Bright Young Women: A Novel

The '70s have been coined the decade of serial killers. In 1978, a man escapes prison and descends on a Floridian sorority house with deadly results. Key witness and chapter president Pam Schumacher is permanently altered. Across the county, Tina Cannon is convinced the murders result from the All-American Sex Killer who claimed the life of her missing best friend. When Tina makes her way to Florida, she joins forces with Pam to get justice for those they love.

Review: We will go in reverse order and begin with my complaints, of which there is only one. My sole complaint is that some metaphors and comparisons are a little off-putting. Describing the grown murderer as a "booger-eater" feels strange. While that may have been the point - to emasculate The Defendant, there are other odd comparisons. My complaint is undoubtedly tiny, insignificant, and doesn't affect my rating; it was weird enough to notice.

Now, let's move on to what I enjoyed in the novel. Much like Luckiest Girl Alive, Knoll writes with a break-neck pace. The novel opens with The Defendent's attack on the sorority house, and that chapter is intense. You feel like you are Pamela, traipsing through the house, setting her friends' pain and death, and identifying the perpetrator. When I read the opening chapter, I held my breath and ran through the house with Pam. Knoll's writing pace is exceptional; the book never lulls or feels inconsequential. Every chapter is thoroughly thought-out and fits into the overall novel perfectly. As readers, we are aligned with Pam and Tina and feel their emotions as if they were our own. I believe Knoll's writing style sets her apart from other writers. She takes a genuine crime case and gives it the proper care and handling it deserves.

According to Psychology Today, society is obsessed with serial killers because it helps us identify potential threats. If we know and understand the motivations of some killers, we are more likely to look for and actively avoid these potentially dangerous situations. While such an assertion is valid, with the obsession comes a forgetting of the victims, those who were taken without thought or concern. Herein lies Knoll's belief. We give so much thought and attention to the killers that their victims are tossed to the wayside. There are countless documentaries, movies, and books about serial killers, but not enough about their victims. Knoll draws the line here. While the book refers to Ted Bundy, and there is an author's note at the beginning that says as much, his name is never mentioned in the book. He is consistently referred to as The Defendant. Pam argues that people always make him more than he is, a serial rapist and killer. However, so much attention was given to his law school experience during the trials, even though he never graduated. Women align themselves with his story because he is a good-looking man. Still, according to Pam, he is only handsome because it's unusual for someone relatively attractive to commit such heinous acts. She argues that there is not much difference between him and any other man on the street. Knoll focuses on the victims and survivors rather than giving credence to his failed degree. She makes them human, something many true crime series do not do. She never names Bundy; instead, she devotes her time to getting to know the victims.

As an outspoken survivor of sexual assault, Knoll handles the women's case with respect and honor. In her previously published essay, she writes about the gang rape she was subjected to and how people believed it to be her fault. In a tragic and triggering moment in the book, a character is raped, and she rationalizes and minimizes the experience by explaining that, in the grand scheme of life, being raped isn't so bad because so many women experience the same thing, yet they live on. While reading her inner thoughts, readers are struck by her shockingly disturbing rationalization, but this is precisely what happens with survivors. So many of us do not come forward because we fear what others will say about our stories. We fear that we will be blamed for the assault on OUR bodies. We minimize what happened to us because, unfortunately, it has become the norm. With a sexual assault occurring every 68 seconds, it becomes a regular part of life. As a survivor, I felt seen and recognized in the novel, which is Knoll's goal. Knoll takes her violent and life-altering experience and provides other survivors with safety and recognition; she takes back her story and becomes its author.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading Knoll's third novel. Similar to Luckiest Girl Alive, Bright Young Women is fast-paced and vital. If you like thrillers or true crime, you will enjoy the book. I give Knoll's novel five out of five stars and highly recommend it.

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll is a uniquely creative merging of true crime and psychological thriller. The Defendant’s name is never written in this novel yet, I knew within the first ten pages the actual sensation this story would be about, further driving Knoll’s point home of where the majority of narrative lies with real life villians. ‘Bright Young Women’ is genius wordplay, in reality the Judge called the Defendant “a bright young man”, how dehumanizing to the victims. I have so much respect for Knoll putting her words out there to be a part of the change to that strong narrative.

Bright Young Women has been well researched, the facts are facts, irregardless of the names and supporting backstories being changed. (I do want to know why she didn’t change Kimberly Leach’s name, the twelve year old girl, who was the Defendant’s last and ultimate undoing.) Knoll wrote this story in a way that gave no significance to the Defendant himself. He must be rolling in the hell he now resides. Instead it is a dual POV between Pamela and Ruth; a future Pamela lightly mixed in to beautifully full circle the story in the end.

