This was a big anticipated read for me. I love fiction based on true crime. This book was so well written and the ties to each of the characters is so complex. Following the stories of the victims (including survivors living through it) was so fascinating. Highly suggest this read to anyone who is a crime junkie. Thank you to Jessica Knoll and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

How do you not have mixed feelings about this? Here are some real people with their lives and horrors being retold. Are they being celebrated in a weird way? Are they being hijacked and sensationalized? As someone who actually remembers the capture, trial, and execution of Bundy, I found this exploitive. I wanted to see it as empowering but I couldn’t get there. These are real people. There was an attmept to memorialize them. I don’t know how successful it was. I don’t know how I feel. I don’t know how this will hold up.

This novel gripped me from the first chapter and didn’t let go until the very end. I like how the author put the emphasis on the victims of this fictionalized take on a true crime.

I definitely recommend it when it's published next month. It's a fictionalized version of Ted Bundy's killings with the focus on two women who are connected through it. I really enjoy how it's an original story based on truth while somehow not exploiting the real life tragedy. I also enjoy how Bundy's name is only mentioned once in the book which puts the focus on the victims instead of the killer.

Highly recommend.

"Bright Young Woman" follows the survivor of a vicious attack on her sorority house by a serial killer and her fight for justice.

It's partially my fault I wasn't a fan of this one. It wasn't super clear to me this was going to be pretty much fact-for-fact based on Ted Bundy, including using exact scenarios and some of the names of the women he murdered. It's supposed to be part of the discussion in true crime spaces now of centering the voices of the victims of crime (particularly women), as opposed to the killers themselves, but it undermines that by using real-life murders and just replacing very real people with fictional characters. That doesn't exactly give those real women voices in the narrative, and actually is just using their lives and experiences as plot points. Not that Knoll should have used the real women's names, either. The whole thing just feels like it's trying to be a part of this moment in how we as a society handle the problem of true crime, revictimization, and exploitation, but it was startlingly off-base in its approach in using real murders to do it. It's just not making the statement I think it wants to make, in my opinion.

She could have written this book with a fully fictional killer and fictional victims and it would have been a completely different story for how I felt about it ethically. Because of my own feelings about true crime, this one just wasn't for me.

READ. THIS. BOOK.

This book offers a perspective on Ted Bundy that was much needed. Bright Young Women is inspired by his attack on the sorority house; although the serial killer is actually never named in the book. I think that was my favorite part about it. Instead, the sole focus of this book is on the victims; how their lives were tragically cut short and how that can affect those around them in ways that luckily most of us cannot imagine.

Pamela Schumacher, president of the sorority, made the decision to stay in and catch up on work instead of going out with her friends that night. That decision ended up changing everything for her, and it was the reason she survived. This book was written from two different perspectives and skips around from present day to the past. It was easy to follow and to get lost in the story. Jessica Knoll does an amazing job of portraying the shock and emotion that those involved had endured. After reading this book my thoughts on this case have shifted in a way I would not have expected.

I highly recommend this one! It was fast-paced, very interesting and the overall message of the book is important. Why does the media and law enforcement paint a false picture of a ‘bright young man’ who did bad things— when really he was average at best and bad throughout? The lives he took were those of bright futures, and those are the lives worth mentioning.

Jessica Knoll has done her research to bring us a fictionalized account of the events surrounding Ted Bundy's crimes and capture. I had to keep going back to the description to make sure this was really fiction, because as the author flips between the accounts of the witness (Pamela) and victim (Ruth), it sounds like a true account of the actual crimes.

But what really impressed me was the way Knoll took the story of Bundy as an educated, witty, and handsome ("Kennedy of Killers") celebrity and showed him as a divisive, ignorant, and small man, whose obsessive need to kill made him the ugliest of criminals.

Jessica has taken a story that captured the TV's, news and minds of so many of us as we learned about one of the most prolific serial killers of our time, and shown us the humanity of the victims and the people who loved them.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Simon Element, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for an arc of this fascinating title.

Bright Young Women
Written By Jessica Knoll
Published By Simon Element
Release Date September 19, 2023
Genre Mystery/ Thriller True Crime



WOW! This is a very well written and researched novel that captivated me from the beginning. It can be hard sometimes to adequately describe the way a book about actual events has been put together because of the work that the author puts into it. I look at the whole picture and not just how the authors words created the story to be told. There is so much work that goes into a book like this and the author does a brilliant job of ensuring the reader gets the whole picture.

Ted Buddy wreaked havoc on on the country when he took bright and beautiful women and raped and then ultimately killed most of them. January 1978 takes a terrible turn when sorority president Pamela Schumacher at Florida State University in Tallahassee Florida wakes up to the sight of someone running from the house and sees the most horrible sight one can see. Several of her roommates were brutally attacked and killed.

Then the book shifts to Seattle WA where we met Ruth Wachowsky who will also become a victim of Ted Buddy. Ruth befriends Tina Cannon who after the disappearance of her friend Ruth, decides she is going to search for answers. While Tina is focused on finding Ruth, she learns about Pamela who is living in Florida. It is at this time that the author switches between present time and the mid 70’s.

