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A review by johnsj01
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
4.0
4.5
I was hesitant to read this because I was pretty uninterested in more Ted Bundy content. But I could not put this down and I really thought it was great the book highlights this “Defendant” wasn’t some handsome genius.
Patton Oswald wrote a review in the NYT and here is an excerpt.
“Knoll only refers to the intruder as “the Defendant,” which is a canny, important choice, because too often serial killers are portrayed as diabolical masterminds instead of the hideous life leeches they are. This one is meticulously based on a certain rapist and murderer who got his start in the Pacific Northwest, who’s been lionized in pop culture and is invariably played by handsome young actors such as Mark Harmon and Zac Efron. While he looms large in the imaginations of crime junkies and the tabloids, his victims are too often reduced to footnotes. Knoll flips that script in Bright Young Women.”
I wish footnotes were utilized in this book because I know that while factionalized, there were things in this book that were real. Like what the judge said during sentencing. So infuriatingly icky that he actually said that shit.
I was hesitant to read this because I was pretty uninterested in more Ted Bundy content. But I could not put this down and I really thought it was great the book highlights this “Defendant” wasn’t some handsome genius.
Patton Oswald wrote a review in the NYT and here is an excerpt.
“Knoll only refers to the intruder as “the Defendant,” which is a canny, important choice, because too often serial killers are portrayed as diabolical masterminds instead of the hideous life leeches they are. This one is meticulously based on a certain rapist and murderer who got his start in the Pacific Northwest, who’s been lionized in pop culture and is invariably played by handsome young actors such as Mark Harmon and Zac Efron. While he looms large in the imaginations of crime junkies and the tabloids, his victims are too often reduced to footnotes. Knoll flips that script in Bright Young Women.”
I wish footnotes were utilized in this book because I know that while factionalized, there were things in this book that were real. Like what the judge said during sentencing. So infuriatingly icky that he actually said that shit.