I loved Luckiest Girl Alive, which was written by Jessica Knoll so I had a feeling this would make me feel the same and Knoll didn’t disappoint! Knoll does such a great job telling women’s stories. They may not be pretty but she does it well. I love that her female characters are so complex and there’s no black or white. It’s all grey. Also, I think this book is releasing at the perfect time where stories like Ted Bundt’s are being adapted for the screen. All these stories are being sensationalized and Knoll does a great job bringing us back to center.

BOOK REVIEW: Bright Young Women x Jessica Knoll
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Goodreads Rating: 4.03/5
My rating: 5/5 ☠️ ☠️ ☠️ ☠️ ☠️
Read this if you’re interested in a new story to Ted Bundy
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I *loved* every aspect of this book. I loved that the title was a changed direct quote from when the judge told Ted Bundy he was a “bright young man” and the author changed it to focus on the people who really mattered. I loved that this book focused so much on the misogyny during this time period, even when addressing something as horrific as what Bundy did. I love that the protagonist wanted to ensure that Ted be remembered for the monster he was versus what popular culture made him out to be. I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars, I LOVED it and will definitely reread in the future.

I loved this book, it was so welcome as a way to reframe how we have talked about serial killers versus victims. Jessica Knoll deftly explores a needed feminist take on a sorority murder by an infamous person and gives the experience to the women involved, gives readers voices and important insights and themes to delve into.

All I can say is that this was a wow this was good read for me, it is engrossing, well paced, thoughtfully researched and well written, and a powerful and still timely story about how we treat women and violence against women.

I thank Simon and Schuster, Book Club Favorites, and Simon Element for the review copies, I was fortunate to receive this on NetGalley but also as an audiobook and physical book. The audiobook is particularly great with narration from Sutton Foster.

I finally DNF'd around 40%- I was pretty bored TBH. The premise sounded interesting but the 2 timelines/storylines hadn't yet come together really and I was slightly confused at the timeline and also it just dragged. I felt like not much was happening and I was apathetic towards the characters.

Suspenseful, yet beautifully written. I wanted to continue picking up the story to see how the character’s lives played out over the timeline.

I loved Jessica Knoll's first book, so I was excited to read this new book. This seems to be a larger trend right now - serial killer books from the voice of the women victims. The publisher called this book an "antidote to Dahmer," which really drew me in. I loved that this wasn't the typical serial killer thriller. Instead, this book changes the narrative of the true crime trope, giving voice to the women who were brutally killed (and this book had many violent scenes that were tough to read). Overall, really fantastic book. You could tell how much research went into the novel, and the tension felt real, raw and dark. It definitely made me uncomfortable, and any book that does that is a must-read in my world. Thank you Net Galley for the early copy.

Bright Young Women is a loosely fictionalized retelling of the Ted Bundy murders. It follows Patricia Shumacker, Chi O president, as she navigates the time of the murders and life after the murders.

I was taken off guard by how similar this fictionalized story was to the real events. So much so that Kimberly Leach and Caryn Campbell's real names were used. Lake Samamish made an appearance, too. Some of the names were changed and, while it was an intresting book that kept me engaged and reading, it felt icky. It felt strange not knowing what was actually true and what was actually fiction. I had an ARC so I am unsure if these facts are addressed in the actual publication but it just felt wrong to use the victims real names in print. I know I will more than likely be the minority in this. As an avid true crime reader, it felt like she did her research and then just changed it for whatever suited the story in the authors brain and not what actually happened. If you are going to base a fiction book off real events then at least change the locations and the names of the victims. Let the audience know that is real and what is not. Again, it just felt icky to me.

Bright Young Women is based on the murders at a sorority house by one of the most well known serial killers in America.
Pamela is the chapter president of her sorority. She decides to stay in one evening when the rest of her sisters go out. When she awakes, she finds two of her sisters killed and two more seriously injured. Pamela is pulled into the middle of a media circus and is left with so many questions.
I did really like the beginning of the book, but I really started to lose interest after the second narrator was added. I also wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. However, over all it was interesting to learn more about these real life events an I enjoyed the premise.