The author does a wonderful job of building up the story to show the reader how Bundy took the lives of the young women and the way that women ultimately took him down. This is a good book for fans of true crime as well as thrillers.


4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

I moved to WA long after serial killer Ted Bundy had been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death, but he was still on everyone’s mind. The stories I heard! Those accounts were mostly of people who’d crossed paths with him, but they somehow shone a light on the killer. 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗚 𝗪𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡 by Jessica Knoll takes the spotlight off of Bundy and places it where it belongs, on his victims.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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The story is told by two women, but features three. Pamela, the president of the Florida State University where two of his killings occurred, has the biggest voice covering 1978 right up until the present. Ruth, one of his “victims” in Washington, gives us a perspective of how a life can be rolling along looking bright, and then suddenly be over. Both Pamela and Ruth have ties to Tina, a woman determined to find this killer and see justice prevail.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I liked the way the story unfolded, moving around in time to get a full picture of the strength these women possessed. I also appreciate when I have some familiarity with a story, but then get to experience how an author puts it together in their own way. Jessica Knoll did that very well, and yet I’m also uncomfortable with one of her choices. All the victims in the story were 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 closely based on the real women involved, many even using their actual names. All, but Ruth. She was completely fictionalized until her murder, which was exactly the same as that of one of Bundy’s final Washington victims. Why wasn’t that vitcim’s true story worth telling? (𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 @ataleoftwolitties 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.) It was an odd inconsistency that continues to nag at me and cooled my rating just a bit. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WOW! What a book! I couldn't get enough of it. Jessica Knoll gives the other side of the famous serial killer story-the people left behind. It's very much based on the true story,, though names have been changed. She weaves several timelines together, the 1978 story where Pamela, a sorority sister to several of the FSU women killed, goes on day by day fighting for justice for her friends, the 1974 time period where a young woman named Ruth is finding her way in the world, learning about herself and how to be happy before being murdered in the Seattle area, and the present day story where Pamela continues to seek justice for Ruth, along with Ruth's friend Tina. There's a lot going on, but it works. It's scary and unsettling, and I love how the author only mentions the name Ted once in the whole book. This is going to be a best seller, I can tell!

I will start off by saying I am not very learned in the true crime world, so I wasn’t familiar with the story that was based on. But the writing is solid, the story flows well, it was addicting and empowering. It’s just very dark, with lots of triggers.

I liked the topic and subject matter of the book, I’ve always liked true crime and crime fiction is usually worthy read as well.
The first couple of chapters failed to grab me. I couldn’t understand why Pamela wasn’t grasping what had really occurred or why she didn’t go investigate when she heard thumps and bumps.
I didn’t connect with the story or the character which is a shame.

An interesting blend of true crime and psychological thriller- set in the late 70s- a unique representation of violence against women. From the author of Luckiest Girl Alive, Jessica Knoll is making a name for herself with her captivating writing style and strong female characters.

*Thank you to the published and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this book & its unique take on the true crime genre. While I did find some parts to be slow, I was interested in Pamela’s story.

I do wish there would have been more of a distinction between this book being more true crime or more a work of fiction - the lines were blurred for me.

I’m curious on the authors research to adequately tell the story of what happened with the murders at FSU and if the story telling in this book did justice for the victims families.

I will, however, definitely be trying more books by this author in the future!

I just finished reading Bright Young Women thanks again to Net Galley. I truly appreciate the opportunity to be able to read these books and giving my opinion before their release or shortly thereafter.

This book was a fairly easy read, but it did take me a little bit of time to remember who was who, as far as the characters. But the characters were intriguing to me. I did not love this book, but it wasn’t boring and I enjoyed reading it.

I really wanted to read this book because I grew up in the 80’s and in Oregon. I was born in 1975 and I remember this serial killer being in the news and see his smiling arrogant face as a kid. I remember reading about what he did in Florida too. I remember my mother talking about him and watching the tv THAT early morning in Florida. This book brought back some memories for me.

The book intertwines two women lives, Pamela and Tina, who meet under terrible circumstances. The book goes back and forth between the late 70’s and present time, which I really liked because the reader really gets the details of the victims in the story. And yes, parts of this book are true or based on real live events, but some of the characters storylines or details are not.

Whether the storylines of some of the characters were total fiction or not, they felt real and it’s what kept me reading. I already knew the ending for the killer, but connecting with the characters was what kept me going. It didn’t feel like just another fictional thriller/suspense story.

If you like true crime and fiction, but with very real emotions and bonds of strong female characters then you will enjoy this book.

I read “Bright Young Women” in less than a day. Told from the victims, detectives, and friends of Ted Bundy, this was a feminist take on their stories and the promise they had in relation to a unremarkable college dropout who only was able to keep killing because of the negligence of the police.

