Bright Young Women

“A tense, gripping thriller about three women connected by a serial killer in the 1970s. In the present day, a threatening letter brings two of them together to seek truth and justice. Dark and powerful.” -Chatelaine magazine, Fall 2023 recommended read

"Superb. And superbly haunting. The new @jessicaknollauthor. Not officially out until September …so keep your eye out for it. Like Bret Easton Ellis MEETS Joyce Carol Oates, it is pretty different from anything she has previously written. The search for dignity; the permutations of truth. A deep 1970s rabbit-hole of a novel." -Shinan Govani, Toronto reporter

"The Los Angeles-based bestselling author (Luckiest Girl Alive) turns her lens on the Ted Bundy murders in this historical novel inspired by the real-life Florida State University sorority that was the serial killer’s apparent first target. Knoll engages with (and reframes) the infamous true-crime mythology to explore the fallout on the many women involved as they pursue justice over the decades." -EverythingZoomer.com

"This a disturbing and terrifying tale that takes a close look at American serial killers, and society’s sickening obsession with glorifying them in the aftermath of their killing sprees. Knoll’s prose is incisive, electrifying, and all-consuming. I couldn’t look away." -www.AvocadoDiaries.com

"Jessica Knoll is a careful writer, and this, her third novel, is a perfect match for her cold dissection of social mores and her fierce rage at misogyny. Knoll takes on the story of Ted Bundy, told from the perspective of a student who survives a horrific attack on a sorority house... Some may claim that the crime genre is rift with misogyny; those people have not read Jessica Knoll. She tears apart the restrictive world of women’s roles and lays bare the purpose of such hobbles: to keep women from making a scene, to keep them from seeking justice, and most of all, to keep them from seeking their own lives." —CrimeReads/LitHub, Most Anticipated Books of 2023

"Bright Young Women braids the stories of two survivors, Pamela and Tina, and their fervent bond forged through grief and a pursuit of justice." —Bustle, The 35 Best New Books of Fall 2023

“Something about fall weather begs for a thriller, and Jessica Knoll delivers with her latest.” —Country Living

“A stunning, engaging subversion of the Bundy myth—and the true-crime genre.” —Kirkus (Starred Review)

“Stunning… By focusing on the women affected by her Ted Bundy stand-in instead of the nuances of his criminal psychology, Knoll movingly reframes an American obsession without stripping it of its intrigue. The results are masterful.” —Publisher's Weekly (Starred Review)

"An utterly absorbing, disturbing, and absolutely essential read.” —Booklist (starred review)

“An unsettling and thrilling page-turner… Knoll’s haunting, must-read account will captivate [readers] until the end.” —Library Journal (starred Review)

"Bright Young Women is a fearless and intoxicating ride into the aftershocks of a series of brutal murders. Knoll explores in vivid, pointillist prose the effects on the ‘bright young women’ of the title, both the victims snuffed out in their glorious prime, and those left behind in their wake. It's a compelling, almost hypnotic read and I loved it with a passion." —Lisa Jewell, New York Times bestselling Author of Then She Was Gone

"Bright Young Women is Jessica Knoll at her best—an unflinching and evocative novel about the tabloid fascination with evil and the dynamic and brilliant women who have the real stories to tell." –Laura Dave, New York Times Bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me

"Blistering and powerful, Bright Young Women is an almost unbearably vivid story of sisterhood and survival. With razor-sharp skill, Jessica Knoll deconstructs the myth of a criminal mastermind, revealing the women he seeks to destroy as the truly brilliant ones." —Flynn Berry, New York Times bestselling author of Northern Spy and Under the Harrow