I'd consider myself someone pretty familiar with "The Defendants" crimes, so that could potentially be why this one fell flat for me. I was looking forward to this different angle to highlight the victims and how their loss affected the lives around them. Unfortunately, we get the reality of the media grossly misrepresenting Ted Bundy's integrity based on his looks and how it affected his overall trial & public perception.

This story goes between one of Ted Bundy's last crime sprees at Florida State University in 1978, back to 1974 to a previous crime he commits, and present time. We meet Pamela in 1978, the sorority house president who witnesses his attack. Earlier in 1974, Tina is introduced with her friend who also goes missing, Ruth. The two stories intersect in the "present" day as Pamela & Tina hope to see justice for the victims they do, and don't have connections with. 

They describe this as a thriller, but I'd call it more psychological suspense if you have no previous Ted Bundy knowledge. They do build a lot of tension with the courtroom scenes, but overall this didn't build as much emotion in me as I thought the nature of the subject would. It is shocking to read a lot of the logistical steps that occur directly after a crime and how quickly the ones involved are expected to go back to life as they know it. 

Overall, gave this 3.5 stars, as I did think this was a littttle click-bait-y for the author to use Ted Bundy, a notorious serial killer that continues even now to get true crime notoriety via podcasts, Netflix specials, etc. I was hoping the intertwined plots would lead more to the "thriller" plot description taking a different angle, though these events are also based in truth so it's a delicate line. 

I got through this pretty quickly and do like this author, I remember loving Luckiest Girl Alive way back when & wouldn't be discouraged from her Jessica Knoll's future work.

Expected publication: Sep 19, thanks to #Netgalley for the ARC. 

*SPOILER*


Pamela realizes she went missing herself for several days when she was a child in Florida?? Alludes to some outstanding trauma from that & "feeling the connection" to coming back to Florida, but I thought that was an odd addition that could make for another whole story.

We are always so fascinated with a serial killer and his motives, what drives him to commit these horrific murders. They live long in our memories. This book makes us stop and think of the victims and their lives and stories. Told from three womens perspective, Pamela, Tina and Ruth. The book focuses on the infamous Ted Bundy and his killing spree but really gives a back story on some of the women that are caught in his path. He is never mentioned but the reader knows. A masterpiece.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Despite what click-bait articles would have you believe, true crime has been popular entertainment for centuries. What is new, is the more nuanced look at why and if we’re focusing on the right parts of true crime. Bright Young Women fits perfectly within this new conversation. Told from the perspective of the victims and loved ones of one of pop culture’s most popular serial killers, the book makes the point, quite effectively, that he is not the interesting part of the story - the women are.

In fact, I found the parts about the actual crimes the least engaging, perhaps because I’ve heard the story so many times already, and was much more interested in the parts that examined the other ways women are routinely disregarded.

This author always delivers with some intense thrillers, and I loved the premise of this one. As always, I enjoy her work and look forward to more!

Three women's lives intersect across decades of time in this thought provoking story that examines evidence often overlooked in relation to one of America's most infamous serial killers.

Pamela is the president of her sorority at FSU in 1978 when a man breaks into their house in the middle of the night and brutalizes three of her sisters. On his way out the door, Pamela catches a glimpse of his face and becomes dedicated to helping the police hunt him down.

On the other side of the country, Tina and Ruth meet each other in a grief support group, and when Ruth goes missing, Tina is determined to find her.

Tina crosses paths with Pamela after the attack on her sorority, and together their bonds strengthen each other as they do what they can to have justice brought to the attacker.

This book is a heart wrenching look at the gender politics of the 70s, the complexity of grief, and the revitalizing power of sisterhood. It's worth knowing that it's emotionally heavy, slower paced, literary story more than it is an action packed thriller. It's still an incredibly powerful story, but if you're a mood reader, plan accordingly.

Knoll never uses the name of the serial killer, so I kept it out of my review as well, but she was inspired to write this story after she saw how incompetent law enforcement's approach to tracking Bundy was, and the severity of those consequences are felt heavily through fictional women who were affected by his crimes. The characters are loosely inspired by women who were near the real life case, which effectively conveys an unforgettable lesson about the ramifications of women not being heard.

