The victims of most murderers are obvious: the deceased person and their family and friends, whose pain is never ending. But Jacqueline Bublitz (Before You Knew My Name) showcases a killer's less obvious victims in her emotionally charged second novel, Leave the Girls Behind. These victims are the killer's own family and friends, who may not have known his proclivities and were inadvertently drawn into his web.
Bublitz examines these victims and depicts how their history with the killer affects their present, the kind of people they become, and the kind of people they come to be in relationships with, some of whom may have violence in their veins.
Manhattan bartender Ruth-Ann Baker was seven years old when her best friend Beth Lovely vanished from a playground in Hoben, Conn.; her body was eventually found in a shallow grave. Popular teacher Ethan Oswald was convicted of Beth's murder and died in prison a few years into his sentence. In the ensuing 19 years, Ruth-Ann has become obsessed with Beth's death and believes that Ethan murdered other girls. She's convinced that all their ghosts visit her. When another girl goes missing from Hoben, Ruth-Ann can't help but see startling similarities in their cases, even if Ethan is gone. As she continues her investigation, she finds evidence that Ethan might not have been working alone.
As memories of Ruth-Ann's past surface, her stability unravels. Her pursuit of Ethan's alleged accomplices and the truth of what happened evokes empathy for her and the women she encounters. The ingenious plot of Leave the Girls Behind delivers genuine emotion coupled with intense suspense. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer