Bright Young Women

Don’t miss this “breakneck thriller” examining “our culture’s obsession with serial killers and true crime” following two women on the pursuit of justice against all odds.

(Harper’s Bazaar)

“A fascinating look at true crime and tabloid culture that's as thoughtful as it is gripping”

(People)

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

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

• 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.

Popular Highlights in this book

Women got that feeling about him, that funny one we all get when we know something isn’t right, but we don’t know how to politely extricate ourselves from the situation without escalating the threat of violence or harassment. That is not a skill women are taught, the same way men are not taught that it is okay to leave a woman alone if what she wants is to be left alone.

There were men who cracked their knuckles while divulging to me what they would do to The Defendant if they got the chance, thinking this was somehow reassuring for me to hear. But all it did was make me realize that there wasn’t so big a difference between the man who’d brutalized Denise and half the men I passed every day on the street.