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Sign up todayBright Young Women
A Novel
Length
12 hours 58 minutes
Language
English
Narrators
Sutton Foster, Imani Jade Powers, Corey Brill & Chris Henry Coffey
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Learn moreBookseller recommendation
“This is absolutely perfect for the true crime fan who is sick of the victims constantly being forgotten. The perpetrator in this book is never named and only referred to as 'The Defendant', even though this is clearly a novel of Ted Bundy's victims. Nowhere in the synopsis or the book itself is he named, because he is not important, so people who don't already know the case may need some research, but Knoll expertly weaves elements from the actual attacks and direct quotes from the case in a beautiful, fictional tale of two women whose lives are thrown off course by a monster. ”
— tee • Quail Ridge Books
Bookseller recommendation
“This novel reads like a true crime story! The two narrators telling the different stories were part of the story as a whole was excellent! ”
— Melissa • Watermark Books
Bookseller recommendation
“WOWZA. Bright Young Women is based on the real murders of a serial killer. If you have any background knowledge of true crime in the 1970s you will know which killer Knoll has used as the basis of the defendant . HOWEVER, unlike the numerous books, TV specials, and movies, Jessica Knoll gives us an intense literary crime novel that focuses on the victims. Primarily told through the view of Pamela Schumacher, a key eye witness, the defendant is brought down several pegs to his rightful place, not a bright young man, but a disturbed, egotistical individual with far more confidence than his ineptitude should have allowed. ”
— Michelle • Quail Ridge Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Perfect for true crime connoisseurs, Knoll weaves a feminist-lensed novel centered around the victims of The Defendant - a nation-traversing serial killer seemingly too brilliant and charismatic to be contained. Spanning from the 1970s to now, Bright Young Women dissects the trope of the genius serial killer and the women that ultimately conquer them. ”
— Lambie • Underground Books
Don’t miss this “breakneck thriller” examining “our culture’s obsession with serial killers and true crime” (Harper’s Bazaar) following two women on the pursuit of justice against all odds. “A fascinating look at true crime and tabloid culture that's as thoughtful as it is gripping” (People).
A New York Times Notable Book of 2023
New York Times Editors’ Choice
Instant New York Times Bestseller
A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist
Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, The Washington Post, Harper’s Bazaar, Kirkus Reviews, CrimeReads, Booklist, and more!
An Edgar Award Finalist for Best Novel
Masterfully blending elements of psychological suspense and true crime, Jessica Knoll—author of the bestselling novel Luckiest Girl Alive and the writer behind the Netflix adaption starring Mila Kunis—delivers a new and exhilarating thriller in Bright Young Women. The book opens on a Saturday night in 1978, hours before a soon-to-be-infamous murderer descends upon a Florida sorority house with deadly results. The lives of those who survive, including sorority president and key witness, Pamela Schumacher, are forever changed. Across the country, Tina Cannon is convinced her missing friend was targeted by the man papers refer to as the All-American Sex Killer—and that he’s struck again. Determined to find justice, the two join forces as their search for answers leads to a final, shocking confrontation.
Blisteringly paced, Bright Young Women is “Jessica Knoll at her best—an unflinching and evocative novel about the tabloid fascination with evil and the dynamic and brilliant women who have the real stories to tell” (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me); and “a compelling, almost hypnotic read and I loved it with a passion” (Lisa Jewell, New York Times bestselling author of None of This Is True).
Jessica Knoll is the New York Times bestselling author of The Favorite Sister and Luckiest Girl Alive—now a major motion picture from Netflix starring Mila Kunis. She has been a senior editor at Cosmopolitan and the articles editor at Self. She grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and graduated from the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their bulldog, Franklin.
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Reviews
"Led by Tony Award–winning actor Sutton Foster, a group of narrators (Imani Jade Powers, Corey Brill, and Chris Henry Coffey) share duties narrating the fictionalized story of two women whose lives intersect via their brush with serial killer Ted Bundy. Pamela, a Florida State sorority president, escapes his attack on her house, while Ruth, a troubled young woman in Washington state, may have been one of his victims...Foster is the star here, but the whole production underscores Knoll’s insistence that victims, not perpetrators, should be remembered." Expand reviewsWant the printed book?
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