I went into this novel not knowing too much about it. I knew it was true crime fiction, and I knew I loved Jessica Knoll's previous books, and that was all I needed to know. The opening scene felt harrowingly familiar, and as I continued to read, I realized why: these were some of the young women targeted by He Who Shall Not Be Named, a notorious serial killer in the 1970s. I had heard this story dozens of times.

The premise of this book was ambitious and risky: adapting the lives of women who were murdered, assaulted, and traumatized by an infamous serial killer into a novel, but Knoll succeeded. It wasn't exactly a thriller, but I still had a hard time putting it down. Knoll captures the injustice and the emotions that come along with it so brilliantly. I especially appreciated how the killer was never named, which is why I will not be naming him in my review. Names have power. His name has been thrown around in the media and beyond for decades. He has even been called a "bright young man", hence the title of the book. A bright young man? You mean a sadistic serial killer and rapist? Please. These women had their entire lives ahead of them; lives that were tragically cut short by, frankly, an incel loser. He Who Shall Not Be Named was nothing close to a bright young man. In fact, he had a low IQ and simply didn't know how to interact with the opposite sex, which made him angry and aggressive. His "conventionally attractive" (ew) looks let him sneak under the radar, but anyone who encountered him soon realized he was extremely socially awkward and insecure.

Bright Young Women focuses on the women who suffered as a result of a notorious serial killer's crimes and paints a more accurate picture of He Who Shall Not Be Named. It smashes the notion that he was a handsome, charming Zac Efron-esque looking swindler (and yes, that movie is mentioned in the book as well and it is one I will never watch). When he wasn't breaking and entering to brutally assault college women in the middle of the night, he was trying to pick women up in broad daylight. But he didn't succeed because he was handsome and charming, rather these women immediately sensed something off about him and felt sorry for him.

Jessica Knoll took a risk with this one, and it paid off. I hope this is the start of a real reckoning with the problematic true crime obsession that has swept the nation and putting the focus back where it belongs: on the victims and survivors.

Knoll writes an interesting story combining fact and fiction about a serial killer we all know, but never names. Her emphasis is on the victims and the survivors of this notorious killer. While I found this book to be a good fictionalized account, I had just read A Light In The Dark, a true story by one of the actual survivors, making this one a bit anticlimactic. Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll was such an emotional read. When I read the synopsis I knew it was going to be an emotional and psychological rollercoaster, but it was more thrilling and enthralling than I could have imagined. Knoll did such a great job developing the character's and giving the reader inner perspective iof each woman's story as they dealt with the mystery and cruelty they were experiencing. The author also did a great job highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of the legal system (and law enforcement) of the 70s, especially in exploring the minimization and sexism women experienced. I would definitely recommend this book and author to others.

I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have always been a Jessica Knoll fan, but Bright Young Women is truly next level. It is refreshing to read a true crime novel Ted Bundy (or as he is more properly dehumanized in the novel as “the Defendant”) told from the perspective of the women who were in some way affected by his heinous crimes. The novel is divided into chapters told by several women — some over a period of time. The primary voice is that of Pamela — the only eyewitness of the Defendant — who was the president of the sorority at FSU where the Defendant killed two women and maimed two others. The other voice is that of Tina in Seattle who believes that the Defendant is a serial killer who killed her girlfriend Ruth, but people dismiss Tina and question her mental health simply because she is a lesbian. The novel burns like a white flame as we see — as late as 1978 — how women were discounted because of their gender while Ted Bundy was treated as a handsome genius. Indeed, he had to be treated this way to mask the incompetency of male law enforcement. This was one of the best novels I read this year, and it well deserves to be included in the New York Times Notable Book List for 2023. 5.0 out of 5.0 stars. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary advanced copy of this book.

The Defendant is awful, but the women are strong. This story revolves around the brutal murders and assaults that happened to several victims by The Defendant. The writing is so honest and the women are portrayed in such a strong light. I highly recommend this book and will be reading it again.

PHENOMENAL. I can’t say enough about this amazing book. I’m a true crime junkie so of course I know the story this was based on. I appreciated Knoll’s feminist perspective on this story as well as how she approached the telling of it. It’s definitely hard to stomach at some points but ultimately felt like a giant middle finger to the serial killer who perpetrated these crimes. So satisfying.

3.5 stars, rounded up ⭐️

Bright Young Women is a fictional story based on the real-life murders by Ted Bundy, and focuses on the victims and survivors instead of “the defendant”. I love that the author is taking back the narrative and refusing to give the murderer a name throughout the book.

I loved the concept of this book and thought the story was good, but the execution left a little to be desired. I wasn’t necessarily hooked or captivated, even though I was interested. The pacing was also a bit slow. The story provokes so many emotions in the reader, and the character building was great.

