BookBrowse Reviews Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

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A pair of women battle institutional sexism to seek justice for their murdered loved ones.

The judge who sentenced serial killer Ted Bundy to death infamously (and bizarrely) told him: "You're a bright young man. You would have made a good lawyer." The title of Jessica Knoll's novel Bright Young Women is a play on these remarks. A fictionalized take on Bundy's crimes, it shines the spotlight not on the murderer, but on the brilliant women whose lives he cut short.

Set primarily in the 1970s, the book tells the story of prelaw student Pamela Schumacher and trainee therapist Tina Cannon as they seek justice for their slain loved ones. Pamela's friend Denise was killed in an attack on their sorority house at Florida State University, while Tina's beloved Ruth went missing after being lured away from a lake near Seattle. Bright Young Women shows Pamela and Tina's fight to hold the murderer accountable as they bump up against flawed police work and a sexist legal system. It's narrated primarily from the perspective of Pamela, with flashbacks to Ruth's story before her death.

This book is not an edge-of-your-seat slasher story. Those looking for a thriller to read with popcorn in hand will be disappointed. The crimes are viewed from the perspective of the victims and those close to them. Knoll never for a second lets us see them as anything less than dearly loved and fully human. The murders are not gripping. They are devastating.

Pamela is present in the sorority house when her friend is killed, and witnesses the murderer running out the door. Her reactions are notably realistic. Knoll shows her as neither heroic nor cowardly, but as someone struggling to process what has just happened. She is an imperfect witness, and we are frustrated alongside her as police misinterpret her responses and pursue the wrong suspect. In the aftermath of the crime, we see her fixating on her role as sorority president, trying desperately to maintain order as a coping mechanism.

The book deliberately de-emphasizes the murderer, who is not given a name but is referred to only as "The Defendant." Though news outlets portray him as shrewd and charming, Pamela is unimpressed by the man who cruelly killed her friend. Through her eyes, we see him as a not-so-bright incel type who lashes out at vibrant, beautiful women. She wryly notes that she's even seen him pick his nose in court. One scene in particular, where he acts as his own lawyer, shows how over-hyped his intellect really is. It becomes clear that law enforcement uses his "genius" as a cover for their own failure to stop his murder spree.

Knoll shines an uncomfortable light back on a pop culture landscape that sensationalizes crime and mythologizes serial killers. This book might make fans of shows like Dahmer and the endless barrage of Netflix true crime documentaries wrestle with the types of media they consume. It challenges us to see the real impact of crimes so often viewed as a source of entertainment, while deftly puncturing the archetype of the dashing criminal mastermind.

Bright Young Women is at times hard to read. It makes us sit with characters who are deeply grieving, and root for others, like Ruth, who we know are fated to die. But its message is ultimately one of hope and empowerment. We cheer on Pamela and Tina as they continually push back against sexism and injustice, and we see them grow and thrive despite the pain. Knoll's book suggests that true crime stories, as well as fictional stories based on real crimes like this one, are most compelling and useful when they focus on fighting oppressive systems, rather than glorifying violence.

This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in October 2023, and has been updated for the September 2024 edition. Click here to go to this issue.