True Crime content is one of the hottest types of media today. The internet runs rampant with it, including documentaries, biopics, and podcasts. I’ll admit, I have definitely watched a few TikTok edits of Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez in Netflix’s “Monsters,” a biopic about Eric and Lyle Menendez’s crimes. While True Crime content may be everywhere, “Bright Young Women” tackles the issues with criminals and serial killers being so popularized, and in some cases, romanticized. Although a fictional novel, “Bright Young Women” follows Ted Bundy’s crimes very closely and shares a new perspective: the victims.
“Bright Young Women” follows college senior and sorority president, Pamela, after she witnesses the killings of two of her sorority sisters. The novel spans over the course of Pamela’s life, beginning with the night before the killings and extending throughout her entire career as a lawyer. While the killer is never given a name in the story, instead referred to as “The Defendant,” the story follows very closely to Bundy’s crimes, and Knoll herself frequently confirms that the novel was based on Bundy.
Rather than focusing on the logistics of the crime, “Bright Young Women” talks about the aftermath. The novel goes through Pamela’s processing of the event, as well as the criminal proceedings and efforts Pamela and her sisters make to get The Defendant behind bars. The novel addresses the issues Pamela faces with harassment from the press, including camping outside of their sorority house and physically assaulting Pamela and her sisters as they try to enter and exit their home. The novel also addresses issues with law enforcement, including an emphasis on the fact that they refuse to believe Pamela about The Defendant’s physical description and instead focus on arresting one of the victim’s former boyfriends.
I thought this novel was absolutely genius. While it’s marketed as a “crime novel,” the real meaning lies so much deeper. Women who are victims of crimes are so frequently ignored, dismissed, and not believed. This novel did a beautiful job of highlighting the nuances that go into being a witness to a crime and the emotions that can impact the eyewitness account, but also highlights how law enforcement can be dismissive of women who experience and witness crimes. While the dead girls were dismissed as being victims of a domestic violence killing, Pamela was ignored when she continued to reiterate her description of the killer because she was a young girl and deemed to be too emotional. I honestly have not seen a book that discusses this type of silencing and misogyny, and it was so beautiful to read this powerful take.
While this novel ends with, *spoiler alert* a jailed victim and evidence coming to light in Pamela’s favor, this isn’t the truth for women in a lot of situations. While not everyone is victim to a famous serial killer, women who experience domestic violence crimes or sexual violence crimes are frequently ignored and left to suffer with their abusers in silence. The underlying theme throughout this whole novel is this: Believe Victims.
Knoll is a brilliant writer who has crafted a novel that is not only entertaining, but deeply powerful. Upon finishing this book, I knew it was going to be one that stuck with me for a long time. I immediately gave this 5 stars, and I look forward to reading everything else Knoll publishes.