I Love You More

April 21, 2014
Murphy’s debut, an absorbing coming-of-age story, revolves around the murder of Oliver Lane, shot dead at his beach house on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The victim had three wives, starting with his first and legal wife, Diana, a true Southern lady and the mother of his word-obsessed 12-year-old daughter, Picasso. Next, there’s Jewels, with twin boys and a suspicious attitude. Last, there’s Roberta “Bert” Miles, a homely, budget-conscious woman with a brand-new baby daughter. Det. Kyle Kennedy, recently transferred from the Detroit PD, investigates, viewing all the wives as suspects. Picasso, the principal narrator, knows the truth about the relationships among the wives, knows there are lies running rampant, and yet becomes one of the liars. While Kyle battles his inappropriate attraction to Diana, readers slowly piece together the truth through the eyes of Picasso, the detective, and the wives. Solid, well-defined characters make up for a standard plot that builds to a denouement most mystery fans will anticipate. Agent: Mitchell Waters, Curtis Brown.

May 1, 2014
An unscrupulous husband's murder produces many suspects in Murphy's absorbing debut, a faint nod to Agatha Christie.When lawyer Oliver Lane is shot to death at the family's summer rental on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, his wife appears a likely suspect. Then two other women who claim to be married to Oliver come forward, and the investigation takes several unusual turns. As Detective Kyle Kennedy travels to each spouse's home in separate parts of the state, he notes that the wives sport similar coifs and uniformly deny prior knowledge of the others' existence. Aside from their haircuts, the women are resolutely different: First wife Diana is artistic, beautiful and gracious, the quintessential Southern lady; Jewels, an architect and the second wife, is athletic, angular and brusque; and cerebral bookstore manager Bert, the third wife, is nurturing and spiritual. Told from multiple points of view-but most interestingly from the perspective of Picasso, Oliver's precocious, dictionary-reading 12 year-old daughter with Diana-Murphy examines the periods before and after the murder while providing tantalizing glimpses into the minds of a manipulative sociopath and his targets. Picasso knows more than she admits and tries to make sense of events and her emotions while worrying about the future. During the course of the investigation, she evolves from a socially ostracized wallflower into a pretty and popular schemer. Kyle falls in love with one of the wives, and though he suspects she's involved in the murder, he feels compelled to seek the truth. The women recognize that their survival depends on maintaining their secrets and protecting each other, at least for a time. Although the author's decision to insert an additional perspective into the narrative toward the end results in a slightly awkward disruption, her fluent style and descriptive language produce a very readable story with well-articulated characters.A thoughtfully written, original and entertaining exploration of events ignited by love and lies.

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May 1, 2014
Oliver Lane was a busy family man. He had three families going, with growing children (and one in the womb) from three different wives. One day, Oliver is found, his scheming head shot off, on the porch of his summer house on an island on the North Carolina coast. His 12-year-old daughter discovers his body. And this girl, Picasso Lane, is the first point of view in Murphy's debut mystery. Picasso is probably the most important narrator, but the point of view switches from her to that of Kyle Kennedy, the police detective on the case, to that of the wives themselves, and even to the ghost of Lane at one point. This device is most satisfying when it comes to the perspectives of Picasso and Kennedy; the wives' chapters are a bit ungainly, like a Greek chorus dragged in. The changing of perspectives adds a great deal to the mystery of the man himself and ofhis and the wives' tangled relationships. A bit overwrought, but good suspense and a nicely creepy tone throughout.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014

Oliver Lane has been murdered at his beach house, and his 12-year-old daughter, Picasso, knows something that the police are just learning: he had not one but three wives. There's serious in-house excitement for this debut from Murphy.

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