An interesting read, not an absolute favorite, was not an “I can’t put this down” but drawn in enough to finish. I’ll have to read more of this author. Thanks to the publisher and net galley for this ARC opportunity

With thousands of ratings and reviews, I can't add anything new. So I'll just recommend this to mystery fans. Good story and pacing.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

I would give this book 3 1/2 stars. I love the premise of the book, I just could not really get into the story. I was mostly bored throughout the entirety, and I wish the author had more clearly separated the different narrators. I really wanted to love this book, but I just didn't.

This book was not what I was expecting, but in the best way. This story follows Alice, a girl who is brutally murdered in NYC and Ruby who finds her body. Told from the perspective of Alice, leading up to her murder, we also get a look into the life of Ruby from Alice's point of view. I love that Alice gives us a glimpse into the thoughts of every character, while also remaining first person through the entire book. This book is so thought provoking and really gives good insight on death, trauma and grief from the outlook of someone who has died, someone who has been close to death, someone who has lost loved ones, and the murderer himself. Overall, I thought this was fantastic and I cannot wait for everyone to read it.

Highly recommend. This is a powerful and moving story about two women, different worlds, manage to escape the men who manipulated them. They find a fresh new start with encouragement and support. I definitely enjoy this story.

A moving and gut-wrenching story. A story about Alice, a young girl who moves to New York, is murdered and has all her dreams taken from her. A mystery, but focusing instead on who Alice was. Beautifully done!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Two women arrive in New York looking for a fresh start, Alice Lee has not had an easy life but she arrives in New York with a stolen camera and $600. With dreams of making a name for herself as a photographer. And now she is dead. Killed with the very camera she loved. She may be dead but she is not gone. Not yet.

Ruby Jones is older. She has traveled from Australia and is feeling very alone. Then she finds Alice’s body by the river and everything changes.

Now there is a bond. Ruby is unable to just let it go. She needs to know who this girl was and why she was killed. Alice needs Ruby to tell her story. To tell the world who she is.

This was a who did it book. A mystery. But it was also about being seen. How important it is to have someone really see you. Heartbreakingly beautiful.

NetGalley/ Atria November 01, 2022

I requested to read “Before You Knew My Name” because of its premise of being more than a mystery about why a young woman was found dead.

Alice Lee is stepping into the future. She leaves her small town for NYC with the aspirations of making it big. Unfortunately, not more than a month later, she is found dead. Meanwhile, Ruby Jones also heads to New York, seeing a life change. While running, she discovers Alice’s body. Alice’s spirit attaches herself to Ruby. Alice wants Ruby to do what she can so that her killer is found. But it’s more than about seeking justice, but so people will know who Alice was and who she had hoped to me. Hence, the reader grows attached to Alice and wants to find her killer as much as Ruby does.

Yes, this book is a thriller, but a thriller that takes the time to dive deep into characterization and motivation. Next time, you’re watching the news and hear about a death, take the time to think of the person who lived in that body. “Before You Knew My Name” is a compelling read because it has you focus not just on the fact that lives were cut short, but what those lives were about.

Thanks go to the author , the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to give “Before You Knew My Name” an early read.

Fabulous debut novel - already looking forward to more from this author!!

Before You Knew My Name follows the lives of two women from very different backgrounds, both heading down the same path as they arrive in New York City, escaping their pasts with big dreams. Alice Lee is just 18, leaving behind a past of bad decisions after a rough childhood filled with loss - now wandering the streets of New York with a stolen camera, $600, and a ton of "what if's" in her head. Ruby is 36, trying to escape her life back in Australia, and a man she just can't seem to get out of her head, no matter how bad he is for her. A fresh start in New York is just what they both need...

When Ruby is out jogging in Riverside Park and finds Alice Lee's dead body floating in the river, her world shifts and she can't explain the connection she feels to this Jane Doe. Ruby can not get this young woman out of her head and is determined to find answers and closure. With the help of some new friends, oddly all drawn together by death and loss, Ruby helps Alice Lee find her name, and is determined to bring justice to the man who took away her chance at a beautiful new life.

I loved the alternating POVs and especially hearing Alice Lee's voice from beyond the grave. I was immediately sucked into this novel and did not want it to end!

Huge thanks to Atria for the chance to read this fabulous book!

Set against a NYC backdrop, “Before You Knew My Name” tells the tale of two women who become irrevocably connected through a devastating encounter. Both women, driven by their dysfunctional circumstances, fled to this bustling city in search of a new start. But one fatal moment halted both of their worlds—one labeled an unknown victim, and one propelled to seek out the truth.

