Title: Young Bright Women
Author: Jessica Knoll
Publisher: S&S/Marysue Rucci Books @marysueruccibooks
Genre: Literary True Crime/Mystery/Thriller
Thank you Simon & Schuster Book Club Favorites for the #bookclubfavoritesinsider #gifted listening copy. @simon.audio
Young Bright Women is dual POV novel and is narrated by Sutton Foster, Imani Jade Powers, Corey Brill and Chris Henry Coffey. Now, here’s where I’m going to contradict myself a little bit. I’m not sure that the audio is the best way to go because I found some of the back and forth timelines and POV’s confusing. However, the audio did keep me engaged in this story. If I had a hardcover sitting on my nightstand, I don’t know if I would’ve been that eager to pick it up. Disclaimer: I am not a true crime junkie. While I had heard vaguely this was about the 70s crime murder spree of Ted Bundy I still somehow thought I would be reading a fictionalized thriller version. This book starts with a bang, then very quickly moves to a literary character driven novel. It’s actually almost a character study.
▪️The first POV is Pamela the sorority president at Florida State University
▪️The second POV is Ruth leading up to the time she goes missing in broad daylight from state park out on the West Coast
▪️Tying them both together is Tina, who first knew Ruth, then reaches out to Pamela when two of her sorority sisters are killed and she sees similarities
Rating: 3.5, maybe 4 ⭐️, I don’t know, this is a tricky one. Like I said I don’t usually do true crime. This one started out very strong and then drug on for me. While I appreciated what the author did not naming the defendant and shining a spotlight on these women it ultimately wasn’t enough for me to be enamored by this book like so many others are. I’m just one of many reviews coming out coming out on pub day/week. So, if you’re unsure there are plenty reviews out there! Just know this is not a thriller.
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