Alice Lee is the Jane Doe found raped and murdered in a very public place. But yet, no one saw a thing! Enter Ruby. Ruby is just trying to find her way and discover exactly what she wants to do with her life. But then she finds Alice’s body. Alice thinks Ruby can solve her murder. But, Ruby wants no part of it!

This novel is so freaking unique! I mean…honestly! One of the characters is dead and is narrating part of the story! Alice’s story is distressing and so sad. And Ruby! She is just struggling to overcome the trauma of finding Alice but it is just not happening.

Now, this is not a book to read quickly, in my opinion. You will miss something and get lost…believe me. I tried! I had to slow myself down and as everyone knows, that is so difficult for me. But, I am so glad I did! This novel is different but it is so heartbreaking and well written you do not want to miss it.

Need a beautiful story which will have you grieving when it is over…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I was really excited for this book. Me and the author share a name which I think is always cool. The concept of this book was intriguing, but I couldn’t get into it. I DNF at page 55.

I love everything about Before You Knew My Name. From the unique way the story is crafted and told, to the city that comes to life with every detail on the page. I got lost in the pages, full of emotion.

I don’t want to spoil the story – I recommend going in blind with a drink and a snack ready because you will not want to put this page-turner down. I highly recommend reading Before You Knew My Name.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

Oh this book. I wanted to love it, I really did. It reminded me of The Lovely Bones, in that there's a dead girl, and she's trying to help people figure out who killed her. Kind of. I liked the back stories on both girls, Alice and Ruby. Alice escapes a bad situation at home with $600 in her pocket, and winds up in NYC with nowhere to go. She ends up renting a room, finding a job, and starts making a life for herself...but then her body is found by a jogger (Ruby). Now she's a Jane Doe.

Ruby moves to NYC from Australia for a fresh start, and once she finds Alice's body, kind of starts spiraling. She starts obsessing over finding out who it is, and what happened to her.

Great concept, but the execution needed some work. The beginning was SO SLOW, I almost dnf-ed, but I kept reading because I saw so many good reviews. I ended up skimming a lot of the rest, because I thought it was fairly predictable once it reached a certain point.

Maybe it just wasn't the right time for me to read this, after an entire month of spooky reads. I do think other people will (and do) enjoy this book, so if it sounds interesting, give it a try.

Also - one last thing - The cover is beautiful, but I don't think it matches the book at all.

"Before You Knew My Name" by Jacqueline Bublitz is a riveting debut with vivid characters and a heartbreaking plot. For fans of "The Lovely Bones," it's a refreshing take on the classic "man kills beautiful young woman because that woman isn't interested enough in him" trope. It's a novel about a dead woman, told from that dead woman's perspective. Her story does not end just because her life was cut short. It's also a novel about the woman, Ruby, who discovers the dead girl's body and about how her life is also upended by the violent act that took Alice's life. Together, one living and one dead, they strive to bring Alice's killer to justice and to prevent him from killing again.

This book is so much more than a murder mystery, though the plot itself makes this book worth reading. It is also a scathing social commentary about how we treat murdered women in the United States. The media tends to focus on the killer, almost always a man, and not the victim. We make it into a story about him, instead of a story about her. We delve into the killer's life, learning everything we can about him, but often forget that his victim had a life that matters too. We know everything about him, but typically only know her name, if we even know that. We work ourselves into a frenzy over the murders of victims we deem worthy of our concern, young, white women from middle-class to upper-class families; we sweep the killings of the poor and of minorities under the rug as if somehow they deserved their fates. We criticize the women victims and give other women a litany of rules to follow so that they can avoid the same fate instead of being outraged by the entitlement of the men who killed them, just because they could do so. This book is about taking back the story from the male killer, and giving it to the woman victim, to whom it always belonged.

I loved this intense and thought-provoking debut. It is beautifully written and utterly captivating. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this fabulous book, in exchange for my honest review.

Before You Knew My Name
Author, Jacqueline Bublitz
Pub date: 11.1.22

Thank you @atriabooks and @netgalley for the gifted e- arc of this fantastic debut!

Before You Knew My Names is a wildly original and suspenseful debut novel and I am certain that I have never read anything quite like it before! A coming- of- age story with a devastating murder mystery, but also a character driven novel filled with unsettling truths about being a woman in our world today.

On her eighteenth birthday, with nothing left for her in her hometown of the Midwest, Alice takes a bus to NYC with a little cash and a stolen camera, in hopes of a new start. She finds a room to rent in Noah's beautiful home and is met with kindness and generosity. She wanders the streets of NYC exploring and taking pictures and figuring out how to begin her life while she shares the story of what brought her here.

