A digital ARC of this book was provided to me by NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books. The opinions expressed are my own and freely given.

Warning ~
suicide, rape, adultery and grooming

Ruby discovers the body of Alice floating on the bank of the river. Ruby stays with Alice until the authorities arrive, and then she can't get Alice out of her mind. Alice also stays with Ruby. She feels like they are connected, and she wants Ruby to discover her name and figure out what happened to her.

This book is narrated by Alice. She tells her story from before she came to New York up until she was murdered. Alice also tells Ruby's story, why she came to New York and what she is trying to find in herself. Alice is an orphan from Wisconsin. She had a relationship with a former art teacher, who thought she was 18 at the time. Ruby is from Australia and was having an affair with a co-worker soon to be married.

This was very slow and didn't pick up until about three-quarters of the way through. I couldn't connect with either of the women. Until Alice came to New York and met Noah, her landlord, she finally started to be likable. Then I felt bad that she was murdered. Ruby came to New York and was obsessed with the man she left behind. Until she met Lennie, Sue and Josh, I really didn't care for her at all.

I liked how Alice would talk about what she could and couldn't do being dead. She basically watched Ruby and would try to push her thoughts and actions, but she wasn't quite able to.

I liked how Alice talked about being dead, (not in a creepy way) but the deeper thoughts associated with the dead.

I didn't like Ruby's thoughts. They seemed so random and not part of the story that it was distracting, and I wanted to put the book down several times.

Overall, how Ruby changes in the end and the way the case is solved was enough for me to be glad I finished this book, but this wasn't really for me.

Before You Knew My Name was an incredibly heartbreaking, beautiful novel. While it does start slow, the book is taken to another level in the second half.y only complaint is that the book felt a bit scattered and therefore made it harder to connect to the main characters. All in all, this is a book I would still recommend to anyone who enjoys their crime novels with a little heart.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

Set in contemporary New York City, this is the tale of two strangers- Alice and Ruby that are immediately connected by one event- Alice is murdered and Ruby is the unfortunate jogger that discovers her. Narrated by Alice, the chapters go back and forth in telling what led the women to the Big Apple and how Ruby searches tirelessly to capture Alice's murderer.

I liked the attachment between Ruby and Alice and I kept flipping the pages to find out what was going to happen. Although I will admit in the very beginning, it was a little slow to get into.


Goodreads Review 04/10/22
Expected Publication Date 01/11/22

Alice Lee is looking to escape her past. She heads to New York to start a new life. A month later she's murdered and the latest Jane Doe. Ruby Jones is also trying to escape her past and heads to New York. When she finds Alices (again Jane Doe) body she wants to forget it all but is also desperate to come to terms with finding Alice and to find answers.

The storytelling in this one is unique but more contemporary than mystery. Finding Alice's murder isn't central to the story but the emotional toll it's taken on Ruby. The story is about the life of these women and the choices they make. It's intense and emotional. If you can get used to the writing style then this is a pretty solid read.

“This is not just another novel about a dead girl.”

No, it’s not. That’s for sure!

Two women, both determined to start afresh, arrive on the same day in New York, the city of new beginnings. A few weeks later, one of them is dead and discovered by the other. She becomes obsessed by solving the tragic murder.

Bookstagram made me read this one. It didn’t live up to the hype for me.

I’ve never read anything like this before! My trepidation was suffocating, but when I saw the unique combination of threads the author was weaving, I felt compelled to continue reading. Bublitz combines the threads of crime, feminism, philosophy and morality together to produce a unique whodunnit. Plus, it’s narrated by a dead girl! I’m always trying to broaden my reading horizons, so I jumped in with both feet.

I’ll be honest with you. I wasn’t comfortable with a good chunk of this book. I skimmed plenty. There’s rape, murder, cheating lovers, sexual predators, and suicide, to name a few.

Poor Alice; she’s been through a lot. Thankfully, she meets a kind stranger who shows her that not everyone is out to use her. The post it notes and treats from an affluent elderly gentleman had me raising my eyebrow and curling my lip up at first. Seems kind of unbelievable, right? Then, I got to the bit where she meets up with her former teacher. Uh, no. This teacher isn’t reading any further. No way.

In the end, I’m glad I checked this out. It’s a great debut. Just not my type of read.

Just because the content made me uncomfortable and I didn’t enjoy this book that so many are raving about, doesn’t mean that you won’t!

I was gifted this advance copy by Atria Books, Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Two women escaping from their current situations to start fresh in New York City become victim and advocate. While Alice meets an untimely death at the hands of another, Ruby is jogger who came across Alice's body and in doing so finds herself on a path to get justice for the city's latest Jane Doe. Through the eyes of the victim and through Ruby we learn what happened to Alice and who she was.. and who did this to her. This moving novel touches on toxic masculinity, the vulnerability women feel in social situations, and the uneasiness we face as independent women. This debut novel is timely and a compelling read.

This felt like a level up from the common “there’s a dead person and we don’t know who they are” storyline. I liked the attachment between Ruby and Alice.

A solid mix of book club and crime fic, this please a variety of readers. A recommended purchase for most collections.

Two women are connect by death- one is dead and the other finds her body. It's an interesting set up for a book, but ultimately it fell a little short for me. The writing was hard to get into and I didn't connect with either woman. The story was really sad and some of the other characters were kinda creepy and weird. Overall, excellent premise, but didn't quite connect with me.

Wow! I didn't really know what to expect from this book and it blew me away. I did request this thinking it was a fast paced thriller with a unique perspective - from the murdered girl. But this was completely different and such a unique, emotional and timely read.