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

Loved this dark story loosely based on Jeffrey Dahmer. The story runs back and forth between the east and west coasts, past and present.

I am a huge Jessica Knoll fan and love every one of her novels! Bright Young Women tells the story of Ted Bundy's crimes from the point of view of the women left behind after the murderers. I really appreciated that the novel never used the killer's name and told a story that did not glorify the Bundy's actions. Instead, she weaved an excellent story about the surviving women.

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll. I really wanted to love this book. This book was a slow burn, which I don't usually mind. However, this book jumped around, was hard to follow and confusing. It was a very, very slow read for me. Thanks Simon Element, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I really don’t get the hype around this book. I found the narrative points of view to be very jumpy, and the dialogue and other narration to be very clunky. It didn’t flow, and I found myself confused several times.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I found this book to be very well written and I really enjoyed how this book alternated between the girls different timelines.

A fictional account of the Ted Bundy story that focuses solely on the victims, the women whose lives were taken and the people they left behind. This is a heavy book, but it was really, really good.

Bright Young Women is based on the real life murders of two sorority members by Ted Bundy.
Pamela Schumacher is the president of her sorority in 1978 and has chosen to stay home on Saturday night to catch up on paperwork. In the early hours, she hears a noise and goes to investigate and sees a man leaving the House. From there, the story goes back and forth between the present and past. She meets a woman who has flown in from the west, a woman convinced she knows who the killer is. The two team up, doing their own investigation when the Sheriff seems focused on another man.
There’s also a side story about a woman named Ruth, a young woman finding her own identity and becoming comfortable with her true self.
I loved that this wasn’t the typical criminal or psychological thriller. It was much deeper than that. The characters felt fleshed out and real. Knoll has done an excellent job of getting the feel for the period, especially that weird polite mindset of young women not yet caught up in the women’s liberation movement. She’s created a consistent tension, a current of suspense that runs throughout the story, but that never veers into the sensational.
The title is a play on the words of the Florida judge who called Ted Bundy “a bright young man”. Because the story truly is about the young women here who are the bright ones, finally recognizing their own worth and intelligence. But it’s also a story about male incompetence; men wanting The Defendant to be smart to mask their own mistakes. Or in the case of a reporter, to use The Defendant as a stepping stone to his own fame and glory.
My thanks to Netgalley and Simon Element for an advance copy of this book.

Interesting story although the pacing was slower than I hoped which led me to losing focus. Overall intriguing and compelling! I enjoyed the audio and appreciated that Sutton Foster narrated it.

Jessica Knoll has been a mixed bag for me. I really liked one of the books I read of hers and really disliked another one. So Bright Young Women was the third novel I have read by the author and am happy to say it falls into the "really liked" category. After my bad experience, I had been tempted to just pass on her future works, but I did stop to read the description, and immediately knew I was interested enough to give the author another go. Bright Young Women is a loose telling of Ted Bundy's victimization. The difference between it and other accounts is that this novel focuses more on the victims and their relationships rather than making him the star of the story. I have no idea if the two characters that received the most attention in the book were fully fictional or if they drew from real victims' stories, but they were engrossing to read about. I loved the story of Ruth and her mother was very realistic and I think a lot of young women are going to relate to that kind of relationship, even if not the sexuality of Ruth. Pamela, the goody two shoes character that lives in shame for her role in her sorority house's murders was also a fascinating, relatable character, who may or may not be on the autism spectrum. The author never came out and said it, but some of the descriptions of what drove Pamela made me think that, though it wouldn't have been diagnosed in 1978.

Anyway, I always wonder how writers can make something new out of a story that has been told and retold and yet here is another example of one successfully doing just that. Really liked it.

I wanted to love this book but it fell a little flat for me. Because I know the Ted Bundy story, I found there wasn’t much build up and the story it was telling wasn’t able to make up for that. It was okay, but nothing particularly memorable. Full review on TikTok.

Bright Young Women is a riveting read, told from the perspective of the survivors of a serial killer. I especially liked how the serial killer is never called by name, rather called The Defendant. This is because we never remember the victims of these crimes, just the names of the murderers. I was concerned this book would be gruesome, but it spends more time on the lives of the women that were cut short by The Defendant, rather then gory details. It also highlights how women are victimized, blamed for it, and ignored by the patriarchy when they try to speak out.

This book was really difficult to get into. A re telling of a real life story of a sorority serial killer. Just couldn’t get into the story. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a little behind with some of my reviews but have been working hard to get caught up. This book was everything I was hoping for! The characters and story itself were complex and definitely kept me guessing! It was very well written and jumps around constantly, between two main female characters and a variety of time periods. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes mysteries, thrillers, and stories set up like they could be true crime books!