Before You Knew My Name

Alice Lee had just turned 18 when she arrived in New York, hoping to start a new life. One month later she was dead. Alice's body was discovered by Ruby Jones, aged 36, who had arrived in New York from Melbourne, Australia, on the same day that Alice arrived in New York. Ruby also was searching for a new beginning.

Before You Knew My Name is written by Jacqueline Bublitz, born in New Zealand but now living in Australia. The novel is not so much about who murdered Alice Lee but is a study of Alice and Ruby as narrated by Alice. 

This is a crime novel with a difference with the story revealed from both the viewpoint of the victim and the person who found the body, rather than techniques involved in solving the crime or the perpetrator. It is a study of the effects of crime on individuals including the victim who will never have the opportunity to experience the life she would have expected to live.

With no identification on her, plus being from out of town, Alice is treated as a Jane Doe, waiting for someone to identify her as well as her killer. Meanwhile Ruby struggles with the knowledge of being 'the jogger who found the body'. A sensitive study of coming to terms with the effects of grief after a death or near death experience. The book also examines the abuse of power that some men attempt to have over women. A crime novel truely worth reading.