Description: WINNER OF THE ABIA AWARD FOR GENERAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR


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 Lee 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'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.

'A wake-up call, beautifully written and unique feminist exploration of the crime fiction genre.' R.W.R. McDonald, author of The Nancys

'Unpredictable, devastating and original ... marks the arrival of a compelling new voice ... Thought-provoking and challenging.' Karen Viggers, author of The Lightkeeper's Wife

'Beguiling, heartbreaking and tender. Jacqueline Bublitz is a beautiful writer and in Alice Lee, she has created a vivid and sparkling narrator who mesmerised me from the very first page and still won't let me go.' Suzanne Leal, author of The Teacher's Secret

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

'Before You Knew My Name is so many things at once: a classic murder mystery and a genre-defying trailblazer, a lament for the dead and a celebration of life, a book to linger over and a fast-moving page-turner. Beautiful, brilliant and strangely joyous, Jacqueline Bublitz's debut will have you in its thrall from its powerful first page to its superb conclusion.'
Rose Carlyle, author of Girl in the Mirror

'I loved this addictive and utterly captivating debut, part Whodunnit, part Who was she? It asked all sorts of compelling questions about how society views and judges women, even after death. There is darkness but also a beautiful light that shines through this very special novel. I couldn't put it down.'
Sarah Bailey, author of Where the Dead Go

'This astonishing debut turns the traditional crime story on its head. With a startling voice that compels us to listen, the indomitable victim Alice insists that we remember her life, not her death. Darkly funny, deeply insightful and completely heartbreaking, this novel shows us two very different women, uniquely connected by death, and both searching for hope.'
Petronella McGovern, author of Six Minutes

'A wake-up call, beautifully written and unique feminist exploration of the crime story genre, giving voice and life to those characters who are rarely given that agency, whose names rarely go beyond "dead girl" and "woman who found the body". Meet Alice Lee and Ruby Jones.'
R.W.R. McDonald, author of The Nancys

'The most wonderful book. Unusual, beautiful, feminist, gripping, deserves to win prizes. I loved it so much'.
Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups

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

Prizes: Winner of General Fiction Book of the Year 2022 (Australia) and CWA Gold Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year 2022 (New Zealand) and Best Adult Novel 2022 (Australia) and Davitt Awards 2022 (Australia) and Best Novel 2022 (Australia). Short-listed for MUD Literary Prize 2022 (Australia) and ABIA Awards 2022 (Australia) and Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year 2022 (Australia) and ABIA Awards 2022 (Australia). Long-listed for Dublin Literary Award 2022 (Iran, Islamic Republic of).