I love Jessica Knoll and wait with baited breath until her next book, the second after I finish her last. This was no exception. Will purchase for my library and share with true crime lovers!

I should've known by the way I viscerally hated Knoll's other book that her writing just isn't for me, but I decided to punish myself with this one.

This novel was stunning, I absolutely loved the way it was written. Focusing on the victims and their stories instead of giving him the focus. I loved this book and everything the author did.

Fictionalized re-telling of Ted Bundy's attack on the Florida sorority house. Told from multiple points of view and two time narratives, it was a really great read. I didn't know much detail about the serial killer, and that was good since this story is about his victims. The characters were excellent with all their passions and flaws. I enjoyed this one!

This is an interesting and well-written book about two of the victims of serial killer Ted Bundy. Although I’ve read several serial killer stories, Bright Young Women focuses on the women, and on the incompetence of law enforcement that allowed Bundy to get away with his crimes for too long. I like that this book did not glorify Ted Bundy. Instead, it showed him for the evil and ugly human being that he was.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Loved this book. So often we find serial killers/true crime being romanticized/glorified for our entertainment and this slower more thoughtful approach was much needed in the genre.

Bright Young Women was an okay read for me—probably around a 3-star experience. Jessica Knoll delivers visceral descriptions and complex characters, which kept me engaged, but the story itself didn’t fully hook me the way I’d hoped. The novel takes an interesting approach to a familiar true-crime-inspired narrative, focusing more on the victims' perspectives than the killer’s, which I appreciated. While it had its strong moments, it didn’t completely land for me. Still, if you’re into dark, character-driven crime fiction, it might be worth checking out.

Might have shed a tear... or two.

Ok, I didn't super enjoy this. But it was a good book and I liked how it's centered on women. My mistake was going in expecting a mystery/thriller (can this marketing stop?? it does books no favours), but it was more of a psychological study and social commentary. A well-written one too.

The book's greatest strength is how it gives life and colour to murder victims and those impacted by such senseless violence, women whose lives had been cut tragically short and their light prematurely and permanently blighted by lesser men. The Defendant is never properly named and pretty much every male character is reprehensible, which seems fitting.

The author also does a marvelous job highlighting sexism and all the many things wrong with the world, whether it's the 70s, 80s or now.

Unfortunately, the writing didn't engage me and the lack of detail was befuddling at times since I'm not a true crime junkie and not super familiar with the real-life inspiration this novel draws from. I get the author doesn't want to spotlight The Defendant and his violent crimes, but the info felt all over the place at times.

Good book title, and I get the reference, but not overly impressive or original if you have heard of or watched Promising Young Woman (2020).

Still, the last few chapters did hit hard and pack quite the emotional punch.

I have to say, this book has me confused. The book itself is not confusing, but I’m confused as to whether I liked it or not. Basically, this is a book about the victims of Ted Bundy, the serial killer whose judge called him a “bright young man”. The author has flipped that, and wrote about the bright young women who were taken from this world too soon. Because I’m conflicted, I’m going to go with pros and the one con with this one.

Pros:
-I love that in this book, we are celebrating both the women who were murdered, and those who survived. Ted Bundy is only known as “The Defendant”, because his name isn’t the important one in this recounting.
-The writing was great!
-This is very different look at the story of Bundy.

Con:
-I wish our main characters were real. This focuses mainly on a sorority house where two women were killed and two horribly injured. Those events did happen, but not exactly how it went in the book. The odd mixture of true crime and fictional characters is what I think totally threw me off with this book.

I’m going with a 3.5 star rating on this one. I enjoyed it, but I think I may have liked it more if the characters were real. I love the idea for this though, and how it takes power away from the small, sad man known as Ted Bundy.

Jessica Knoll writes great novels

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this review copy and the opportunity !

Bright Young Women is a book told from two perspectives as a serial killer infiltrates their lives and the aftermath that is felt.

Pamela has a bright future as sorority president and a pre-law student, but one horrific Saturday night changes all that after her house is broken into and two of her sisters are killed. She is the lone witness, and as she navigates that, she befriends another women who has also lost someone to the same murderer. Their lives become intertwined as they work together to bring this monster to justice.

