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A review by byashleylamar
I Love You More by Jennifer Murphy
3.0
I was initially excited about reading I Love You More by Jennifer Murphy. Oliver Lane is found murdered during a beach vacation by his wife, Diana, and his pre-teen daughter, Picasso. As usual detectives immediately suspect his wife but the investigation is quickly turned upside down as they discover wife #2 (Julie) and wife #3 (Bert). Suddenly the suspect pool has expanded and all is not what it originally seemed. The plot was intriguing but the execution was weak. The timeline shifts throughout the book starting with the murder, then before the murder, then after the murder, then a year later. Each chapter is told from an alternating point of view – Picasso, Detective Kyle Kennedy and The Wives (collectively). It was easy to follow but the “voices” of the characters weren’t believable at all and the weird mystical undertones turned me off.
The first chapter is written in the voice of Picasso and it immediately felt unbelievable. She simply didn’t feel like a 12-year old girl. There is a constant reference to her being “wise beyond her years” and I felt myself wondering if that was simply a way to excuse the author’s inability to capture a truly youthful narrator. Picasso is also obsessed with words and spelling so her chapters are riddled with parentheses offering definitions for words which is distracting and unnecessary. Her voice would alternate between feeling far too adult and far too childish. Murphy never seemed able to really hit the right spot. The detective was fine. He was kind with children, attracted to beautiful women, he drank and, at times, was overly crass. He worked.
The chapters written by The Wives were the worst. Instead of giving each wife their own voice they all seemed to meld together. Murphy gave them all their own lives with Oliver, their own interests and their own passions but when it came to the narrative it all blurred. It may have been intentional but it felt awkward. There was also this weird mysticism that was in their chapters – the hand-holding, the swimming, the naked napping, the pink petal mediation baths, it was just weird. The only time it ever got weirder was during the one “Oliver” chapter. I’d rather not even discuss that.
The ending was ridiculous. It felt entirely out of place but not in the least unexpected. It was pretty clear early on that it wasn’t going to end the way it was implied and there was really only one real alternative presented. The motive was lacking, the execution ridiculous and the whole thing was just bad. I audibly groaned when I read the last chapter and closed the book.
Were there good moments in the book? Absolutely. As a whole though, it was disappointing.
Review by Ashley LaMar
Closed the Cover
The first chapter is written in the voice of Picasso and it immediately felt unbelievable. She simply didn’t feel like a 12-year old girl. There is a constant reference to her being “wise beyond her years” and I felt myself wondering if that was simply a way to excuse the author’s inability to capture a truly youthful narrator. Picasso is also obsessed with words and spelling so her chapters are riddled with parentheses offering definitions for words which is distracting and unnecessary. Her voice would alternate between feeling far too adult and far too childish. Murphy never seemed able to really hit the right spot. The detective was fine. He was kind with children, attracted to beautiful women, he drank and, at times, was overly crass. He worked.
The chapters written by The Wives were the worst. Instead of giving each wife their own voice they all seemed to meld together. Murphy gave them all their own lives with Oliver, their own interests and their own passions but when it came to the narrative it all blurred. It may have been intentional but it felt awkward. There was also this weird mysticism that was in their chapters – the hand-holding, the swimming, the naked napping, the pink petal mediation baths, it was just weird. The only time it ever got weirder was during the one “Oliver” chapter. I’d rather not even discuss that.
The ending was ridiculous. It felt entirely out of place but not in the least unexpected. It was pretty clear early on that it wasn’t going to end the way it was implied and there was really only one real alternative presented. The motive was lacking, the execution ridiculous and the whole thing was just bad. I audibly groaned when I read the last chapter and closed the book.
Were there good moments in the book? Absolutely. As a whole though, it was disappointing.
Review by Ashley LaMar
Closed the Cover