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.

Reading Between the Wines book review #78/130 for 2024:
Rating: 3 🍷🍷🍷
Book: Bright Young Women
Author: Jessica Knoll
Available now!!

Sipping thoughts: It was really interesting reading a realistic fiction story. This story is based on a real tragedy that happened in 1978. I had never heard of this story and liked finding out these horrid details. It shocked and disgusted me the way the justice system allowed this serial killer to remain free and attack other women. The story was a little confusing until I realized that I needed to be able to follow dual timelines and multiple POVs. I hate that this tragedy happen but am so happy of the ending result.

Cheers and thank you to @SimonElement and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @BrightYoungWomen.

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3.5 stars.

"Bright Young Women" by Jessica Knoll is an interesting story about several women who experienced tragedy at the hands of Ted Bundy (though he himself is never named in the book). It focuses on the victims, not the perpetrator. There is a lot going on here, many moving parts and several characters fighting for justice and truth. The thing that bugged me about this book was the timeline. I did not like how it jumped from present day to the past willy-nilly. Apart from this, I think this is a good fictionalization of a series of horrific true crimes. It is a difficult read for that (and other) reasons. Some of the story is unputdownable, especially when it comes to showing how the legal system and law enforcement are often the real reasons why criminals get away, not "their genius." Oher parts feel superfluous and unnecessary. I may read this book again in a little while, but for right now, it's a 3.5/5.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Knoll, Simon Element, and S&S/Marysue Rucci Books for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll is an incredible read that really grabbed me from the start!

The story follows two amazing women who come together after a terrible crime, and it’s all about their fight for justice and their strength. I loved how real the characters felt and how the book kept me on the edge of my seat. It’s more than just a thriller – it’s about friendship and never giving up.

If you’re looking for a book that’s both exciting and meaningful, you’ve got to check this one out. Thank you Netgalley for the book!

June 2024 reread

Carl wrote about Denise like she was a human, and that was when I knew I could trust him. p122

This book was remarkable in the sense that it is about writing and the truth and how these two are ships in the night. Even while she acknowledges the shortcomings of writing to get at the truth, Knolls puts forward a brave and creative effort to tell the stories of murder victims whose truth has been lost to decades of sensationalism.

BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN is a worthy project, even if I found the execution inaccessible. The narrative is heavily character driven, leaving the plot indistinguishable from all the character tension and conflict.

While my second reading didn't reveal any more about the plot, as I hoped it would, it did reveal more about the themes, which increased my enjoyment of the book a great deal. Knolls's treatment of metafiction is nuanced and thoughtful. How can we ever write the truth, she asks, even as she calls us to aim for the truth in our writing and our reading. I recommend this book for fans of true crime, character driven fiction, and metafiction.

On Saturday nights, we kept our doors open while we got ready. Girls went in one room wearing one thing and came out wearing something shorter. p4

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. I love Knoll's ability to write a really uncomfortable snatch of dialogue snd thereby create powerful negative dynamics between characters. “Sure,” Allen said in the same breath as his rough laugh. Was he saying sure to a ham sandwich? Or sure in the sarcastic sense, to the first thing I’d said? Grandmom needs my help right now. p126

2. Interesting themes in this one, like choosing empathy over honesty: It wasn’t like I had never been critical of someone, but I was used to seeing that person crumple in agony and realizing it just wasn’t worth it to be so honest. People were too easily destroyed. p134

3. Knolls includes in this book many interesting takes on identity, such as isentity as the result of place. Tina gave me her address, and I did a double take. I knew her house. I knew exactly who she was. p149


Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. It's really hard to tell if this book is a novel or a memoir, and not in a good way: ...Tucker the F-cker had billed two counties to finance the abortion of his eighteen-year-old mistress—grossly hypocritical behavior coming from the elected official whose job it was to prosecute criminal violations of the law, the kind of shit you can’t make up, and I haven’t. p205

2. Publishers call this one "blisteringly paced" but I found it hectic, erratic. Combined with other technical issues, I just couldn't follow the narrative.

3. Two read-throughs and I'm still not sure what happens in this book, start to end.

Rating: 🔪🔪🔪🔪 / 5 dead sorority sisters
Recommend? Maybe
Finished: Jun 15 '24
Format: Digital copy, Kindle, Libby
Read this book if you like:
🩸 serial killer stories
👭🏽 young female protagonists
👥️ alternating POVs
⏳️ alternating timelines
🌈 the 70s
🕰 historical fiction

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Bright Young Women is set in the heyday of the American serial killer and the serial killer profiler. In the 1970's there seemed to be one on every corner, with the police there to name them. Bright Young Women's killer is a mix of a few different of the more infamous of these people. But it's not about him, it's about the women left behind, who are trying to get justice in an unjustified world. How these women have to survive and go on with their lives. They find each other and bring about their own closure.

I really appreciated learning about the women's perspectives that encountered Ted Bundy. It gave me a new appreciation for the victims and all that women endured to get him convicted. Although I did find this book very literary heavy, I thought the audiobook was great and the narrator was perfect. I will regularly recommend this book for patrons at my library that like crime/mystery and historical fiction. I think it was very well done and accomplished it's aim.

Not for the faint of heart. The writing style can take some getting used to, but the premise is a fictionalized account of the Ted Bundy murders and it's incredibly fascinating.

To say that I loved this book would be strange. It was by no means an easy read. I had disturbing dreams after putting it down for the night. But what an important and justifying read. Ms. Knoll did her research on this one, that much is obvious. What is also obvious is just how much she wanted to bring "the defendant's" victims and their loved ones true justice. I believe she did just that, even more than his death sentence ever could. Bravo!

This was so good. If you like anything true crime this book is for you. I could not put this down. It’s 100% worth the read.

This was a great book! I very much enjoyed it and I look forward to reading the author’s next work! Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.

Can't believe it took me so long to get to this brilliant novel. Perfect for lovers of true crime who wrestle with the ethics of how much attention is given to serial killers - this novel centers the victims and those left behind to pick up the pieces. Fantastically well written and well paced.

I really enjoyed this one from Jessica Knoll. Different from her other books but in a good way, Knoll captured the story of Ted Bundy's sorority house murders from the perspective of the women affected.