Read This Book…

This is a novel told from two viewpoints, across two timelines. First, we have Lore Rivera, a thirty-something international banker from Texas who makes frequent trips to Mexico City for work. She’s holding her family—husband and two sons—together by a shoestring back home, but when she meets a dazzling man in Mexico City it’s not long before she is living a double life, falling in love and then, against her better judgement, marrying him. For three years she splits her time between Mexico and Texas, no one any wiser, until her double life is discovered and one of her husbands kills the other.

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In present day, Cassie Bowman is a true crime journalist looking for her big break. When she reads a retrospective about Lore’s case, she’s disgusted by the sloppy telling and intrigued by Lore—what would inspire a woman to risk everything for a double life? And is she really completely innocent in the murder of her husband? Cassie sets out to convince Lore to tell her side of the story, but not everything is as cut and dry as it seems.

I really loved this book, and I was drawn to it for the same reasons that Cassie was drawn to Lore’s case: The concept of a woman having two husbands and a double life is not nearly as common as a man having two families. In alternating chapters, we learn about Lore’s past and the circumstances that led her to meeting her second husband, falling for him, deceiving him, all while trying to hold together her family back home. Lore clearly loves both of her husbands, and she’s under a lot of pressure to provide for her family during a recession, leaving her little room to be wholly herself. This is not an excuse for her actions, but rather the very intriguing set of circumstances that lead to her choices, which will have a devastating effect on everyone involved.

Cassie does come across as a little mercenary and voyeuristic at first. She’s aware of the problematic nature of murder as entertainment and her part in perpetuating stereotypes that women are victims. But she has her own reasons to be drawn to true crime, and skeletons in her closet that she keeps locked away. She truly wants to understand Lore, and Lore in turn forces Cassie to face those skeletons. Soon, they both become so enmeshed in each other’s stories that it’s impossible to walk away, and Cassie and Lore began to wonder if sometimes, telling the truth isn’t necessarily the same thing as obtaining justice.

I loved this book for the big questions it asks, the layered characters, and the vivid depictions of Laredo, TX and Mexico City in the 1980s. After reading this book, I would pick up anything that Katie Gutierrez writes! Bonus: The audiobook was excellent, with seamless dual narration!