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softstarrynights's review against another edition
4.0
Well, well, well, what a dark horse this one was!
‘I Love You More’ is essentially a slow burning murder mystery, about the murder of a man, Oliver Lane, who has, or well had, two secret families. I don’t feel like I need to explain that he did not have many fans, so the suspects are pretty obvious. There’s not really much more I can say without spoiling the plot, but I will give it a valiant attempt.
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One of the most striking features of this novel is the varied narration techniques, which despite giving you a broad understanding of a lot of different characters laves you none the wiser to the culprit. The majority of chapters are split between Kyle, a detective investigating the murder, and Picasso, the victim’s young daughter, and these chapters are first person point of view (POV). Then you have a handful of chapters from the collective, second person POV, of ‘the wives’, almost as though you are one of them, just in case you needed more motivation to hate on Oliver. But the pièce de résistance, which was a huge part in pushing this book up to a four star book, is from another characters POV. I don’t want to say whose, exactly just because it was a really nice surprise when it came along. This was probably my favourite chapters because it was just so out there and intriguing, but at the same time I’m glad it was just a one off. It’s sort of like when you read an amazing stand-alone, that’s perfect as just a stand-alone. Personally I always like multiple POV’s in a book because it keeps things interesting, but if that’s not your thing then you might struggle a little.
Now (I think) I have some really valid reasons why this just wasn’t a five star book for me, even though it’s definitely something I’d like to re-read in the future. First of all I was really confused about the time period we were in. Originally I took it to be a contemporary, but around 50 page or so I’d convinced myself this was the 1950s. It wasn’t. It is in fact contemporary. I don’t know if the author decided it definitely was contemporary half way through, I know I’ve done the same thing in my own writing. Maybe it just an accurate portrayal of what I think was Southern America, and being Welsh I just didn’t know that? Something about it just felt a little off. The second thing was the genre; I took this to be a thriller, again I don’t know where I get these ideas from, but really it’s more of a murder mystery. Just to clarify, I’d expect a thriller to build up to the murder, whereas what it did as a murder mystery was to kick off with the murder and then go from there. Now this isn’t really a problem in itself, because I am a lover of the murder mystery, but I am the sort of person who likes to know what they’re getting into. Also, being a murder mystery I think you expect it to be a lot slower, especially in the half, which this definitely was. I’d even considered DNF-ing this but I am so glad I perceived through the varied POV narration, through the confusing time frame and through the non-linear narrative, because it was completely worth it. The final issue I had was Picasso’s age because I genuinely had no clue how old this girl was supposed to be until the final chapter. Retrospectively it makes a lot of sense because she is a surprising complex character who despite being clever is still a child with the usual child problems, involving friendship and boys. But like I said before, I like to know where I am so I didn’t enjoy thinking she was 5 at one point and 15 at another. Just for the record (I think) she’s about 10. I know that these are really strange and little things to pick out, but for some reason they really irritated me to the point that I knew I just couldn’t give it the full five stars.
As with all murder mysteries I cannot do a review without discussing, however briefly, the solution, but I am not going to name the murderer. The solution. Did I guess who the murder was? Actually, I did probably with about 100 pages to go, and to be honest at that point I would have been extremely disappointed if I hadn’t been right, just because it was such an awesome solution. Did it matter? Not really. By that point I was so engrossed with the story that I wanted to keep reading (and not just to prove that I was right). Despite the fact that I did guess correctly, I don’t think it was obvious at all and imagine it to be quite the twist.
If you’re looking for and interesting murder mystery, full of tangled relationships, and the complicated nature of love then this is definitely for you and I’d love to read something else by Jennifer Murphy.
Finally, a few little pieces of housekeeping, completely unrelated to the actual book, to wrap things up. I’ll be posting a link to this on my personal tumblr (victoriavickens.tumblr.com) also my new tumblr (cartonmanettedarnay.tumblr.com) which will also have my favourite quotes from this book amongst others that I’ve read posted soon. Yes, I am shamelessly self-promoting, so check those out and have a nice day!
mctmama's review
3.0
nicoleabouttown's review
5.0
Let me start off by saying that I Love You More was not what I was expecting…at all, but at the same the fact that it was different from what I was expecting was actually a good thing. I Love You More, while it was a classic case of whodunit, ended up being so much more than that. Jennifer Murphy manages to avoid all of the typical cliché’s to do with love and fidelity and crafts a story that manages to pull you right in from the first page and keep you deeply engrossed to the last word.
With a cast of characters that, despite the circumstances, are both completely likable and believable I Love You More asks some very tough questions and delivers some very surprising answers. While I Love You More does deal with the topic of infidelity, this novel is more about human nature and the response to a devastating betrayal. You will find yourself asking just what you would do if this was happening to you, and I suspect that while you think your response would be crystal clear, the reality of the situation may lead you down some very surprising paths just as it did for our characters.
I Love You More by Jennifer Murphy is the perfect summer beach read and I can guarantee you it is one that you never saw coming.
jannie_mtl's review
3.0
dreambigbooknerd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
hld's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars
If you're a fan of the psychological/thriller/mystery novel (which I am), then this novel will appeal to you. One man, three wives, and one very mature 12 year old named Picasso; put these characters together and you have a tale of family dysfunction that ends in murder.
Told from each character's point of view; this novel kept my interest right through to the "reveal." All-in-all, an entertaining read.
jailynxpaige's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
tpanik's review against another edition
4.0