South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
2 women — 1 dead — connect in debut mystery; anthology delivers ‘the best’ short stories
Australian author Jacqueline Bublitz’s debut delivers an emotional, poignant story about two women seeking refuge and a new life in New York City in an involving plot that echoes “The Lovely Bones.”
Bublitz presents a more nuanced story than Alice Sebold’s 2002 bestseller as she delves into fresh starts, exploitation and the need to connect with another.
On the first page of “Before You Knew My Name,” Bublitz establishes that 18-year-old Alice Lee has been murdered not long after arriving in Manhattan from her small Wisconsin town. But “Before You Knew My Name” isn’t a story about her murder, and certainly not about her killer. It focuses on who Alice was back home, how she was reinventing herself, and who she hoped to be.
Growing up in an abusive, neglectful home before landing in foster care, Alice had fallen into a live-in affair with her high school teacher, who took myriad photos of her in the nude. But just before her 18th birthday, the teacher kicks her out; as she leaves, Alice takes $600 and his prized camera.
Ruby Jones arrives in Manhattan about the same time as Alice, finding a studio not far from Alice, although the two women never meet in person. At 36, Ruby is twice Alice’s age, but her reason for leaving Melbourne, Australia, is similar. Ruby is finally realizing that the coworker with whom she’s been having an affair will never break up with his fiancée.
The two women are connected when Ruby finds Alice’s body in Riverside Park. Ruby feels obligated to find out about this young woman, who had no identification with her and was not reported missing.
The two women alternate narrating “Before You Knew My Name,” with Alice looking back on her life, urging Ruby to look into her death. Each approached New York differently — Alice was happy about the chance to start over while Ruby was at first sad, fearing she would slide into her old ways. But as the story comes together, Alice gains a voice that was often denied her in life, hoping people don’t “only see the husk of me.” Ruby finds a strength and a purpose in reinventing herself.
Bublitz wisely keeps the killer in the background, making this a story about women finding their power.
Best of the best
Every few years, publishing experts lament that the short story is done, citing the number of magazines and other publications that provided outlets for this form having ceased publication. True, several markets have dried up.
But at the same time, we are seeing a kind of resurgence of short story anthologies put out by smaller publishers, editors pulling together collections focused on a theme such as songs by the Eagles, Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon, or movies such as those by the Marx Brothers. Akashic continues its terrific “Noir” series centered on specific cities (San Diego, Tampa Bay, Paris).
And HarperCollins continues its excellent annual series of theme collections such as stories about food, science fiction, science and nature writing, and mystery and suspense.
The aptly titled “Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022” truly does deliver the top mystery stories published that year. Editors Jess Walter and Steph Cha culled this collection from myriad anthologies and other publications for stories that showcase the genre. Works by new and established authors appear with each writer offering a bio and tips on writing the short story. In addition to the 20 stories, the editors included a list of other “distinguished” stories that almost made the final list.
Standouts among these standouts include Tracy Clark, “Lucky Thirteen,” and Raquel V. Reyes of Miami, “Mata Hambre,” both of which were published first in “Midnight Hour”; S.A. Cosby, “An Ache So Divine,” and Gar Anthony Haywood, “Return to Sender,” both from “Jukes & Tonks”; Juliet Grames, “The Very Last Time,” from “Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine”; Floridian Lauren Groff, “The Wind” from “The New Yorker”; and Dennis Lehane, “A Bostonian (in Cambridge)” from “Collectibles.”
Each story has earned the appellation “best.”