But then, her fragile life comes to a sudden and mysterious end, and she continues to narrate because it's more important to discover who Alice was and to tell her story, rather than her murderer's.

Ruby, ironically, arrived in NYC from Melbourne the same time that Alice did. In her 30's and attempting to flee a toxic relationship, she is also looking for a fresh start, no matter how difficult it may be for her to move forward.

While running one stormy morning, Ruby is the one who discovers Alice's body. However, Alice is a Jane Doe. Ruby refuses to let this unknown girl go without an identity while Alice guides her to learn about who she was and what happened to her. The ending is so good!

Unique, intriguing, and well- written, I was hooked and read this one in two sittings. The character development and narration of the two women's perspectives flowed perfectly and made for a fantastic debut!

*Some CW's, but nothing graphic that was difficult or too uncomfortable to read.

4.5 stars!

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher Atria books for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very slow read for me. The story didnt really get interesting until halfway in. Definitely not a page turner. Took me almost a month to finish.

Two women connected by one's death.

Alice Lee, on her 18th birthday, arrives in New York City with only $600 cash and a stolen camera. One month later, she is the city's latest Jane Done. Just because she's dead, doesn't mean her story is over, though! From the dead, Alice (also known as Riverside Jane Doe) watches and narrates as Ruby, a woman who arrives in New York City the same night as her, finds her dead body. Ruby grows haunted by Jane Doe-- who is she? What happened? What about her killer-- who are they?

The first 35% was a little bit slow, and I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. I was intrigued but it also felt like it was dragging a bit. That said, the story does really kick into full gear, and the writing around death is quite beautiful. I would not label this a thriller-- it is more literary than that. There is a focus on character development both in life and in death.

This book was quite the surprise! I love a good murder mystery and this was so much more!

Alice Lee has just turned eighteen and wants to escape her small town and her old life. She is looking to reinvent herself and escape her past. She decides that New York City is the perfect place to start over. She finds friendship, trust, and independence. But then....she's murdered.

On the same day that Alice arrives in NY, Ruby Jones also arrives from Australia. She is looking for a fresh start and distance between a love that she needs to move on from. She is lonely and looking for answers to how her life turned out this way. One morning, she discovers a unknown dead body along the river.

Ruby begins to seek answers and justice for the city's Jane Doe murder victim. She feels connected and drawn to the life of this lost young person. Through her investigation, she begins to get answers not only about the murder but also about her own life.

This book builds suspense by letting you get to know Alice before she dies and you feel really connected to Ruby as she is working through the murder and settling into the big city. I really enjoyed this read!

This novel grabbed my attention so quickly and I was hooked.

Alice Lee had a difficult childhood in Wisconsin that leads to her making some bad decisions. As a result of a bad decision, Alice leaves Wisconsin on her 18th birthday with only $600 in her pocket bound for New York City.

Ruby is a 36 year old Australian woman who needed a break and a change of scenery. Her recent years have been spent as a mistress who will soon be married. Despite that fact, Ruby decided to get away to New York City to clear her head.

One month later, an unidentified body, dubbed Jane Doe, is found in the park by a jogger. The body is Alice Lee. The jogger is Ruby Jones. This is the story is the journey for Ruby to help determine Jane Doe's identity and find her murderer. Along the way, Ruby meets some friends who help guide her to the truth. While Ruby and Alice's stories initially parallel, the intersection of their stories make such a great story.

5 our of 5 stars.

Thank you to the Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for an advanced e-copy for honest review.

Heartbreaking story of the intersecting lives of two women.

Alice Lee is murdered not long after arriving in NYC. Ruby is also new to NYC and is the person who discovers Alice’s body.

Told in alternating voices we learn each woman’s heartbreaking journey.

This book felt so long-winded. There were so many long fragments that I began reading in a rhythm. This became so distracting that I abandoned the book.

This is the story about Ruby and Alice. They both arrive in New York City on the same day. Ruby comes from Australia. Alice comes from Wisconsin. But, they never actually meet each other. Alice is murdered after a month in the city, Ruby discovers her body. Ruby becomes obsessed with tracking down the identity of Alice and finding out who the murderer is. The whole book is narrated by Alice after she has died.

It's a very different style of telling a story. There is a lot of narrative as opposed to action or dialogue. The descriptive passages were beautiful but sometimes a little too wordy for me. Because the book description tells us what is going to happen, I was anxious to get to the nitty gritty. We live in an age of instant gratification!

But, at times the story is uncomfortable. At other times it became too philosophical for me. And at times the story didn't seem to be advancing. I found myself pushing to get through parts of it.

