Thank you for the opportunity to read and review! While I enjoyed the writing style in this text, something about it fell flat for me. In order to avoid spoilers, I will say that there were some clever takes on drawing from past events to craft the murderer, which I found compelling. Still, something about Jessica Knoll's writing style is off-putting to me.

"Sometimes I think The Defendant is just another old wives' tale. That law enforcement backed up his self-purported claims of brilliance to cover up their own incompetence... The man was no diabolical genius. He was your run-of-the-mill incel whom I caught picking his nose in the courtroom. More than once."

Bright Young Women is not a book about T** B****, but he is clearly the model for The Defendant, and the story is based on the aftermath of his attacks at the Chi Omega sorority house in Florida in the late 70s. Knoll has transformed the broadly accepted narrative about the "Kennedy of Killers" and placed the focus on the women he killed, and the women who survived, testified, and ultimately helped get him convicted and executed.

I loved this book so much that I'm having a hard time trying to write a review that will do it any semblance of justice and doesn't just consist of me yelling about how great it is and how absolutely fucking ridiculous it is that a nose-picking-third-tier-law-school-dropout-necrophiliac has been mythologized as a diabolical genius, while the lives, achievements, and potential of the many smart, accomplished young women he sexually assaulted and murdered (after not being perceived as a threat by law enforcement and allowed to easily escape custody TWICE) are ignored to focus on the "glamour" of that dead-eyed maniac.

The main character, Pamela, who is also the Chi Omega chapter president, sees The Defendant leaving the sorority house and discovers four of her sisters - including her childhood best friend - were attacked. She makes a one-second mistake - briefly thinking the man could have been her friend's ex-boyfriend, but just as quickly realizing he wasn't - that law enforcement then holds over her head throughout the investigation and eventual trial. Pamela meets another woman, Tina, who is convinced The Defendant is responsible for her girlfriend's disappearance from Seattle, and the two women form an alliance to try to find justice for their lost loved ones.

I have to admit that didn't love-love Knoll's previous books and went into reading this with a bit of trepidation, but holy cats, this is one of my absolute *favorite* books of the year. Knoll really tapped into something here, and I hope the book gets all of the love and accolades possible. READ THIS

I had a hard time reading, luckiest girl alive took me a couple tries to finish, but this one I couldn’t put down, kept me guessing the whole time, and I would recommend this to future readers

I am a huge Jessica Knoll fan after "Luckiest Girl Alive" and was so excited to receive this ARC. This book is a fictionalized retelling of Ted Bundy's 1978 attacked on the Chi Omega Sorority house at FSU. (I will be be honest I did not know this until the end, I wish I did before I read it) From the first page I was sucked in and while I wanted to love it, I have to say it was a bit hard to keep track of the characters and time period. At times it was wordy and the ending was hard to follow. I still give this 4 stars because I could not put it down and loved Pamela, Ruth and Tina.

Like everyone, I read Luckiest Girl Alive last year and was excited to see another title from that author. I really enjoy Jessica Knoll's writing and this story was no exception! I was drawn in and captivated immediately. This book was so character driven and I found myself along for the journey. I could easily see this be adapted to a show or movie and hope that is in the future!

While Bright Young Women had an action-packed start, it fizzled for me.

Pam is president of her sorority, level-headed, and nicknamed Pam Perfect by her best friend Denise. Pam doesn’t go out to party with all her sorority sisters one night. Around 3am, she wakes up to hearing the TV and seeing a light on. She goes out to investigate and comes face-to-face with a stranger holding a bloody club. He’s murdered 2 girls and brutally injured 2 more. He’s escaped from prison twice, and accused of murdering sever other women. He becomes the nation’s first “celebrity” serial killer.

The rest of the story jumps timelines from the days immediately following the murders, and “present day” which was the 90s. Since the timeline jumps all involved the same characters, it was a little confusing at times. The “meat” of the book followed the legal battle, and how Pam struggled as a woman in the legal system.

Maybe I’m one of the women who feeds into the “celebrity serial killer” but I would have preferred more about that and less about the court proceedings.

Bright Young Women took me a while to trudge through. And that’s how it felt. Not my favorite.

