over 300 pgs...especially if I'm paying $15! I want my money's worth!) Which I got in spades with this beautiful story.I love when I get to the part in a novel where I immediately understand where the novel's title comes from...it's beautifully apparent in this one as soon as you come upon it. And love its reference one more time in the author's (beautiful) "Acknowledgements" at the end.I am an avid crime novel reader, but seek out 'interesting' stories (fiction) as well....this to me was a real 'find' and I highly recommend.Some of the passages poignant to me that I highlighted:"A simple misunderstanding, an incomplete sentencer, leading to a moment when everything that will happen has not yet happened, and so every possibility still exists." This is just before Lore's life 'forks'-when she accepts to dance w/Andres in the very beginning."In the course of my double-life research, I came across only one other American woman known to have been secretly married to two men at once, and it had nothing to do with money. The writer Anais Nin........" then she goes on to reveal what that was all about. Fascinating."But my plans, my dreams, would have died there. I could feel it, the way paper curls away from a flame before its edges blacken with burn.""Men who need control are so easy to manipulate. All you have to do is give them what they want, right up until the moment you take it from them.""It's easier for men to dismiss a woman than attempt to understand her-especially a woman like Dolores, who didn't just cast off societal expectations but burned them to the ground.""She'd disappear in a crowd the way older women do, the adventures and passions of their youth tucked far from view of a society that's lost interest in them.""For every story told out loud, there is the story we only tell ourselves. And behind that-somewhere, often out of reach-is the truth. The trick is telling them apart.""Because people aren't just murdered in moments; they're murdered in all the moments leading up to that final act.""I remembered what my mother had once told our class: History is written by those who have power and want to keep it. So when you read your textbooks, ask yourself who is telling the story-and what they have to gain by your believing it.""She sees how the lies will build, brick after brick into a fortress designed to protest, but protection means separation, means they will never be as close as he thinks or she wants, and one mistake, one misremembered detail, will be enough to take down the whole thing, burying them both beneath its rubble.""Perhaps not every affair is about lack in the primary relationship; perhaps some are about a complement. Perhaps multiple relationships can illuminate different parts of the self, like a prism turned first this way, then that, toward the light. Perhaps to love and allow love from only one person at a time is to trap the self into a single, frozen version, and it's this that makes us look elsewhere.""When we're shocked someone isn't who we thought they were, it's usually not because they hid it so well-more like, the closer we are to a person, the less clearly we see them."Cassie: "I'd wanted to investigate the crime-if you could call it that, which was, confusingly, less obvious to me than when I'd begun this project-of Lore's heart."RELISH the author's "Acknowledgements". One of the loveliest I've ever read-especially the very last sentence(!)

The premise was interesting, like reading a Dateline episode. Basically i liked the story but i almost DNF several times for two reasons. First, i know a few words in Spanish and it went back and forth between Spanish and English but it wasn’t enough to keep up if you’re not fairly fluent in Spanish. I thought i could pick it up through context but was afraid i would miss something important in the murder mystery story line. I agree with another comment that this should have been explained in the synopsis or maybe two versions. It really stops the flow when you have to stop and translate. I’ve read other books where the other language is explained in a way you can keep up. My second issue was it was just too long! There were many instances where unnecessary details were given, such as that two had Dr Pepper for thanksgiving dinner and two had water…didn’t make a difference in the plot. If the story hadn’t been intriguing, I would’ve given it 3stars.

⭐️ R E V I E W ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/ 5📖: More Than You’ll Ever Know✍🏻: Katie Gutierrez📄: 431Mood: Bigamy Meets Murder“The dance becomes an affair which becomes a marriage which becomes a murder” (Intro)This book was 400 something pages too many. I appreciated the multiple POV’s and the time lapse - I even enjoyed the Spanglish that’s sprinkled into almost every sentence. But this story could have easily been told in 200 pages.A part of me feels that it was my mistake reading this story now. It’s summertime and I’m in the mood for light and breezy love stories and this is anything but. Still, I was too intrigued by the synopsis to not pick up and start reading immediately. I was hoping that I could get through it rather quickly, instead however, it took me the entire month of June to finish 😬 😓I also have to be transparent and note that although I think Gutierrez was trying to make a loud point on how women can feel suffocated in marriage and motherhood and are desperate to unbury their old selves…she made the main character look like a narcissist and extremely difficult to be liked which made the overall story hard to relate to in any sense - even figuratively.I feel Gutierrez took a very valid battle that women face and she tarnished it by making our needs look cheap. It’s not just that Lore committed bigamy (not just 😅) - it’s that she felt NO remorse - not to the children - nevermind the husbands. She felt entitled.Cassie - the other main character was also a confusing one for me - unwilling to heal her childhood trauma and almost being comfortable to use it as an excuse to be hyper self focused.Bottom line - I don’t think women overall are designed to be self centered and both of these women are the epitome of (dare I say), a man’s world.Parts of the storyline were intriguing but overall I struggled to enjoy much of this story. Still - I didn’t hate it.

Gutierrez's writing is beautiful and captures so many delicate emotions and nuances that I believe we can all relate to and will experience. Her portrayal of the U.S./Mexico border adds complexity and historical content that many, if not most, depictions of this border fail to depict. There are so many phrases and sentences I can reference that capture the depths of a bilingual/bicultural community, like "The cuates were my organs, my tripas and corazon, pulsing and exposed, constantly under threat." What a way to express this emotion! I was disappointed to read that a few reviewers did not appreciate having to look into Spanish words/phrases when there is so much value in exposing oneself to linguistic and cultural expressions and terminology that we are not familiar with. Quite sad that this was the attitude, especially given that the code-switching and sprinkling of Spanish are authentic, accurate, and add another layer of depth. Gutierrez's prose conveys the smells, the heat, the family ties, and the role of mother, one that she leaves bare and honest, with all of its challenges. A story like this one is the kind I like best because these characters could be anyone we know and their circumstances could happen to anyone. There isn't anything particularly remarkable about these people besides the events involving Andres and the choices they make as a result of him being a part of their lives. This makes the story both accessible and deeply moving! If you appreciate thoughtful and beautiful writing that takes you to an unfamiliar place through familiar human emotions, this is a must-read.