This was a brilliant quality audiobook, great narrator, good story.

This is not your usual crime thriller, it was less 'edge of your seat' and more character study and deep dive into the personalities of the women featured and how their lives were affected.

This was a great yet quietly heartbreaking read.

This is completely different to any other 'whodunnit' kind of books I've read. Told from the point of view of Alice, who moved to New York City on her 18th Birthday, the narration is told from her point of view after she is brutally murdered. It follows Ruby who finds her body, and Rubys quest to not only find out who commited the crime, but more about Alice as a person.

I found the narration to be slightly slow and listened to it at 1.5 speed, but overally enjoyed the storyline and a different twist on a troupe we've all read a hundred times - it keep me hooked and interested!

Thank you Jacqueline, Hachette and Netgalley for this ARC.

Before You knew My Name follows the lives of Alice and Ruby. Alice has been murdered and Ruby found her body. It is interesting to see that although complete strangers, there are many similarities in their lives.

This book is not your usual who done it, but is thoughtfully put together. Ruby and Alice are well written and believable.

I found the narration too slow for my taste and had to speed it up. It was also difficult at times to stay focused on the story as it felt a bit flat, more ideal for sending me to sleep!

As the the tagline says 'This is not just another book about a dead girl'.

We're all too accustomed to reading the big gritty thrillers which seek to keep us turning the pages by asking 'whodunnit'. Before You Knew My Name goes so much further and asks 'who was she?'

In powerful prose Bublitz allows Alice herself (the dead girl) to tell us exactly who she was and why unfortunately she was victimised and taken too soon.

We also get to hear from Ruth and just how these two women's lives collided unexpectedly in such a sorrowful way.

This book is so much more than your average thriller/murder mystery. The tension bubbles and the underlying anger at how women are made fearful can be felt in your throat.

I listened to the audiobook version and it was perfect. The narrator was able to portray the depth of the characters and I think added to the warmth I felt for Alice.

A must read/listen for 2021, an outstanding poignant debut novel which tackles so many of societies problems head-on.

This alternative dead girl/violent crime book is definitely worth reading for the penmanship alone. It certainly challenges the usual "whodunnit" trope; told from the perspective of the deceased (an original approach) which gave the female murder victim a voice and identity beyond the circumstances of their story. It is difficult to believe this is a debut novel, which contains insightful observations and moving introspection, with a plethora of wonderfully descriptive comments. Many thanks to the Publisher and NetGallery for allowing me to have a copy of this book, which was a real joy to read and listen to.

Two young girls flee to New York, the city of their hopes and dreams to start afresh. They both arrive on the same day and should be friends however their lives don't quite go as planned. They do however have a link and are connected more than they realise at the time. I really enjoyed the plot and how the story is told from Alice's view and how the events are described so well and the atmosphere created at various times during the storyline. The writing is sensitive and thought provoking, like looking through the lens of a camera, focus on what you actually see and trust your gut feeling. The book was beautifully narrated and I was engaged from page one. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

If I could only make one comment on this book it would be that for a debut novel it’s amazing. The plot is so original firstly in how it’s more a case of find out about the victim rather than find the killer which becomes almost incidental and secondly by using the voice of the victim both in past and real time. It’s certainly clever.
It made me realise I remember the killers name in lots of cases that have been in the news but not as many of the victims names and that is simply wrong.

Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz.


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


Alice has led a troubled life but as she steps off the bus in New York on her 18th birthday, she dares to hope she can have a fresh start and find a new life .

Ruth arrives into the city on the same day, she’s 36 and is fleeing from a hopeless relationship in Melbourne and also hoping for a new start.

A month later, Alice is murdered. Ruth finds her body on the rocks by the Hudson River. Alice is now Jane Doe, an unidentified murder victim. Ruth and Alice are now bonded together. Ruth needs to know who Alice is , what type of person she was and how did she end up dead with nobody looking for.

The book is largely narrated by Alice , after her death. You need to get on board with that ( I absolutely did) to fully embrace this story. It’s such an original take on crime fiction, fresh, powerful and masterfully penned, instead of being devoted to finding how who the murderer is , this book asks who is the victim?

The setting of New York is vividly painted as the background to this story and the characters both Alice and Ruth and all of the secondary characters are realistic, well developed and well portrayed. It’s the commentary throughout though that shone the most brightly for me.


“Do you know how aware we have to be? Girls like me. The man ahead who slows down, who disappears into doorways. The man close behind who walks too fast, his encroachment felt on your skin, creeping. Vans with dark windows and streets with alley ways. A park at dusk, or empty lots, eerie, any old time of the day.’’

The books examines the ways women are victims to mens violence, how women have to stay alert, how when women are killed , which ones get the media attention and which ones are ignored. How sometimes one case will garner so much attention, we attend vigils, we want to reclaim the streets and then time passes and that murdered woman fades from memory. Until it happens again and repeat.
Or how the murderer commands the media glare and we learn all about his life and little about the life he took.
There’s undercurrents of simmering rage, rage we’ve all felt, woven within this beautifully told story.

I found this hard to stay away from the even though there was no suspense as such, I had to know what happened. A poignant powerful read, I found it hard to believe it was a debut novel and I’ll read anything this author turns her hand to next.

I listened to this on audio and it was wonderfully narrated. The fear, sadness, strength ,fear and comfort were portrayed perfectly.

4.5- 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The most beautiful book and the best I have read this year. This is not a story about a dead girl, this is a story of two women who both arrived in New York on the same day. Both running from the past for a fresh start, both lonely, both putting their trust in strangers. Themes of feminism, male entitlement, victim blaming, friendship, fate and death are so beautifully written I had to re-read parts to really take them in #hernameisAliceLee superb debut

This was an intriguing read for so many reasons!
Firstly, the tagline hooked me in. 'This isn't just another novel about a dead girl." What a line!
I loved the 'dead narrator' device too, a fantastic approach and gave a whole new insight to the story.
The stories of Alice and Ruby sometimes had me a little confused while listening to the audiobook, as they arrived in New York with similar stories and I was confusing Mr Jackson and Noah at the start. God knows why!
There were so many other themes too- feminism, the identifying of Jane Does, the trauma of people who find the bodies, all which made for very powerful reading. The plot was slow paced at times, although I am used to crazy heart pounding reads! This definitely had more substance, but I'm not sure it is as memorable for me as some other addictive thrillers I have loved.
The writing was superb, and astounding for a debut. Well worth a read.

When she arrived in New York on her 18th birthday carrying nothing but $600 cash and a stolen camera, Alice was looking for a fresh start. Now, just one month later, she is the city's latest Jane Doe, an unidentified murder victim.

Ruby Jones is also trying to start over; she travelled halfway around the world only to find herself lonelier than ever. Until she finds Alice Lee's body by the Hudson River.


From this first, devastating encounter, the two women form an unbreakable bond. Alice is sure that Ruby is the key to solving the mystery of her life - and death. And Ruby - struggling to forget what she saw that morning - finds herself unable to let Alice go. Not until she is given the ending she deserves.

Such a remarkable original unique story. Loved this audiobook and recommend as a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️