I learn about Cotard's Syndrome. That's knowledge that I don't really think I need. But it fits in with the dark theme of the story.

There are very relevant points in the story. “Missing White Woman Syndrome” is the most prominent. Quite self explanatory - murdered or missing white women get a lot more media coverage than a woman of colour.

The book ended up with a bang. Everything comes together as it should. There are many introspective passages. Alice’s soul finds peace. I truly wish that 80% of the book had been as satisfying as the last 20%. I have read other reviews. I know I am in the minority. I wish I could have liked it as much as the others.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advance Readers Copy.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz is an innovative psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat and reframes the way murders are written about.
Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
I'll be completely honest - I don't know what to expect. This book sounds very different from other thrillers I have read, so I am intrigued.
Actual Reading Experience:
This psychological thriller truly is like a few others I've read. There are very few twists, but the suspense level remains high from start to finish. Telling the story through the ghost of the murder victim brings all new layers to a story that otherwise would have been ordinary at best. Instead, the narration makes it truly extraordinary.
The writing is so haunting and beautiful it took no effort to believe I was reading the thoughts of someone who recently departed. Just the way it is done is just perfect, and it has an ethereal quality that I can't figure out how the author achieved.
The story isn't just about the murder victim. It is also about the woman who found the body – Ruby Jones. Her story is complex and messy but so very compelling. But I'll talk more about her under the character section.
This is very much a character-driven story. And the two main characters are more than capable of pulling the reader in and making them feel what they are feeling. I don't know that I loved the characters or even related, but I did care very much about their story, which is the key.
Characters:
Alice Lee lost her mother when she was still a kid, and she was the one that found her mother's dead body. Since then, her life has been unpredictable and marked by bad decisions. Decisions led to her spontaneously moving to New York on her 18th birthday and boarding with an older man who had placed an ad. Ultimately, she wants to do something with her life and not just live hand to mouth. Just as things are looking up, her life is taken in a very violent manner, and now she wants to say something to the reader.
Ruby Jones is having an affair with a soon-to-be-married man in her home country – Australia. As his wedding date gets closer, Ruby realizes she must make some changes and rediscover herself before it's too late. She ends up in New York City the same night that Alice Lee arrives, but little does she know that their paths will cross again and again and that Alice's death will haunt her until it is solved.
Narration & Pacing:
The ghost of Alice Lee tells this tale in first-person narration. The highly personalized narration was a must for a story such as this. And the way it is written is just perfect. It truly is as if Alice is talking to the reader from the afterlife.
The pacing is more medium, but the fact that it is also fascinating makes up for the slower pace.
Setting:
The setting is New York City, which is appropriate and used well. NYC is the beacon for people who want a fresh start, which both Alice and Ruby want to do. It is also dangerous for women, as many places are, especially after dark.

Read if you like:
• A victim-centered story
• Character-driven tales
• Psychological Thrillers

Alice Lee is eighteen years-old when she takes off from her small Wisconsin town, drawn like a moth to the bright lights of New York City. With only six hundred dollars and a vintage Leica camera to her name, she has no idea what she wants to do with her life, only that she wants to live it to the fullest. She learned as a child that the average lifespan for an American woman in the early 21st century is 79.1 years, and she’s determined to seize every moment of hers.

So it’s a shock to her when she’s murdered, far short of her promised allotment.

In death, she meditates on what she learned in her short life. It is easier, in death, for her to feel wounded at the lack of care and attention she received from the people who were supposed to be her friends. It’s also easier to explore what she really feels about the man she ran away from in the Midwest:

QUOTE
My mother, I think, might have warned me about him. Might have told me how all these terrible men said she was beautiful, too. Or perhaps she might have pushed me right into [his] arms, considered this her validation. I am beautiful, just like her. And just like her, I have something this man wants to capture, possess.
END QUOTE

Alas, her mother died too young as well, leaving Alice adrift at only fourteen. Now Alice is at risk of drifting off forever, but for the rage and sadness that keep her anchored to the mortal plane.

Alice is surprised to find that another emotion also keeps her tethered to the earth, as she discovers a kindred spirit in the jogger who initially comes across her body and reports it to the police. Australian Ruby Jones came to New York City at the same time Alice did, escaping a man of her own. In Ruby’s case, her lover is engaged to be married, and the only way she can think of to finally rid herself of their attachment is to fly halfway around the world in an effort to put physical distance between them. In the age of the Internet and digital communications however, connections are not so easily severed. Ruby is in an emotional funk even before she stumbles across Alice’s corpse while jogging in Riverside Park one morning.