Bright Young Women is based on the real-life murders of Ted Bundy, The story begins
in January 1978 in a sorority at Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee. The
sorority president Pamela Schumacher wakes up at 3 am and finds several of her
sisters dead.
In Seattle, Tina Cannon meets and befriends Ruth Wachowsky. Soon after their
friendship begins, Ruth goes missing. Tina is determined to find out what happened to
her friend and her investigation leads her to Florida and to Pamela.
The story flashes back and forth between modern day and the late 70’s

The title is a play on the words of the Florida judge who called Ted Bundy “a bright
young man”. Bright Young Women changes the narrative of these true crime serial
killer cases and instead gives a voice to the women whose lives were tragically cut
short and their loved ones left behind.
while real names of actual victims are used throughout, Knoll never once calls the
serial killer by name referring to him mainly as “The Defendant”
Bright Young Women proposes that this man was incredibly average and not, in fact, a
diabolical genius. He was a “run-of-the-mill incel”, whose grades were in the bottom 5th
percentile, and was caught picking his nose in the courtroom multiple times. It’s the
women in this story who are the impressive, smart, exceptional ones. And it’s the
women whose lives were cut short
I loved that this wasn’t the typical criminal or psychological thriller.
The characters felt fleshed out, complicated and real
The story itself is heart wrenching, raw, and very dark, but not terribly graphic
evokes emotions in the reader, at times I felt angry, devastated, and uncomfortable
for fans of books based on true crimes, literary style thrillers, and strong female leads.
Leaves lots of space for discussion. Would make a great book club pick.

3.5 stars. This is a fictional view from sorority sister, Pamela Schumaker, who identified "the defendant". aka Ted Bundy after the murder of two and brutal beating of two other sorority sisters at Florida State University in the 1970's. A second narrator, Ruth, tells her story, how she met the defendant and her eventual demise. With outside influence, including family, media, attorneys, even the judge we follow both these women while navigating this stressful time in their life.

Given our fascination with serial killers the topic itself was interesting and good to see a fictional take of a victim and eye witness. We tend to focus on the killer themselves vs the victims. This read more like a story than a documentary detailing the lives of both the narrators and their eventual connection.
Thank you to Net Galley and Simon Element for this ARC.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up!

Let me just start by saying that I’m fairly certain I’m an outlier in my “liked fine but didn’t love” opinion of this one. If you are a true crime fan, DEFINITELY give it a read! Some thriller fans will probably really enjoy too, but just know that it’s a little more police procedural/courtroom drama than a twisty or fast-paced thriller.

Positives: obviously this book starts out with a bang and gets you hooked into the storyline early. It’s also got some great commentary on how sexism, media narratives, and institutional cover-ups play a role in the justice system. And more than anything: I fully believe that this book’s goal is to make its reader uncomfortable, both with the violence itself and the miscarriages of justice throughout — and the author absolutely achieves that goal.

This book is dark. I walked away feeling sooooo icky 😬 Which again, is sort of the point — so I have no one but myself to blame for this part of my “meh” feeling.

The second part of my “meh” is a little more substantive — but let’s be real, it’s still a personal preference thing 😂 Normally I’m super into dual POVs, but for whatever reason the structure here just didn’t quite work for me. I think it’s partially that there’s so much overlap — we actually have two POVs from Pamela (her young self and her older self), Tina’s strong presence in both POVs could sometimes get disorienting, and both Pamela and Ruth have somewhat similarly strained relationships with their families and with significant others. Between that and some plot dragging that I felt around the midway point (in both, really, but especially Pamela’s story), I struggled to stay interested.

Overall, I think many readers would really enjoy. It wasn’t quite my personal cup of tea, but I’d encourage folks to give it a try for themselves and see if it clicks!

If you read Luckiest Girl Alive you’ll know that Jessica Knoll doesn’t shy away from difficult subject matter. Her first novel dealt with sexual assault, PTSD, gun violence, and trauma. Her new books, Bright Young Women, goes a step further and tells the story of the women forever changed by a string of killings in the 1970s.

The events in the books are based on the killings real-life serial killer Ted Bundy who, yes, was actually called a “bright young man” by the judge who sentenced him to death in 1989. Knoll never actually names Bundy in the novel, referring to him only as “The Defendant,” and beginning the story on January 15, 1978, when he broke into the Chi Omega sorority house and beat four women, killing two.

Knoll’s story is extremely well researched, and uniquely tells the story of a killer without giving emphasis or importance to the killer himself (for those familiar with Bundy and his character, it seems like he would have despised not being the main character in this story). Instead the book follows two women, one who witnessed The Defendant leaving the house after having just attacked her sorority sisters, and another who suffered a more tragic fate and was killed by him. Their stories become interwoven, the former eventually helping to catch the criminal and assist in his conviction. A refreshing change to the typical true crime fascination with the killers themselves, Bright Young Women flips the trope on its head and asks—what if these demented men who slaughter women for fun actually AREN’T all that interesting? Knoll’s tone remains as sharp and biting as that in Luckiest Girl Alive and I definitely recommend her new book.