Instead of focusing on the murder and the identity of the killer, we actually focus on the victims. This is an in depth look at the lives, perspectives and emotions of the women at the center of the crimes. It was heartbreaking read and I applaud the author for putting a spotlight on the dangers that women face every day in this country. I also appreciated the all too real dialogue about "just another dead girl."

This does have a slow start but it so worth the wait.

A completely unexpected take on a murder mystery. Instead of focusing on the killer of a young woman in NYC, the focus is on the dead girl herself, and the jogger who found her. Once they meet in this tragic way they are bound to each other: Alice Lee begging from beyond to know what happened to her and why, Ruby trying desperately to figure out who Alice was and why this happened to her. Written in what I finally understand “sweeping” prose to mean, this is a beautifully written story about a tragedy.
I truly think that Jacqueline Bublitz just created a brand new genre. This can’t fit in thrilled, murder mystery, general fiction, or drama alone. This was a whole new angle and I loved reading it so much. While a very sad story, it was the perfect take to center the woman who lost her life to an entitled man instead of the man himself.
Highly recommend this read!

I couldn’t get into it. The story sounds interesting but I keep picking it up and staring at the page, wishing I wasn’t reading it. It might get better as you go so I can’t say it’s a terrible book.

Before You Knew My Name (Jacqueline Bublitz) is a different kind of story. Alice (one of the main characters) tells us she has to die before we learn her name. Alice then fills the reader in as to what happened to put her at the place and time where she died. Ruby's (our other main character) story is told to show us how she ends up being the one to find Alice. This isn't an edge of your seat thriller, but rather a calm story that pulls the reader in, wanting to know what is next. I want to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an early (US) copy to review.

The power of this book was really in the final quarter.

I had very high hopes for Before You Knew My Name and if you’d asked me ahead of time, I would have told you I was predicting five stars for this novel. On the surface, it ticked all the right boxes for me: Murder mystery, emotional depth, and some important statements regarding identity, trauma, and violence toward women.

From the synopsis, readers are told this is the story of two women - one living, one dead - who are now forever bonded. Ruby discovers Alice’s body and Alice originally becomes a Jane Doe. Ruby longs to give this woman an identity, but she is also grappling with past pain she aimed to escape, as well as the trauma finding Alice’s brutally murdered body.

All of this makes the mystery quite unique. Adding to the innovative idea is the fact that the story is told from the dead woman’s perspective.

That was part of my issue with the story. As it continues, things are beautifully done, but for a good chunk of the book, it jumps around from who Alice was to who Ruby is and the arrangement felt a bit chaotic to me. It was hard to connect with the story because of this. It also takes a very long time to get to the main themes. In addition to these gripes, I did feel segments of the narrative were too drawn out.

Ultimately, I didn’t feel fully captivated until I was rounding the final bend. I love that the author examined PTSD, although the illustration of it in Ruby was often delivered in a rather clinical way instead of just letting it surface as it does in the character.

I also really appreciated what the author had to say about violence toward women and what we are taught, as women, to accept. I think it all felt frighteningly real. It is for this reason that I added an extra half star, as most of this book was a middle of the road read for me.

Many reading friends have adored this book more than I did and I do understand why. I think it is a crucial read with poignant themes, despite the aspects that didn’t work well for me. I would recommend giving it a try if you enjoy contemporary dramas and/or mysteries.

3.5 stars

I am immensely grateful to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for my digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

a heart breaking, heart healing story of two women, not so different who finds themselves connected by the murder of one of these. written like poetry and philosophy, with characters you care about. Moments I would get confused as to whose story was being told and there was a moment when i thought the reveal of who did it was someone I did not want it to be. just a line or two, not sure if that was deliberate or not. but a beautiful moving thought provoking story

Alice Lee arrives in NYC after fleeing an abusive relationship in her small town in Wisconsin. Ruby Jones arrives in NYC on the same day, leaving an unhealthy relationship in Australia. The two girls’ world collide when Ruby finds Alice’s body while out jogging, known only as a Jane Doe. Ruby then sets out to determine Alice’s identity, as well as her killer. Before You Knew My Name is a haunting and heart wrenching story that will stay with you long after the last page is turned. The eloquent prose will reel you in, as Alice narrates her short and tragic life, and Ruby’s dogged determination to solve the mystery of Alice is spellbinding. This is a powerful and beautifully written story, and the deliberate pacing sets the perfect tone. Quite a book. I received an arc from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Alice arrived in NYC with 600 bucks and a stolen camera. Just one month into her new life, she becomes NYC’s next Jane Doe. Ruby meanwhile left her life in Australia to avoid an ex, only to be out on a run and find the dead body of Alice Lee. Ruby is traumatized, but something pulls her to find out what happened to this mysterious girl she found. Can she bring closure to Alice’s life?

This book was so freaking unique. You find out right from the start that Alice is dead. The timeline jumps between when Alice first moved to NYC, to when she is killed, and how she works to help Ruby find out what happened to her. This book was heartbreaking but also left me wanting the best for all the characters. I dont want to say too much and give anything away, but I really enjoyed this one.

Do you enjoy thrillers that are more than just a quick twisty plot? Then this one might be for you. This book has exquisite writing and was more than just your typical slice-and-dice thriller. The author had an interesting way of presenting such concepts as life after death, loneliness, and the powers of friendship. A great debut book and I will be looking forward to more books by this Bublitz.

such a sad, sad tale of a life unraveled and taken too short. A life of such promise extinguished too soon. Another women looking for answers and coming into your story and making it a part of hers. Traumatic, heartbreaking and soul searching in a city full of promise where women are warned that it might not be safe by men who might not be who they want you to believe.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

Man, what a gorgeous premise, and what a gorgeous premise. This kept me turning pages late into the night and I'm so glad it did - a really satisfying read!