The experience is traumatic for Ruby, who can’t help but feel responsible for the Jane Doe she’s found. Ruby knows that there isn’t anything she could have done to save the dead girl, but the memory of the brutalized corpse, stripped of almost everything save a purple t-shirt, gnaws at her. While attempting to process her trauma, she begins to make friends with online amateur sleuths and with people who’ve had difficult experiences with death themselves, unaware that her efforts are being urged on by a ghostly Alice. Will they be able to join forces to identify Alice’s body and bring her killer to justice, or will a murderer claim yet another victim as Ruby gets closer and closer to the truth?

Before You Knew My Name has strong The Lovely Bones vibes, updated for a big city in the Me-Too era, but with fewer fanciful imaginings of the afterlife. Alice is a very sympathetic narrator, a young girl whose life is ended far too soon, and who’s had to endure far more than any teenager ever should. I was also very taken with her complicated relationship with Noah (which eventually made me cry!)

Above all, I loved how this novel was a love letter to New York City, seen from the eyes of recent transplants:

QUOTE
I mean, can you imagine? That a place can feel like a person? That a place can comfort you and sing to you and surprise you. A place where simply stepping up out of the subway onto the street can give you that fizzing-under-the-skin sensation you get right before you kiss someone? When I told Noah about this, when I said it was almost as if I had fallen in love with New York, he smiled funny, and called me <I>Baby Joan</i>, and I still don't know what that means.
END QUOTE

Having had a similar experience with the city, I can absolutely relate. I found Ruby a little harder to connect with, though I was very much fascinated by her friend Lennie and their shared determination to do right by the dead. If you’re looking for a more metaphysical take on crime and survivor’s guilt than is available in much of the crime fiction currently out there, this novel could be exactly what you need.

What I thought was another who killed the girl type of mystery turned into so much more!

Ruby and Alice are both escaping lives that are not what they want them to be - and end up in New York City. Though they never meet in life - they have an amazing story.

A definite must read - and a very good book club option.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

Happy Pub Day to 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗞𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝘆 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 by Jacqueline Bublitz !

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭!

I was not expecting this story at all. What I thought was a crime story ended up in a beautiful, remarkable, moving and thought-provoking book. A fantastic and brilliant that you need to read.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for this gifted copy.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

This is not your typical story of a young girl’s murder. Discovering what happened takes readers on the most unexpected journey.

Alice is new to New York. She’s young and ready to embark on a photography career. She lives with an older man named Noah, but it’s not what you might think. Noah has his own story and Alice is just what he needs to help him come to terms with it.

Ruby is a woman in her thirties who has moved from Australia to New York to get away from a failed love affair. Her self esteem is at a low point and she has been drinking too much. One morning when Ruby can’t sleep, she decides to go out jogging in the rain.

It is here that Ruby and Alice become connected in the most awful way possible. Readers are privy to each woman’s journey to a better place, even though the places are vastly different.

Trigger warning for murder, light porn and quite a bit of talk about death. I really liked the story and found it very different from any I have read. My only complaint was about mid-point I thought the story hit a dip. I also grew weary of so much talk about death, but this was one aspect that gave the story a different slant than most murders stories.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am pleased to give my honest review.

Before you knew my name is one of those stories that stays in your mind for days or weeks. A magnificent debut novel, however, a very sad, heartbreaking, gut-punch one. But it is also, eye-opening, with glimpses of hope, and beautifully written.

Alice Lee is one of those characters that you wish you could have saved from her faith but then we have Ruby Jones and we hope she can make justice for Alice and find out why and who murdered her.

The characters on this debut novel, superb, the story, the writing. I really enjoyed reading this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the Free Advanced Readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a compelling book that is as tragic as it is beautifully written. The story of two women who only meet after one has been murdered was riveting but also disturbing. Ruby and Alice arrive in NYC on the same day, both escaping something from their past and both hoping for something new and bright in their future. Alice has $600 and a Leica camera and roams the city learning how to use the expensive equipment. Ruby arrived from Australia, determined to forget the man who left her to marry another woman. Drowning herself in a bottle every day and night, Ruby is barely aware of her surroundings until she decides one day that she has to continue to live. It is during one of her jogs around the city that she discovers the abused body of Alice, a young woman who has been murdered and left next to the Hudson River. The mystery of her murder should have been a focal point of the story, but it took a back seat to the important topics of violence and abuse among the innocent and unsuspecting. There are definitely triggers in this book, including abuse and violence. The story is slow paced and methodically laid out with the points of view of both Alice and Ruby providing the fascinating development of the characters. This is a book that is a tragedy that is thought provoking and haunting in its realism and sadness. This book needs to be read and discussed and then read again.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”