Jacquiline Bublitz’s debut novel, Before You Knew My Name, has been on my tbr for years. Praised for its unique reinterpretation of the whodunit crime novel, Before You Knew My Name tells the story of the life of the deceased and the lead up to her death, introducing the reader to the life of the victim and how she got where she did. It is an intriguing redirection for the crime novel, and one you should check out for yourself.

This is not just another novel about a dead girl. Two women—one alive, one dead—are brought together in the dark underbelly of New York City to solve a tragic murder. 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? Before You Knew My Name doesn’t just wonder whodunnit—it also asks who was she? And what did she leave behind?

Ruby and Alice’s perspectives contrast each other enough to show difference, yet there are similarities between them and relatable aspects to both women that the reader can empathise with. The way the story unfolds, with each woman’s actions linked and their situations mirroring each other in some way, lends itself to the idea of being a different crime novel to the traditional structure of the whodunit. We don’t follow the footprints to the killer necessarily, instead we look into the life of the deceased and the things she left behind.

The language is very easy to follow, the characters mysterious, and the vibe are taunt with tension and emotion. It feels like many other crime novels I’ve come across – I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai and Local Woman Missing by Maria Kubica foe example. There is a familiar vibe in the writing, yet the story is engaging and itches with curiosity. I will warn you that there are some heavier themes and situations in here (please check any trigger warnings before picking up the book), and while they aren’t new to the crime genre, it is worth knowing ahead of time.

Before You Knew My Name is something a little different to my NZ fiction and non-fiction that I have reviewed and talked about over the last month, but it is no less of a novel being set outside of New Zealand and Jacqueline Bublitz is no less of a New Zealand author having written a novel set outside of New Zealand. This is one of the sad things about being a New Zealand author – sometimes you are told to change your book settings to appeal to a wider audience and New Zealand just isn’t a popular location for international crime books. I encourage you to give Before You Knew My Name a go, and her most recent book, Leave the Girls Behind is currently in stores so you should give that a browse and see if it is something you’d enjoy.