Jacqueline Bublitz

This is a complex story of mystery and suspense about two girls who went to New York in search of a new beginning. The only problem is one is dead and discovered by the other. Ruby Jones is 36 years old and travels to New York City from Melbourne, Australia after her boyfriend, Ash, is already engaged and planning on marrying someone else. Even in NYC, Ash keeps messaging her. Her life becomes complicated when she finds a young woman's body while walking along the Hudson River. She can't seem to forget the "Jane Doe" and the circumstances that brought her to that place.

Alice Lee is an 18-year-old who wants a fresh start and is drawn to New York City where her mother once lived and worked as a model. She has only $600 in her pocket, a few clothes and a camera she stole from her high school art teacher, Jamie Jackson. Unfortunately, she ends up dead but narrates from beyond the grave as she believes that Ruby is the key to finding out what happened to her. Ruby feels compelled to discover the identity of the Jane Doe but isn't prepared for what she discovers. She ultimately learns more about herself and her past bad decisions and how she can change her future.

Thank you NetGalley and Edelweiss and Atria Books for providing me this book for review consideration. My review is my unbiased opinion.… (mais)

I appreciate the intentions here. Jacqueline Bublitz set out to write a mystery thriller in which the murdered woman—girl, really; Alice Lee is just 18 when she is killed—and the aftershocks of her death are the focus and the whodunnit and the murderer are both incidental. In that much, I suppose, this novel succeeds, but I found Before You Knew My Name trite and overwritten. Despite its much-trumpeted feminist perspective, the book's got all the depth of a rel="nofollow" target="_top">Dateline voiceover.… (mais)

4.5 Stars

Two women, world's apart, manage to escape the men who both enchant and manipulate them. Their paths cross in the most tragic of ways when one discovers the body of the other. I love that this novel was more about the women and the new chapters they were embarking on rather than the murder itself. The unique point-of-view (the murder victim's spirit) made the story an overwhelmingly intimate experience. However, this POV also made for some uncomfortable moments as we are right there with Alice through some disturbing incidents. Through it all though, is an undercurrent of hope, which seems crazy given we know the outcome. The hope that grows and blossoms through the story is for all women needing to make a fresh start, all women taking control back and writing their own futures, all women who find people to lift them up with love, encouragement and support. A powerful and moving story.… (mais)