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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Reflection on how the butterfly effect changes based on gender. Thought provoking piece reminding readers to treat everyone nicely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Murder
The first thing I understand about the city I will die in: it beats like a heart.
from Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz
From the first line, it was the writing that drew me into this suspense thriller, the description of New York City from the viewpoint of the narrator, an eighteen-year-old girl from Wisconsin seeing the city for the first time. Alice is escaping a life of darkness, seeking a new life of independence in the city where she was conceived. As her mother came to New York City when she was eighteen, fleeing an abusive father.
Her mother met a “semi-famous” married photographer who brought her face to billboard fame–and left her pregnant. Her mother never found stability and took her own life. Alice was seventeen when she was groomed and abused by a former teacher. She was his model and his muse and his lover. Until he discovered her true age and kicked her out. “I used to belong to him,” she tells us; “Now I belong only to myself.”
Alice tell us, “My feet have barely hit the pavement, the bus that delivered me here has only just hissed away from the curb, when I feel the pulse of New York, the hammering.”
Alice had found an apartment on Riverside Drive with a man named Noah who wraps her in kindness and treats her like his lost daughter. She has found her first safe place in life, and trust and hope and love. But this hopeful girl is only part of Alice’s story; she warns us that there will be the body of a dead girl along the river. And the stranger who will find that body, Ruby, fleeing an engaged lover, who will be haunted by the dead girl at the river’s edge. Alice will change Ruby’s life, bringing both threat and renewal.
This character-driven suspense read had me hooked. I loved the writing, the characters, the narrative voice.
When the dead speak back, we are seldom loud enough to be heard over the clamor of all that living going on.
from Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz
The story raises questions. So many women disappear, so many women found dead. How can we women not know better? We are taught to be polite, to be nice. We are not taught to respond to our feelings. A man comes too near, do we step away? He touches us. We give him the benefit of a doubt. In a public space, it feels safe. Trust me, they tell us. And we do–until it is too late. And after our trust is broken, how do we trust again?
Alice’s voice weaves the story of her life and death, and her life after death, a part of Ruby who can’t forget her. Ruby finds a friend who brings her to the Death Club, others who can’t leave the dead in the past. Ruby learns the disturbing truth: race determines which girls are newsworthy. Alice was pretty, young, and white. She has become national news. Why are only some girls considered worth of justice? Eventually, a friend sees the news stories and gives Alice a name. But it is Ruby who gives her justice.
The traditional suspense plot line is enhanced in Bublitz’s debut novel by her wonderful characters and deeper commentary on women in society.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through Edelweiss. My review is fair and unbiased.
from Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz
From the first line, it was the writing that drew me into this suspense thriller, the description of New York City from the viewpoint of the narrator, an eighteen-year-old girl from Wisconsin seeing the city for the first time. Alice is escaping a life of darkness, seeking a new life of independence in the city where she was conceived. As her mother came to New York City when she was eighteen, fleeing an abusive father.
Her mother met a “semi-famous” married photographer who brought her face to billboard fame–and left her pregnant. Her mother never found stability and took her own life. Alice was seventeen when she was groomed and abused by a former teacher. She was his model and his muse and his lover. Until he discovered her true age and kicked her out. “I used to belong to him,” she tells us; “Now I belong only to myself.”
Alice tell us, “My feet have barely hit the pavement, the bus that delivered me here has only just hissed away from the curb, when I feel the pulse of New York, the hammering.”
Alice had found an apartment on Riverside Drive with a man named Noah who wraps her in kindness and treats her like his lost daughter. She has found her first safe place in life, and trust and hope and love. But this hopeful girl is only part of Alice’s story; she warns us that there will be the body of a dead girl along the river. And the stranger who will find that body, Ruby, fleeing an engaged lover, who will be haunted by the dead girl at the river’s edge. Alice will change Ruby’s life, bringing both threat and renewal.
This character-driven suspense read had me hooked. I loved the writing, the characters, the narrative voice.
When the dead speak back, we are seldom loud enough to be heard over the clamor of all that living going on.
from Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz
The story raises questions. So many women disappear, so many women found dead. How can we women not know better? We are taught to be polite, to be nice. We are not taught to respond to our feelings. A man comes too near, do we step away? He touches us. We give him the benefit of a doubt. In a public space, it feels safe. Trust me, they tell us. And we do–until it is too late. And after our trust is broken, how do we trust again?
Alice’s voice weaves the story of her life and death, and her life after death, a part of Ruby who can’t forget her. Ruby finds a friend who brings her to the Death Club, others who can’t leave the dead in the past. Ruby learns the disturbing truth: race determines which girls are newsworthy. Alice was pretty, young, and white. She has become national news. Why are only some girls considered worth of justice? Eventually, a friend sees the news stories and gives Alice a name. But it is Ruby who gives her justice.
The traditional suspense plot line is enhanced in Bublitz’s debut novel by her wonderful characters and deeper commentary on women in society.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through Edelweiss. My review is fair and unbiased.
A generous 3 ⭐️
This book had so much promise but was a let down towards the end.
The long chapters felt like a horrible homework task as I dragged my way through them.
It also was quite confusing listening to the audio book as it changes POV without warning and I'd often get lost... this meant I'd have to re-read the chapters when I wasn't driving.
This book had so much promise but was a let down towards the end.
The long chapters felt like a horrible homework task as I dragged my way through them.
It also was quite confusing listening to the audio book as it changes POV without warning and I'd often get lost... this meant I'd have to re-read the chapters when I wasn't driving.
WOW! Just wow! I saw Jacqueline's other book 'Leave the Girls behind' come up in a magazine from my local book store. So I thought Id read this one before reading her newest. All I can say is WOW, it was amazing. Character development is 5 stars and the way it is written, the way it ends. WOW, definitely recommend to anyone looking at reading this book.
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved the concept. Like nothing I have read before.
It was quite pensive and thoughtful.
I did find however that I lacked an “urgency” to finish the book, not something I could sit down and finish in a day.
7/10
It was quite pensive and thoughtful.
I did find however that I lacked an “urgency” to finish the book, not something I could sit down and finish in a day.
7/10
What a beautiful book! My library has classified this as crime fiction but its way more than that. Sure the basic plot involves a murder however its also about love; and loneliness; and new beginnings; and letting go; and never giving up. Plus way more themes.
It has a spiritual element to it. What happens to us after we die? It ties in with those times that you feel the presence of a loved one who is no longer with you.
Sometimes when I read a book that I really enjoy, I feel that I want to know what happens next after the author has typed the mythical "the end" - do the lead characters live a "happily ever after life"; does the boy get the girl; do the bad guys really end up getting their comeuppance? But this book, I felt finished at the right place. None of those questions matter in this instance.
It was beautiful.
It has a spiritual element to it. What happens to us after we die? It ties in with those times that you feel the presence of a loved one who is no longer with you.
Sometimes when I read a book that I really enjoy, I feel that I want to know what happens next after the author has typed the mythical "the end" - do the lead characters live a "happily ever after life"; does the boy get the girl; do the bad guys really end up getting their comeuppance? But this book, I felt finished at the right place. None of those questions matter in this instance.
It was beautiful.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced