Before You Knew My Name (Hardback)
  • Before You Knew My Name (Hardback)
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Before You Knew My Name (Hardback)

(author)
£12.99
Hardback 336 Pages
Published: 15/07/2021

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Waterstones Says

Following the stories of two young women - one of them murdered, the other determined to discover who she really was - this heartbreaking and topical crime novel focuses on the persona of the victim rather than the hunt for her killer.

This is not just another novel about a dead girl.

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.

Before You Knew My Name doesn't ask whodunnit. Instead, this powerful, hopeful novel asks: Who was she? And what did she leave behind? The answers might surprise you.

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
ISBN: 9780751581645
Number of pages: 336
Weight: 580 g
Dimensions: 236 x 158 x 32 mm


MEDIA REVIEWS

An exquisitely written, absolutely devastating novel, which gives a voice to all the women who never made it home. - Red

The most wonderful book. Unusual, beautiful, feminist, gripping, deserves to win prizes. I loved it so much. - Marian Keyes

A brave and timely novel which will fuel the debate on women's rights to walk safely through our streets. I raced through the pages, anxious for resolution, yet at the same time not wanting this beautiful writing to finish. - Clare Mackintosh, author of I Let You Go

A really remarkable book - so fresh and original. I've never read anything quite like this. - Laura Barnett, author of The Versions of Us

All the suspense and tension we expect from crime fiction - but with complex characters and themes that linger for longer. - Guardian

I fell head over heels in love with this heartbreaking, beautiful and hugely important novel. Jacqueline Bublitz's prose is luminous and the up-all-night, just-one-more-page plot is brilliantly clever and original. Everyone should read this book. - Rosie Walsh, author of The Man Who Didn’t Call

Stood out among the many thrillers because it focuses on the victim and her life rather than her killer, with echoes of The Lovely Bones - Good Housekeeping

I was mesmerised by this exquisitely written, heartbreaking, lyrical story of friendship from beyond the grave. - Jane Corry, author of My Husband's Wife

An extraordinary and hypnotic read that has stayed with me months after reading. - Nina Potell, Prima

Fiercely topical and full of compassion, Before You Knew My Name starts where many thrillers and news stories do: the murder of a young woman. But instead of a hunt for the killer, this novel explores the personhood of the victim-who she was, what she loved, all the years that were stolen from her. It's a story about female agency and value in the face of male violence, and also about resilience, about memory, about how love adapts and survives. - Julie Cohen, author of Together

A brilliantly powerful read, Before You Knew My Name is an astonishing debut. - Lucy Mangan, journalist

Devastating but beautiful... gives a voice to all the women who never made it home. The writing is exquisite and rarely has a story seemed so prescient of the here and now. - Sarra Manning, journalist

Exquisitely composed, with a muscular feminist sensibility, Before You Knew My Name is both elegiac and rhapsodic in its examination of the deaths - and lives - of women. - Jessica Moor, author of Keeper

An unputdownable debut - striking, moving, gripping throughout and so sharp on the things that unite us. - Elizabeth Kay, author of Seven Lies

I absolutely relished this clever, original and moving novel. Jacqueline Bublitz is a fantastically adept writer, creating a wonderful cast of characters and a hugely engaging portrait of city life. - Nell Frizzell, author of The Panic Years

Jacqueline Bublitz snatches back the power, giving voice to those whose stories deserve to be told. It is powerful, beautiful. I loved it. - Kate Sawyer, author of The Stranding

Feminist, fierce, beautiful and urgent with a story that NEEDS to be told. I read parts with my heart breaking and parts that could have been ripped from my own soul. It made me feel seen. - Bethany Clift, author of Last One At The Party

An astounding debut novel that every woman will feel in their bones. At last, a whodunnit, where the victim is the front and centre of the story. Beautifully written, real, feminist and properly haunting, it deserves all the awards. - Lizzy Dent, author of The Summer Job

Full of raw poignancy, explored through the author's expressive mastery of language. - Woman’s Weekly

Heart-breaking yet rewarding . . . fans of The Lovely Bones will enjoy this story. - Woman

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“Unusual and Gripping Debut”

Thank you to the publishers for this debut. It promised to be different, not the usual style of missing girl thriller...
Well I completely agree it was, I loved reading this book and it is different in style and so... More

Hardback edition
Helpful? Upvote 12

“an accomplished debut novel.”

“It’s like learning to see a while different way. When you adjust the aperture, narrow the opening of the lens, background objects come into focus. Kind of like you’re pulling the world into you, bringing it closer.... More

Hardback edition
Helpful? Upvote 11

“Wow!”

This book was a delight and a surprise to read! One that I couldn’t wait to finish but at the same time didn’t want to finish as it would mean the end of the story.
We follow Alice, who at 18 has run away to New York,... More

Hardback edition
Helpful? Upvote 11

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