I really wanted to like this more than I ended up feeling.

Ultimately, this is a fictionalized account of the loved ones of Ted Bundy's victims. The POVs are told through Ruth, one of his victims, and Pamela, the woman who identified him in the sorority murders. The story ultimately just felt very disjointed for me between Ruth and Pamela and I would have preferred following one story instead of both of them, which are tied together through Tina, Ruth's partner.

I struggle to have anything really more to say about this book than that. Pamela's story was the more compelling of the two, while Ruth's is all the more tragic knowing what is ultimately going to happen to her. It's admirable that the book refrains from naming the murderer and instead calling him only The Defendant. It does a lot to dispel the myth of the man and instead focus on the disgusting reality of him. But I was left feeling not emotionally invested in the characters or the plot, and just a little bored.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was already a fan of Jessica Knoll, so I was looking forward to this one — and I wasn't disappointed. This dark crime novel is a character-driven story that beautifully portrays a friendship between two people who are determined to uncover the truth in the wake of tragedy.

Absolutely amazing. I was disturbed, intrigued, and filled with an uncontrollable urge to consume this book as quickly as possible. The author takes a tragic story we've heard so much about and shines a light on the players that have only been seen as "his" victims. What a beautiful and powerful tribute to the women he effected. This is a must read for fans of true crime.

An interesting story. So sad. The way women were, and still are, treated is sometimes terrible. Good writing. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I’m not a big true crime reader so this was a little outside my comfort zone. This book was heavily inspired by the victims of Ted Bundy in the 1970s and I appreciate Knoll’s take on these events and her focus on the victims rather than Bundy himself. I liked the character driven nature of the book and its focus on the resilience and strength of women but there were some things that hindered my overall reading experience.

The main issues I had were with the writing and structure. The writing felt very dense and overwritten at times and was too slow paced for me. The timeline shifts and multiple POVs were a little jarring and made the overall story unnecessarily complicated. And the ending fell apart for me and I was left a little confused with the resolution of everything.

I also want to mention, there were some graphic details regarding one of the murders that I felt was almost gratuitous to include. I understand certain things are meant to be uncomfortable but I don’t see how including those details helped or added anything to the story or for the victims.

This book is more of a crime historical fiction novel rather than a mystery/thriller, but I recommend it for readers who like character driven stories and are interested in true crime.

Content warnings: rape. sexual assault, murder, grief, homophobia, and dementia (minor)

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC copy for review!*

This novel is about a serial killer that targeted a sorority in the 70s and the women that have tried to put an end to his crime sprees.

Forging a friendship through the grief they have both lived through, Pamela and Tina try to forge ahead to find justice for the women’s lives affected by this man.

I like the direction this novel ended up moving in. I was a little bored initially as I felt this story was already talked about too much in previous true crime novels. It didn’t feel fresh. But switching things up between past and present while creating a new “mystery” that may have involved the same criminal years later was a smart move. And with all the glorification of serial killers lately, I was happy to see a different take on the often-overlooked victims of these crimes.

Overall, this was a pretty heavy book. I highly recommend it to true crime readers, as this is inspired by the real-life sorority that Ted Bundy targeted.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

True crime, a serial killer, and fiction inspired by true events? Yes please! I liked how Jessica Knoll told the victims stories and explored the mistakes made during the investigation. At times, it was hard to follow the timeline and keep the characters straight. I had to go back and reread a few parts for it to make sense. Overall, I still enjoyed this book very much. #BrightYoungWomen #NetGalley

4.5! heartbreaking, gory, tender, sharp, observant

Bright Young Women is about a 70s sorority president named Pamela, and it starts with a vivid description of the night a serial killer maimed and murdered his way through her sorority house. Pamela is the only eyewitness and her story follows her life after the massacre. Without spoilers, there are 2 other women we follow, who are also affected by the killer.

I thought this was sneaky good. It's procedural (which I like) but also very insightful and heartbreaking. Pamela's character is so well-developed I genuinely recognize her- I've MET Pamelas. It's also a commentary on the gaslighting and general misogyny female victims face (but worse because it was the 1970s). One thing I loved is that the defendant is never named, and Jessica Knoll makes it clear through Pamela that this guy is a complete LOSER, despite public sentiment that the Defendant is special/brilliant/misunderstood.