Told in the victim’s POV, this an intensely haunting and powerful story that unfolds slowly, lingering long before the last page is read. It’s a thought-provoking mystery and a whole lot more! It’s tragic and heartbreaking, to say the least. But it’s also inspiring in a round-about sort of way.

Right from the start, I was drawn into this well written, very poignant story and its relatable characters. I love stories that really strike an emotional chord, and, for me, “Before You Knew My Name” definitely checked off that particular box.

First off, let me just say that this was an amazing debut for first time author, Jacqueline Bublitz. Two women of different ages, decide to come to New York City, on the very same day to start a new lives. Leaving their pasts behind, they want to start fresh.
Within a month, one of them is dead and the other found the dead girls body.
This is the beginning of how they met.
We get an intimate picure of 18 year old
Alice who narrates her story, and 36 year old Ruby, who can't get the dead girl out of her head. What an extraordinary way to find out just who these two women are. What happened in this month, that would find one of them dead.
I really enjoyed this book. The author did an awesome job telling their stories. Focusing on Alice and Ruby, their new friends and not the actual killer. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.
This is one of my favourite books this year! 5 out of 5.

I loved the way this story was told. A very unique way of telling this story, focusing on the victim as she lived. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it had poignant and emotional moments that make you think.

DNF at 46%.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc but this wasn’t my thing. I was confused throughout the beginning chapters as to who was narrating, Alice or Ruby, and at this point it seems like it is going to be more drama than mystery. No point in continuing.

As someone who tries to help the unknown get their name back and a fan of the omnipresent narrator from beyond the grave device I was interested in this premise.

Alice telling her own story and Ruby’s gets confusing at times but the pose makes up for it.Following the modem mystery/true crime convention Ruby searches for her Jane Doe’s name. There is commentary weaved in about violence against women, those looking for their own Does, and the circus of such things.

This isn’t a happy story but I found it satisfying.

Two women travel to New York to build new lives. Alice is 18 with no family and Ruby, a 36 year old trying to start a new life. They do not know each other and have never met until the tragic day that Ruby finds Alice's body.

Alice narrates the unfolding story, but it gets a bit confusing at times. I had to look back to see who some parts were talking about. The book is written in a flowing prose but I got a bit bogged down in a couple of places.

This is a sad book but also has hope associated with it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I can tell this book was a labor of love- between all of the descriptive writing, multiple POVs (one girl alive, one girl dead), & research about NYC’s morgues & city parks makes for the deeply moving story that unfolded. However, I did not feel as deeply moved as other viewers but I enjoyed the premise of the story. There are some graphic & heartbreaking scenes in BYKMN, but I feel that most of the book was wordy and overly descriptive. I understand that we are in the heads of both Ruby & Alice throughout the story, but at times it felt like a dense read.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Rudy finds a body of a young woman. She can not get the image out if ger head. This book took mevonp a journey that I enjoyed from the beginning.

This book was INCREDIBLE.

(TW/CW: this book focuses on the assault and murder of an 18 year old woman)

So often the stories of these murdered women become more about the men who killed them than about the women themselves. We hear about their motives, their histories, their excuses, as though anything about them is even half as important as the women they chose to destroy.

This book allows Alice (or, as she’s first known: Jane Doe) to reclaim the narrative and share with us the details of her life on her own terms. It’s a peculiar kind of haunting.

You know her as Jane Doe.

But when she arrived in New York a month ago, she was Alice Lee: young and hopeful and eager to start anew.

And Ruby, who finds Alice’s body while out for a jog, was, while older, hoping for the same things.

As investigators plead with the public for any information that might lead to them learning Jane Doe’s true identity, Alice lingers with Ruby, who is haunted - both by what she found and by the woman herself.

Giving a voice to the women who have their voices stolen from them, this story weaves an elaborate tapestry of who Alice was before she was Jane Doe - and who she will be once her name is known. And in the process, Ruby will learn just as much about herself as she does about the woman she is trying so desperately to find closure for.

Gripping, powerful and so well crafted that will give you chills.
The story is told in an unusual style that grabs you and won’t let you go.
This story may be not for everyone and might be a trigger for some, but definitely a must read!

I found this a very engrossing read, one of those stay up late and keep reading type of books.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the complementary copy looking forward to reading more from this author