A killer strikes a sorority house on the Florida State campus and Pamela sees the killer as he leaves. Pamela is prelaw and smart- a leader and a detail-oriented person, President of the sorority. But she must beg for the police to listen to her. When her path crosses with Tina, they make the connection that the killer may be the same man who killed Tina's best friend, Ruth, and others. But making the police and the press believe them and not make The Defendant out to be a brilliant mastermind instead of just a product of bad policework is next to impossible.

This book is told from Pamela, Tina, and Ruth's perspective and never calls the serial killer by anything other than The Defendant (aka Ted Bundy). I was riveted by this fast-paced book, and it took great restraint to finish it before going on a google spree. If you like fictionized true crime, this action packed but character driven book is for you. It is in the vein of I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai, but this book is faster, and the two mysteries and main women seem to make this a richer book. I really enjoyed its cross section of true crime serial killer and a look into how crimes against women and how the police (and their families) treated women.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review. This book is going to be everywhere this fall and deserves it.

This was a wonderful book. A great Thor ill er that kept me guessing the whole time. I would recommend this to all thriller lovers!

Horrific serial killer Ted Bundy - who murdered at least 30 women in seven states between 1974 and 1978 - has been portrayed as intelligent, sharp, cunning, clever, wily, charming and so on. In the opinion of author Jessica Knoll, this erroneous portrayal is (at least partly) a 'cover up' by incompetent law enforcement officials who - after Bundy was arrested for multiple murders - allowed the killer to escape again and again. On the loose, Bundy continued his killing spree. Rather than take the blame, the authorities depicted Bundy as some kind of manipulative genius, which Knoll believes is patently untrue.

This novel, inspired by Bundy, depicts the unnamed character Knoll calls 'the defendant' as arrogant and academically challenged. In the book, the defendant attended a third-rate law school, because "despite hundreds of hours of preparation, his Law School Aptitude Test results were mediocre and his performance on the grammar part of the exam below high school level." Moreover, the defendant failed out of even this sub-par law school.

Rather than aggrandize the serial killer - as newspapers, books, documentaries, movies, television shows, podcasts, etc. - tend to do, Knoll focuses on the lives of several women impacted by the murderer.

As the story opens, it's a Saturday night in January 1978, and Pamela Schumacher, president of the smartest sorority at Florida State University in Tallahassee, is organizing the group's annual blood drive. Meanwhile, Pamela's sorority sisters, including her best friend Denise Andora, are leaving the sorority house to party with their fraternity brethren.

Later that night, at 3:00 AM, Pamela is awoken by hunger pangs and goes downstairs to make herself a peanut butter sandwich. Hearing a noise, Pamela sees a man with what looks like a child's baseball bat dart down the stairs and out the front door. Luckily, the shadow of the stairwell made it so Pamela could see the intruder, but he could not see her.

That night the defendant kills two of Pamela's sorority sisters, Denise Andora and Robbie Shepherd; maims two others, Jill Hoffman and Eileen Neilson; and beats up a young woman down the street.

During the media brouhaha that follows the terrible incident, Pamela Schumacher meets a woman named Tina Cannon, from Seattle, Washington. Tina is certain the defendant killed her friend, Ruth Wachowsky, four years ago. In July 1974, Ruth and another woman went missing from Seattle's Lake Sammamish State Park, and Ruth's body was never found.

Pamela and Tina pair up with a journalist called Carl Wallace to look into the defendant's criminal history. They learn that the defendant entered law school in Utah in 1974, and that's when women in the Salt Lake City area began to disappear. When one victim managed to escape and identify the defendant, he was arrested and extradited to Colorado, to stand trial for killing a woman there. That was when "law enforcement shit the bed." In Colorado the defendant engineered two escapes, one from a law library and one from a jail cell. He then went on to kill more women.

When Pamela, Tina, and newsman Carl go to Colorado to get information about the defendant's escapes, the police and prison officials are uncooperative, and - to explain away their ineptitude - opine that the defendant was "a force beyond anyone's control." This infuriates Pamela and Tina, who want it made clear that incompetent law enforcement contributed to the later murders at Florida State University.

