[Review] Before You Knew My Name - Jacqueline Bublitz

Summary: When she arrived in New York on her eighteenth birthday carrying nothing but $600 cash and a stolen camera, Alice Lee was looking for a fresh start. Now, just one month later, she is the city’s latest Jane Doe. She may be dead but that doesn’t mean her story is over.

Meanwhile, Ruby Jones is also trying to reinvent herself. After travelling halfway around the world, she’s lonelier than ever in the Big Apple. Until she stumbles upon a woman’s body by the Hudson River, and suddenly finds herself unbreakably tied to the unknown dead woman.

Alice is sure Ruby is the key to solving the mystery of her short life and tragic death. Ruby just wants to forget what she saw…but she can’t seem to stop thinking about the young woman she found. If she keeps looking, can she give this unidentified Jane Doe the ending and closure she deserves?

A “heartbreaking, beautiful, and hugely important novel” (Rosie Walsh, New York Times bestselling author), Before You Knew My Name doesn’t just wonder whodunnit—it also asks who was she? And what did she leave behind? (Pub Date: Nov 01 2022)

 

This story wasn't easy to read, but not because of the writing style. It's just very heavy on emotions and regrets. 

We have one narrator, Alice, who has been killed and found by Ruby, so she starts following Ruby and observes how her life was and how it changes after the discovery, meanwhile we hear how Alice got to the end of her life. It's heartbreaking.

The question of who's done it is ever present but it takes some time for it to become more obvious—after all, we first need to figure out how Alice died and how they'll even know the body found is Alice's. The story leads us like we're in a stupor, slowly coming back to ourselves, to the rage for what has happened. It's a nice effect. 

It's a book that will grip you tight, if you're in need of one of there. I fell in love with the narrative, with Alice's voice narrating, with all the climate set. However, it does lose steam as the ends get together, and I confess I expected more of the conclusion, although it was a satisfying answer—it was all just so emotional, I thought there would be more to it.

Still, a very recommended dramatic thriller, I won't forget this one so soon.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 4 out of 5.