I think if you liked I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai this will be right up your alley. Thank you so so much to Jessica Knoll, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books, and Netgalley for letting me read this brilliant book.

Hello,

Thank you for giving me the chance to read this book.

I was really into it at first but about 1/3 of the way through I found myself being confused with the multiple characters and timelines. I kept reading on and my confusion grew into boredom.

The beginning really hooked me but I lost interest. I did finish the book but honestly skimmed most of the ending because I couldn’t follow the story.

I wasn’t a fan of the cover for this one so it took me awhile to get around reading this one. Once I did, I was hooked!

Inspired by Ted Bundy and his victims, Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll is a book you will want to read this fall. Clear your schedule for this novel which is dark, gritty and compelling. It takes talent to recreate the horror and fear that settled across the country during the 1970s, during the height of the serial killer era.
The synopsis is pretty straightforward—following Ted Bundy’s attack at an FSU sorority house (based on the real event), Pamela—one of the sorority sisters—sets out to try and find justice for the women who died that night. Her narration is combined by that of Ruth, a woman who previously disappeared at Lake Sammamish (also based on the real event). Linking their stories together is Tina, a mysterious figure who becomes committed to catching Bundy. You have no idea Bundy is the actual main villain until the very end as his name is called “Defendant” throughout the entire book.

If you have read Knolls past book, Luckiest Girl Alive note that this is NOTHING like that story. This is more true crime mixed with police procedural with court room banter. It’s quite long as well. The chapters flip from past to present, from Pamela (1978) to Ruth(1974) to current day Pamela etc. This was a little hard to follow if you are starting and stopping the book like I had to. If i had two full days I would have blown through this story without stopping and that would have made it all the more satisfying.
I really enjoyed this book. Jessica is a very talented writer and I love her style that pulls when doing a novel. You can tell she really spent time researching the Bundy trials(I believe she said on social media she took 4 years to work through this one) I felt terrified in some of the chapters just recounting what these young women went through. You can tell that’s good writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element/Marysue Rucci Books for the ARC in exchange for my review. Highly recommend Bright Young Women. Debuting 9/19.

In Bright Young Women, Kroll gives voice to the women surrounding a very well-known murderer by fictionalizing their stories. While she expertly weaves in real-world details with the ones made up, I continually wondered if it would have been better to just read a fully fictionalized story. At what point does basing something on real events strip the survivors of their agency? Does it matter that I can look up Bundy’s victims from Lake Sammamish State Park and the FSU Chi Omega sorority house even if Kroll changed their names and fabricated their stories? Do they care? While this book tackles very heavy topics and was hard to get into at first (what true crime adjacent novel isn’t?), I did enjoy Kroll’s writing style and way of storytelling. The time jumps were a bit disconcerting to follow, especially when they switched between Ruth and Pamela in the 70s, but, again, I loved seeing Bundy from a new perspective, where he’s just a footnote in another person’s story. We know where he ends up, and it is with a certain glee that we get to read about his attempts to thwart justice knowing in our hearts how epically he will fail.

Thank you to Netgalley, Jessica Knoll & Simon Element/S&S/Marysue Rucci Books for an arc of Bright Young Women in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own (except for any quotations) and may not be reproduced.

Synopsis (quoted) – Review Below

“January 1978. A serial killer has terrorized women across the Pacific Northwest, but his existence couldn’t be further from the minds of the vibrant young women at the top sorority on Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee. Tonight is a night of promise, excitement, and desire, but Pamela Schumacher, president of the sorority, makes the unpopular decision to stay home—a decision that unwittingly saves her life. Startled awake at 3 a.m. by a strange sound, she makes the fateful decision to investigate. What she finds behind the door is a scene of implausible violence—two of her sisters dead; two others, maimed. Over the next few days, Pamela is thrust into a terrifying mystery inspired by the crime that’s captivated public interest for more than four decades.