Once the defendant is arrested for his crimes in Florida, Pamela must prepare herself to testify against him. This is a difficult and grueling experience, especially because the cocky defendant acts as his own attorney.

As trial preparations go on, flashbacks to the past flesh out the lives of Pamela, Tina, and Ruth, all of whom were victims, directly or indirectly, of the serial killer.

Since much of the story is set in the latter part of the 20th century, when the women's movement and LGBTQ+ rights were less established than now, Pamela, Tina, and Ruth are variously impacted by homophobia, sexism, misogyny, male chauvinism, etc. In addition, the women experience personal difficulties such as family dysfunction, bad parents, selfish boyfriends, sad losses, and so on. Thus, in addition to deflating the mystique surrounding the serial killer, author Jessica Knoll tackles issues pertinent to the women's private lives.

Knoll's approach is an effective way to deglamorize the serial killer and focus instead on women impacted by his terrible crimes. Still, it's important to understand the psychology of serial killers, most of whom seem to have troubled histories, in an effort to prevent such atrocities in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jessica Knoll, and S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for a copy of the book.

Great read! I am a true crime junky and I loved this retelling of the Ted Bundy serial killings! Jessica Knoll takes the power from the killer and gives it back to the victims and their loved ones. Her use of strong, well developed female characters flips the narrative commonly found in thrillers. I can’t wait for this to hit the screen!

Short synopsis: Based on the true crime “celebrity serial killer” but from the perspective of a friend of the victims in the sorority house in Tallahassee Florida.

My thoughts: This was spooky and scary, because it really happened. I had to read this one during the daylight because it was giving me nightmares.

I really liked that the killer was known only as “The Defendant” throughout the book, his actual name is only used one time and it’s only his first name. I also liked that it leaned more towards the victims and finding justice for them. They should be remembered!

There were parts in the story that came across as a bit confusing, or unimportant…. But overall I was engrossed throughout the entire story and couldn’t wait to watch it unravel!

Read if you love:
* True crime
* Justice for victims
* Sorority sisters
* Flashback chapters
* Multiple perspectives

Bright Young Women is about some of the women affected by a serial killer that targets young women. Pamela is the president of her sorority and had stayed in one night. When she was woken up by a strange noise and continued her tour of the house since the chandelier was on when it shouldn't have been and some of her sisters had left a mess, she gets a good look at the man who is fleeing the house. On an earlier timeline, Ruth is staying with her mother after her father passes and her marriage has ended. Due to an occurrence during her school years, Ruth has complicated feelings towards her parents and is learning how to stand up for herself. When she comes upon a complicated grief program, she meets Tina and begins to find herself. After Ruth goes missing on the busiest beach day of the year, Tina is determined to find out what happened to her.

The story is told from the POV of Pamela and Ruth, with the timeline jumping around. The killer is mostly referred to as "The Defendant" so as to not give him any more notoriety. Instead, the story focuses on the women who were trying to get justice for the women they loved that were murdered by him. It also paints a good picture of how they had to remain composed so as not to appear "too emotional" and the ways they made sure the men around them felt smarter. Obviously, there are graphic and disturbing scenes, but for the most part I didn't find them to be too graphic. There is a scene where Pamela is being questioned by The Defendant and one of the members of his team that I did find incredibly disturbing, but that was more to do with The Defendant's behavior and reasoning for his line of questioning. I did find the pacing of the story to be a little slow, which is the only complaint I had to knock it down to 4 stars. The writing was wonderful, the character development was fantastic, and the portrayal of the women and The Defendant was very satisfying.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon Element for an advance copy of this book.

I am not a true crime junkie but some stories pull me in, like this one. How many victims of serial killers can you name? Probably not many or zero. Do you know the name Ted Bundy? Yep, thought so. How messed up is that. This story takes a unique perspective and names the victims so we focus on them and calls the killer “the defendant” to take power away from his name. It’s such a small detail but I think it makes a world of difference. I read this in a day as I was immediately hooked. It’s very character driven, which I enjoyed.

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review!