BEFORE YOU WERE MINE Jacqueline Bublitz

 

MY THOUGHTS

It's very hard for me to believe this is a debut novel. This author did such a beautiful job of writing this story. It's very heartbreaking and will have you weeping so much in parts. A few chuckles but mostly it's just sad. But the way it is written you just can't look away. You have to know who and why. You have to know. Why did this young lady have to go through this? Why did this happen to her?

Alice Lee and Ruby Jones arrive in New York on the same day. Their paths are destine to cross and neither knows yet why or how. Or even that it will happen. Both are fleeing bad relationships. Men have not been kind to either of these woman. Alice Lee just barely eighteen and Ruby Jones thirty six. 

Alice left her hometown to find a new life. She is getting away from an older man. One that use to be her high school teacher. A very controlling man who loves young girls it seems. He set his eyes on Alice and knowing her story knew it would not be hard. He could offer her a type of security that she hasn't had since her mom's death. But he also introduced her to a life that was not so good. Photos and videos of a personal sense. She trusted him completely and of course he let her down. She was deceiving him in that she was not quite eighteen yet. But when she does turn legal he kicks her out. She takes a camera and some cash and a but to New York. Her young life will end in a month. 

Ruby is madly in love with Ash. Ash is engaged to someone else. She's known this from the start of their relationship and thought she could handle it. Her heart says she can't. She leaves Australia and goes all the way to New York. To the US to get away and maybe clear her head. Maybe start a new life. Ash is a very controlling man also. He is only using Ruby and keeps her a secret. Of course he does. Ruby stays in for a week. Barely getting out of bed. Then she decides that she needs more out of life. She decides to go for a jog. Everyday for so many days she is out jogging and taking in New York. Her life is going ok but still she misses Ash. Then one rainy morning while she is out she finds a young woman floating facedown in the Hudson River. Now her life is going to change and never be the same. In many ways it will get better.

Alice is telling this story. An eighteen year old girl who finally has almost everything. A home. A friend. A life. A future school to learn photography. A happy life. Given to her by a very kind man. Noah does not want anything from Alice except to help her. He has so much and she has nothing. He is a very kind old man who lost his child so long ago and wants to give Alice a new chance at life. Help her in ways that she has never had before. 

This book is truly written in a beautiful way. It draws you in and holds on to your heart from start to finish. You will keep guessing at who killed Alice but you won't guess. It's not an obvious one by any means. While I thought I had it figured out I was so wrong. The why of it was horrible. The cold blooded murder and rape of this kind young woman is so senseless and sad. She was just getting started with her life. When Ruby finds her Alice knows she will need help solving her murder. She tries hard to reach out to Ruby. To make Ruby see her. To warn Ruby in places also. 

This book is one that will stick with you. It will make it way into your heart and won't let go. The story that Alice Lee tells is sad yes it is. It's much more than that though. It's about things that happen to women in life. Things that are horrible and even a few good things too. Finding love. Dealing with controlling men. Learning to love yourself just as you are. This book is beautiful but in a sad way. Beautifully written. The way this story unfolds. The way the sentences flow. It's just hard to believe it's a debut novel. But it is. This author has done such a good job with this one and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Thank you #NetGalley, #JacquelineBublitz, #Atria for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book. 

5 huge stars and I highly recommend it. Grab this one. Just have some tissues handy.

SYNOPSIS

Winner of Crime Debut and Readers’ Choice Awards—Sisters in Crime

“A brave and timely novel.” —Clare Mackintosh, internationally bestselling author of Hostage

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?

A “heartbreaking, beautiful, and hugely important novel” (Rosie Walsh, New York Times bestselling author), Before You Knew My Name doesn’t just wonder whodunnit—it also asks who was she? And what did she leave behind?