It is a captivating book, told from the perspective of Pamela and one of the victims, examining life before and after. I was enthralled with the novel, captured by each new discovery and setback. Despite that, Pamela and Tina persist with uncovering the truth.

It is a story of love, friendship, and heartache, more psychological than thriller. I highly recommend.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book. Jessica Knoll completely immerses the reader in the world of Ted Bundy. Instead of focusing on him, she tells the perspective of his victims and the women who feared for their lives and lost best friends and loved ones which is incredibly important.

Title: Bright Young Women
Author: Jessica Knoll
Narrated by: Sutton Foster, Imani Jade Powers, Corey Brill, Chris Henry Coffey
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Length: Approximately 12 hours and 58 minutes
Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio. Thank you!

Do you like true crime stories? Bright Young Women is a historical thriller that tells a fictionalized version of the killings involving Ted Bundy.

In 1978, a serial killer attacks a sorority at Florida State University killing two and severely wounding two others. The sorority president, Pamela Schumaker briefly sees the killer when she goes to investigate a sound. Will she be able to help put the killer behind bars?

Tina Cannon has been looking for her friend Ruth since she disappeared. She feels her disappearance has something to do with the serial killer. Will she be able to find out what happened to Ruth?

My thoughts on this novel:

• I thought this novel was very interesting. I liked how the story focused on telling the victims story rather than focusing on the killer. This is a fictional account of the Ted Bundy murders and trial. It shows how the press and public made Ted Bundy a “sexy” character and imbibed him with smarts and charm that he did not possess.

• A Florida judge called Ted Bundy a “Bright Young Man.” The title of this book is a play on this.

• I had a feeling of dread while reading this novel. This eventually turned to hope by the end of the novel.

• I also felt frustrated while reading the novel. Tina and Pamela were often dismissed because of being women or because of relationships they had in the past.

• The story is told through multiple point of views which I enjoyed. The audiobook had different narrators for the different point of views which I thought really added to the audiobook experience.

• The story also is told in the past in the 1970s when it was experienced as well as in the present as Pamela and Tina work to uncover what happened to Ruth.

• I thought the overall message on how a crime is portrayed by the media may be vastly different than reality was very powerful.

Overall, Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll is a historical thriller that tells the story of the victims that are often behind in the media portrayal of a crime.

BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN has got to be one of my new favorite thrillers of all time. Give me everything Jessica Knoll writes and comes up with -- I'll devour it with a spoon!

Inspired by a real life serial killer - in 1978 "The Defendent" enters a Florida sorority house and murders 2 young woman and seriously injures 2 others. Pamela, president of the sorority encounters the man as he's leaving the house. In Washington State, Tina's partner disappears and she's convinced it's the same perpetrator. Together they pursue the truth and justice for their friends. The women are strong inspiring characters who take adversity to change their lives and the lives of others.

This was not what I expected going in, but I really enjoyed it. I liked that it focused more on the victims than the killer. I think this is Knoll's best book since "Luckiest Girl Alive."

Don’t be like me and read this book alone in a cabin in the woods. But do be like me and read it—maybe with Taylor Swift’s “mad woman” playing in the background, because these bright young women are angry. There’s a scathing tone throughout the book that just really worked for me and set it apart from your run-of-the-mill serial killer novel. Highly recommend!

I have loved Jessica Knoll since Luckiest Girl Alive, so I knew this would be a must-read. I loved it.

I really enjoyed this book! I know that there's some debate as to whether true crime is exploitative or not, but I didn't feel that this was. I thought it did a really great job on not focusing on the person who committed the crimes. I enjoyed how they never said his name, but instead only referred to him as The Defendant. To me it kind of took away some of his power. I also liked how the book addressed how strange it was that the 2019 movie existed (king of) and that Zac Efron was playing The Defendant. I enjoyed how this book was centered on the women and it also did a great job of placing the reader in the time period that this was all going on. Thank you to NetGalley and S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for this ARC!

The first 50 pages really grabbed me and had the makings of a non stop page turner. But then, it oddly slowed way, way down? I had a hard time keeping my attention on it through the rest of the book. It wasn't bad, it was just wildly different than the opening scenes.