Reviews - Before You Knew My Name

1.03k reviews for:

Before You Knew My Name

Jacqueline Bublitz

3.8 AVERAGE

morganmcc's review against another edition

2.75

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jbatts44's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

hayley_nicole's review against another edition

3.0

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

katiez624's review against another edition

5.0

This is not a typical story about the murder of a woman. The omniscient first-person account told by the victim herself breathes new life into this trope. Ruby and Alice are two women who are escaping their past and loneliness, hoping to have a new start in New York. The story progresses toward their eventual meeting, and the setup is clever, suspenseful, and completely unpredictable.

The writing is descriptive and evocative, without being too wordy or flowery. Learning about each woman's back story provides fascinating context as to how their paths eventually cross. Their lives have been dictated by selfish men, and their attempt to start anew does not always go as planned.

The omniscient first-person POV from Alice and the focus on young female victims reminded me of [b:I Have Some Questions for You|61053829|I Have Some Questions for You|Rebecca Makkai|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658970269l/61053829._SY75_.jpg|96219558], although the plot of this book was much more tightly woven.

Spoiler

I do wish the ending was more unexpected, but the story was gripping throughout.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler for the ARC.

readsbymegrose's review against another edition

5.0

Wow. Absolutely incredible. The book told from the perspective of Alice is so beautifully done.
I loved everything about this book. And it is not something I would normally pick out, me and my friend picked it up on a whim to 'read together' when she went home so we could talk about it. I couldn't resist and have finished it so quick! I love the refusal to talk about him too much, instead focusing on who she was instead of who did it. Absolutely beautiful,tragic, heart wrenching, hopeful story.