A stunning portrait of human morality, More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez is simultaneously a love letter and a critical analysis of the true crime genre. Set in 2017, Cassie, a struggling crime writer, learns of the story of Lore Rivera—a woman who in the mid-1980’s was secretly married to two men—until one husband murdered the other. Now an older woman living alone, Lore agrees to allow Cassie to write a book on Lore’s life with one rule: Cassie cannot ask Lore about the day Fabian killed Andres.
Gutierrez wonderfully captures the complexities of human morality, specifically in women. Cassie, Lore, and many of the other characters are multi-dimensional in their feelings of love and hate, selfishness and self-sacrifice. Cassie reflects the modern intricacy of the true crime genre, with her empathy towards Lore’s story often fighting against her exploitation of it. Each chapter switches back and forth from Cassie’s and Lore’s perspectives, with Lore’s point of view switching from present day to the past, beginning when she first met her second husband. The backdrop of the 1980’s Mexican Peso crisis fuels Lore’s situation, with the financial strain creating tension in her home life with her husband Fabian and their twin boys. Her job as an international banker has her traveling back and forth between Texas to Mexico City, where she meets and falls in love with a single father, Andres. The story plays out in tandem with Cassie and Lore’s interviews in 2017, as well as with Cassie’s struggle to open up with her fiancé, Duke, about her abusive childhood and strained relationship with her alcoholic father.
“A stunning portrait of human morality...”
As Cassie, a true crime lover, is forced to contend with her one dimensional views of crime and morality–Lore pushes towards seeking closure for the tragedy that was brought upon by her decisions. While Lore’s story with Fabian and Andres shines as the novel’s major focus–Cassie’s storyline of her and Duke’s strained relationship often feels like the novel’s weak spot. Duke, the only character with a happy family background, feels the least fleshed out, more so than characters who appear less, yet are shown to be more complex individuals.
More Than You’ll Ever Know is filled with refreshingly human characters whose separate struggles seem unmatched on the surface yet are weaved seamlessly together through Gutierrez’s clean writing and intricate plotting. Beautiful and fast paced, the story culminates in a twist both shocking and achingly perfect.
Katie Gutierrez has an MFA from Texas State University, and her writing has appeared in Harper's Bazaar, The Washington Post, Longreads, Texas Monthly, and more. She was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and now lives in San Antonio, with her husband and their two children. More Than You'll Ever Know is her first novel.
Nikkia Rivera is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. She has previously been published in Thriller Magazine and Scarlet Leaf Magazine.
