Pretty Young Women by Jessica Knoll was published in 2023 by Pan Macmillan.
What is the book about?
Bright Young Women is mainly set in 1978 when a serial killer dubbed the ‘All-American Sex Killer’ has been terrorising women for a number of years. And, then he targets a sorority. Pamela is the sorority President who is woken up in the middle of the night and finds 2 of her sisters dead and 2 more seriously injured. She also sees the murderer and is thrust into the middle of a terrifying mystery that will haunted the public for decades.
Ruth is a woman that disappears from a Lake in the middle of the day, and Tina is her girlfriend determined to figure out what happened to her. When she hears about the horrors at the sorority, she knows it’s the same man that killed Ruth – the All American Sex Killer – and she becomes determined to prove it.
What did I like about it?
- This is a book based on the final killing spree of Ted Bundy, but this is not a book about Ted Bundy. It seems a little silly to say but it’s 100% true. In fact, the book doesn’t even mention Ted Bundy by name, but it’s not hard to figure out who the serial killer is supposed to be. He’s only ever referred to as ‘The Defendant.’
- It spends as much time as possible with the victims rather than the killer and it does a fantastic job at portraying the killer as a freak, a big LOSER, a man that got away with his crimes because he was underestimated not because he was some genius who was charasmatic and handsome.
- I loved all of the characters and it’s not hard to root for any of them. The 2 perspectives are both interesting and their contrasting stories make the reading experience really interesting and it was nice to see 2 different POVs.
- I feel like I can’t talk about this book without talking about the title. ‘Bright Young Women’ comes from a quote from the judge that sentenced Ted Bundy:
‘You’re a bright young man. You’d have made a good lawyer and I would have loved to have you practice in front of me, but you went another way, partner. I don’t feel any animosity toward you. I want you to know that. Once again, take care of yourself.’
Lundin, Leigh (August 22, 2010). “Last Words | Florida Fold’em”. criminalbrief.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-24.
- ‘You’re a bright young man. You’d have made a good lawyer and I would have loved to have you practice in front of me, but you went another way, partner. I don’t feel any animosity toward you. I want you to know that. Once again, take care of yourself.’
- That is actually an insane thing to say and it’s been said so many times that it’s crazy that a judge would say this to a serial killer that had killed at least 20 women. However, the title for the book is so good. I love that it switches it up and makes it about the women.
- I’d honestly recommend not watching or reading anything about Ted Bundy anymore. We’ve had enough media that portrays him as a handsome, charasmatic man who got away with his crimes for so long due to his intelligence, rather than the incompetency of the law enforcement (this man escaped from prison TWICE) and we need more fiction that portrays serial killers like this.
What didn’t I like about it?
- It’s rare that I say this but I honestly can’t really think of anything that I didn’t really like. Obviously this book made me sad and it made me angry but that’s exactly what it was supposed to do so I can’t really say that’s something that I disliked about it.
Would I recommend it to people?
- 100%! I’d recommend this to anyone. I feel like women will probably get more out of this than men but I still want everyone to read it.
- However, definitely check the trigger warnings before reading this as it can get quite dark and gruesome.
Where can you buy the book?
