Clara’s Reviews > Before You Knew My Name > Status Update
Clara
is on page 197 of 320
Just had to quickly mention I notice the author very explicitly points out the feminist notions in the book such as stating “everyone will know his name (murderer) not mine” and literally saying “whodunnit” etc., repetitively.
i think this takes out a lot of the impressiveness of the writing - what’s the point of just stating the themes of the book instead of showing them?
— Jan 10, 2026 03:36PM
i think this takes out a lot of the impressiveness of the writing - what’s the point of just stating the themes of the book instead of showing them?
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Clara
is on page 198 of 320
Also who is the narrator? One second it’s second person and then it’s Alice speaking and then it’s Ruby.
It definitely wouldn’t make sense for Alice to be coming to these intelligent yet on the nose conclusions since she was portrayed as very naive and inconspicuous when she was alive.
— Jan 10, 2026 03:39PM
It definitely wouldn’t make sense for Alice to be coming to these intelligent yet on the nose conclusions since she was portrayed as very naive and inconspicuous when she was alive.
Clara
is on page 192 of 320
The plot line is too dragged out for my liking and it’s not really clear where it’s going which makes me less anticipated for what’s next.
Sometimes the random jumps to Alice’s perspective can be confusing and the brackets a bit weird. Also, she’s kind of a ghost AND white??
I’m intrigued though and I like this cast of characters. I wonder if the whodunnit matters at all to the story/is a big thing
— Jan 10, 2026 03:28AM
Sometimes the random jumps to Alice’s perspective can be confusing and the brackets a bit weird. Also, she’s kind of a ghost AND white??
I’m intrigued though and I like this cast of characters. I wonder if the whodunnit matters at all to the story/is a big thing
Clara
is on page 95 of 320
The time jumps have been slightly confusing but long enough to eventually get into wherever you are in the story.
Is it terrible to say I think Alice is partly to blame for lying about her age to Mr Jackson? I mean yes, disgusting that he was her teacher but she said she was 18… maybe i’m terrible.
also, sometimes the meaning of scenes go a bit over my head like she cried seeing a random boy unconscious…?
— Jan 08, 2026 03:01AM
Is it terrible to say I think Alice is partly to blame for lying about her age to Mr Jackson? I mean yes, disgusting that he was her teacher but she said she was 18… maybe i’m terrible.
also, sometimes the meaning of scenes go a bit over my head like she cried seeing a random boy unconscious…?
Clara
is on page 40 of 320
Okk interesting so far… reading this bc i’m in nz and don’t have time to go book hunting yet (for mortal instruments)
I like the premise of knowing the “Jane Doe.” It’s cool and different that we know Alice will go missing and Ruby will find her but we’re building up to it.
However, I’m not sure about some of the writing - seems more literary than suspenseful and weird for a thriller.
— Jan 07, 2026 03:30AM
I like the premise of knowing the “Jane Doe.” It’s cool and different that we know Alice will go missing and Ruby will find her but we’re building up to it.
However, I’m not sure about some of the writing - seems more literary than suspenseful and weird for a thriller.
