Book Review: Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

Title: Bright Young Women

Author: Jessica Knoll

Pages: 384

Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023

Source: Edelweiss

GoodReads Description: An extraordinary novel inspired by the real-life sorority targeted by America's first celebrity serial killer in his final murderous spree.

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.

My Review: 

Wow. Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll is exceptional.  Absolutely outstanding! A new favorite. 

It is a novel based on the real-life events surrounding a serial killer's spree in the 1970's (1970's setting? Yes, please!).  However, what is so brilliant about this book, is that it focuses on the victims - going so far as to not even mention the killer's name throughout.

Jessica Knoll is the brilliant writer of this meticulously-researched gem of a standalone novel.  I now have added everything that she has ever written to my TBR.  (It's okay, I was never going to finish it anyways).

First, let's talk about the title.  Here is a quote from Jessica Knoll in an article from "The Hill" (linked here): 

“He called Bundy ‘a bright young man,'” recalled Knoll. “(Bundy) rambled on for like 30 or 45 minutes before the judge said, ‘You’re a bright young man. You could have done all these things with your life, but you went another way.’ And when you read what Ted Bundy said, what he rambled on about, I was like, ‘This was your bright young man, judge?’”

Thus, we focus on THE BRIGHT YOUNG WOMEN who clearly should have been the stars all along. 

This story is told in two POVs: Pamela Schumacher, the (sadly) fictional president of the sorority victimized by The Defendant (as she refers to the killer) and Ruth Wachowsky, who will become one of his victims at Lake Sammamish. I loved Pamela's POV.  She was PAM Perfect!  

She was brilliant and she was constantly talked down to and pushed aside by the men in this story in the most frustratingly realistic way!  It will make you seethe with resentment, but it really was so well done.  I think some books can be too in your face or preachy, but this one just made you feel her frustration and empathize with her.

For all the true crime addicts and those who enjoy a good thriller as well - you need this book!  Easily 5 stars!