Leave the Girls Behind by Jacqueline Bublitz

The acclaimed author of Before You Knew My Name returns with another taut suspense thriller overlaid with a moving exploration of the ways in which violent crime ricochets through the lives of those left behind.

You can run from your past, but not from the girls left behind.

Nineteen years ago, Ruth-Ann Baker's childhood friend was murdered by convicted killer Ethan Oswald. Haunted by what happened, Ruth has long been convinced Oswald had other victims. But no one has ever believed her.

After dropping out of college and failing to prove her serial killer theory, Ruth is bartending when she hears that another young girl has gone missing from her home town. With Oswald now deceased, she begins to suspect he had an accomplice. A partner in crime who is still active today.

Crossing the globe from New York to New Zealand, Ruth unlocks parts of herself that she hasn't dared to revisit, bringing her perilously close to three different women. The deeper she delves, the more she can't shake the feeling that one of them knows the truth. About her childhood friend. About the missing girl. And, perhaps most dangerously of all, about Ruth herself ...

The acclaimed author of the 'tour de force' (The New York Times Book Review) Before You Knew My Name returns with another taut suspense thriller, overlaid with a moving exploration of the ways in which violent crime ricochets through the lives of those left behind.

Praise for Before You Knew My Name:

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

'As hopeful and uplifting a book about murder as you're likely to read...on every page there's a perfectly turned phrase or observation as Bublitz takes apart every trope and clich of crime fiction and subverts them in strange, exhilarating ways. This is an extraordinary, smart, bittersweet novel, compelling and infinitely readable.' - Liam Pieper, The Age

'A murder mystery with a difference. Richly descriptive...a confident and courageous entry into the world of fiction and one that will earn Bublitz many fans.' - Canberra Times

'Addictive and utterly captivating. I couldn't put it down.'- Sarah Bailey, author of Body of Lies

'This astonishing debut subverts the crime genre by asking not whodunit, but rather, who was she?' - Marie Claire

'A remarkable debut that offers readers so many things at once: a feminist reimagining of the traditional crime narrative, a lament for all the dead girls who came before her, and a love letter to New York City. Quietly devastating, achingly beautiful and utterly captivating, Before You Knew My Name marks the arrival of a brilliant new voice in fiction.' - Better Reading

'Traversing romance, philosophy, feminism, politics and inequality, Before You Knew My Name is an ambitious debut which sets out to challenge the structure and conventions of the genre - and succeeds.' - Zoya Patel, The Guardian

'Beautifully written and soft, but no moment is wasted...Jacqueline Bublitz turns a story of murder into one of hope, in which kindness is a stronger currency than police work. A lyrical story for those looking for the atmosphere of The Lovely Bones and the gratifying slow burn of Aoife Clifford or Anna George.' - Books + Publishing

'This astonishing debut turns the traditional crime story on its head ... Darkly funny, deeply insightful and completely heartbreaking.' - Petronella McGovern, author of The Last Trace

'A stunning debut, one of the best books I've read this year...a haunting story about grief, limbo, transition and friendship. This literary crime novel reads as a moving meditation on the loss of women to male violence, as well as the resolve it takes to bring about justice.' - Readings

'A thoughtful - and thought-provoking effort to fill in some of the spaces that tend to be left blank in our standard narrative about these kinds of crimes...It seeks to make one dead girl less peripheral to the tale of the aftermath of her murder. Before You Knew My Name is a powerful novel that vividly captures the profound sadness and intense anger felt publicly and privately, while also offering a hopeful exploration of grief, trauma and human connection.' - The West Australian

'A lyrical, mindful and dramatic story from a fresh voice in contemporary fiction.' - Mrs B's Book Reviews

'An engrossing murder mystery, a surprising and surprisingly uplifting debut.' - New Zealand Herald

'Novels about violent crime that are this deeply feminist and rooted in the humanity of victims rather than the glamour of evil men, are rare. Thoughtful, gripping, moving and genre-disrupting novels like Before You Knew My Name are rarer still.' - The Spinoff