On the other side of the country, Tina Cannon has found peace in Seattle after years of hardship. A chance encounter brings twenty-five-year-old Ruth Wachowsky into her life, a young woman with painful secrets of her own, and the two form an instant connection. When Ruth goes missing from Lake Sammamish State Park in broad daylight, surrounded by thousands of beachgoers on a beautiful summer day, Tina devotes herself to finding out what happened to her. When she hears about the tragedy in Tallahassee, she knows it’s the man the papers refer to as the All-American Sex Killer. Determined to make him answer for what he did to Ruth, she travels to Florida on a collision course with Pamela—and one last impending tragedy.

Bright Young Women is the story about two women from opposite sides of the country who become sisters in their fervent pursuit of the truth. It proposes a new narrative inspired by evidence that’s been glossed over for decades in favor of more salable headlines—that the so-called brilliant and charismatic serial killer from Seattle was far more average than the countless books, movies, and primetime specials have led us to believe, and that it was the women whose lives he cut short who were the exceptional ones.”

After reading & watching Luckiest Girl Alive, I was excited to have the opportunity to have an advance read & review of Bright Young Women.

While I wanted to love this story – I just didn’t. It is about 95% lacking in originality. Hello, Ted Bundy murders? We all know that Ted Bundy has been trending over the last few years (which according to Knoll, she worked on this novel for 4 years). The timing of all of the movies & documentaries regarding Ted Bundy is a little too coincidental. I understand that authors take inspiration from all sorts of things, including real life events, to some extent, but the originality just wasn’t there.

And this is a note for the publisher – I will NEVER request, read or recommend anything by Jessica Knoll ever again. I witnessed firsthand her encounter with another influencer on Instagram who gave this book a VERY kind 3-star review. I mean, VERY kind & polite 3-star review. And Jessica Knoll decided to comment & act like a complete & total b*tch about the 3-star review and then BLOCKED the influencer. This influencer is so extremely kind-hearted and even when something isn’t for her, she still won’t say anything ugly about it. She was completely mortified by Jessica’s comment and behavior and even attempted to be the better person and message Jessica to apologize for offending her (even though it wasn’t necessary), but Jessica had already blocked her. I lost every ounce of respect that I may have had for her at that point. As a “best selling” author or any author for that matter, you have to understand that not everyone is going to love everything that you write. That’s just not life, in any aspect. But to act so rudely over a review that wasn’t even bad??? Just my personal opinion here, but it seems Ms. Knoll might have gotten a little too big for her britches after her success with Luckiest Girl Alive. This may not be the info you are looking for in a review, but it needed to be said. Jessica Knoll is in desperate need of some humble pie. People see that behavior and take notice and while she may have some “You go girl!” followers, those of us with our eyes wide open are not impressed and she 100% lost a follower in me.

You think you know this story, but you have no idea. Inspired by one of America's most recognizable serial killers, "Bright Young Woman" flips the popular narrative on its head, making the women who survived his crimes the stars of the story, while reducing an infamous murderer to a never-named "Defendant" -- but you'll recognize him right away.

I went into this book thinking that I knew everything about this killer and his heinous crimes. I've listened to every episode of "My Favorite Murder;" I'm a true crime junkie; Yet for every time I've heard this story, I've never heard the truth -- that far from being a mastermind, this so-called "Campus Killer" just had the luck of committing his crimes in areas where law enforcement lacked either the skills or the desire to end his reign of terror. Knoll so thoroughly skewers the idea of him being a genius that it left me wondering how the idea ever caught on in the first place, and why it dominates the narrative behind this serial killer -- who was nothing but another mediocre man -- one of many in this novel.

But the real stars of this book are the bright young women (wait until you read the book and see where the title came from!!) who faced this "Defendant" and ultimately defeated him. Their struggles to manage their own grief while connecting the dots for law enforcement are set against the infuriating patriarchal discrimination of the period, and left me fuming -- but also grateful for how far we've come.

And if all that isn't enough, there's a tantalizing mystery woven through the book, which kept me reading well past my bedtime. The resolution was satisfying, but not as satisfying as watching this infamous killer be reduced to his true, pathetic form.