Pamela’s story was compelling. She was the only eye witness to actually see the Defendant leaving her Florida sorority house in 1978 in the middle of the night after he murdered two of her sorority sisters and left two others brutally attacked. I loved how this novel heavily opens eyes to our corrupt government; law enforcement coverups, media outlets creating the wrong narratives to push their own agenda, female discrimination… it’s almost all just as sickening as the crimes themselves. I hate to admit at one point while reading I felt a bit of shame that I got previously sucked into the sensation myself having to watch the newest ‘specials’ on the Defendant. For an author to make you feel uncomfortable about yourself is a testament to their writing talent. I do want to note the flip side is that as I do want more light shed on victims vs criminal it’s not in my control to facilitate that in these extreme cases and it’s still important to read or watch the part we do get of these stories to keep, women and children especially, aware. In my experience the world hasn’t changed, it’s not safe, and our guard should sadly never be let down.

Pamela and Ruth’s stories become intertwined as effortlessly as the facts and fiction of this book. Ruth went missing in 1974, she was never found, and I liked the idea of weaving that into the more shocking of the Defendant’s crimes. Unfortunately I did find Tina and Ruth’s story was a bit dull for me, their backstory didn’t feel authentic but more slowly forced and it lacked the emotional punch I think Knoll was going for. I do appreciate her focusing on that victim, the reality is there were more than just the sorority and Kimberly Leach, I think the sensation of those horrific acts overshadowed the others. Which is saying something considering how much the favorable narrative on the Defendant overshadowed the victims of Florida’s tragedy as well.

This is my first book by Jessica Knoll and it won’t be my last.

In Bright Young Women, Jessica Wolf deftly explores the lasting impacts of sexual assault through the lens of three vibrant protagonists. While the subject matter is heavy, Wolf's skilled storytelling makes this a profound, insightful read.

From the opening pages, I was immediately drawn into the lives of Ruth, Tina, and Pamela. Wolf's greatest strength is her ability to create fully realized, authentic characters that feel like living, breathing people. Each woman's individual struggles, quirks, and complexities are vividly rendered.

The novel dives deep, unflinchingly examining the myriad ways such violations of trust reverberate through survivors' lives. Wolf avoids sensationalism, instead taking a nuanced, compassionate approach. Particular kudos for centering the victims' experiences rather than those of their attacker.

While all three protagonists' arcs are compelling, I did find myself wishing Ruth's storyline was fleshed out a bit more relative to the others. Her sections occasionally felt slightly abbreviated compared to Pamela and Tina's narratives.

However, this is a relatively minor critique in an otherwise powerful, hauntingly relevant novel. Bright Young Women avoids easy answers, instead offering a raw, emotionally resonant exploration of the courage required to heal from trauma and reclaim one's voice.

For anyone seeking a character-driven story that goes unflinchingly to dark places while still remaining hopeful about human resilience, I highly recommend picking this one up. Jessica Wolf is an author unafraid to shed light on uncomfortable truths.

This book posed a real conundrum for me. It is really well written, the story is very compelling and so many of the elements are introduced in genuine murder mystery fashion. I tore through the book in two sessions. And I was engrossed in every single page. I confess, I am a big fan of truer crime stories, have read a great deal over the years about Ted Bundy and the horror of his murder victims. And I did appreciate the fact that the author declined to identify him by name (although it was crystal clear who the perp in this story was) and focus more on the unfulfilled lives of the girls he murdered but therein lies my initial confusion and ultimate dissatisfaction. In fictionalizing the two sorority house victims, (who in reality were Lisa Levy, 20 and Margaret Bowman, 21 and one of the Lake Samamish victims (in reality Denise Naslund or Janice Ott) in creating entirely new entirely made up personas, (and not just changing their names thus creating a true Roman a Clef,) but everything about them. Their history, their interests, their families, I felt these "bright young women" were erased once again. Bundy is portrayed as the monster he truly was but his victims were completely invented. Yet so many other elements of the story are genuine and true. Even his very last victim, twelve year old Kimberly Leach is correctly identified, but the bulk of this novel, the main driving narrative, centers on three completely fictionalized characters. I know the author profusely thanks one of the surviving sorority sisters, Kathy Kleiner for her contributions to the story. I just can't help but wonder if she was satisfied with the final product. I know I ultimately wasn't.