Waking up at 3:00 AM in her sorority house to four of her sisters being brutally attacked, sorority president Pamela Schumacher stands on top of the stairs 13 feet away from the man responsible.
That was the most thrilling part of Jessica Knoll’s newest release “Bright Young Women” which was marketed as a mystery thriller but seemingly lacked suspense. Reads like a true crime novel despite being a fictional story, the book is a dual point of view following main characters Ruth Wachowsky and Pamela Schumacher.
The book is heavily inspired by Ted Bundy with an alternating timeline that is almost identical to his last murderous spree at the top sorority house of Florida State University. Jumping back and forth from 1974 and ‘78 to present day, Knoll highlights the ridiculousness of glorifying serial killers and changes the narrative with the bright young women in this novel. Or attempts to.
With so many parallels to Bundy, the message intended got lost. Throughout expect to frequently search up if the events in the book were the events that occurred in Ted Bundy’s case. This distracts from the book’s intent and leaves one’s search history looking questionable.
The killer in this book isn’t named but is simply referred to as “The Defendant”, described as attractive and charismatic by the media. Ring a bell?
One scene in the book includes a direct quote from Bundy’s sentencing which explains the book’s title. In the courtroom, the judge calls the defendant a “bright young man” and wishes him well by saying the exact words spoken to Ted Bundy by Judge Cowart after Bundy was given the death penalty for murdering over 30 women.
A quote from a family member of Bundy’s victims and a transcript from Bundy’s trial is also included. The mixture of facts and fiction is slightly off-putting. It’s essentially a fictionalized account of the real case and felt odd and unreliable while reading.
“Bright Young Women” is more character driven than plot driven and has no plot twist. While being classified as a thriller, it would be more accurately described as general fiction with true crime elements.
The two main characters are completely fictional and extremely well-written. Reading their inner monologue was enjoyable as was the author’s writing style. “Bright Young Women” had the potential to be even better if it was a completely fictional story about a serial killer with a similar lore to Ted Bundy. Focusing on the glorification of serial killers as a whole instead of changing the narrative of just one infamous killer.
It’s a brilliant story showing the media’s ridiculous glorification of a serial killer, however, don’t pick it up expecting a thriller.
The rating for this book is 3/5 books.
