'A compelling, almost hypnotic read' - Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of None of This is True

Bright Young Women is a compulsive, extraordinary novel inspired by the real-life sorority targeted by America's first celebrity serial killer in his final murderous spree. From Jessica Knoll, author of the New York Times bestseller and #1 Netflix movie Luckiest Girl Alive.

January 1978. Tallahassee. When sorority president Pamela Schumacher is startled awake at 3 a.m. by a strange sound, she’s shocked to encounter a scene of implausible violence – two of her friends dead and two others, maimed. Thrust into a terrifying mystery, Pamela becomes entangled in a crime that captivates public interest for more than four decades . . .

On the other side of the country, Tina Cannon has found peace in Seattle after years of hardship. When Ruth, her best friend, goes missing from Lake Sammamish State Park in broad daylight, surrounded by thousands of beachgoers on a beautiful summer day, Tina devotes herself to finding out what happened to her.

When Tina hears about the tragedy in Tallahassee, she suspects the same man the papers refer to is responsible. Determined to make him answer for what he did to Ruth, she travels to Florida on a collision course with Pamela – and one last impending tragedy.

Praise for Bright Young Women:

'Jessica Knoll at her best: an unflinching and evocative novel' - Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me

'Cleverly constructed [. . .] psychologically astute and written with flair' - The Sunday Times

'This book is extraordinary' - Catherine Ryan-Howard, author of Run Time

'Writing with pulse-pounding tension and urgency, Knoll expertly conjures an atmosphere of dread and anxiety . . . An utterly absorbing, disturbing, and absolutely essential read' - Booklist, Starred Review

© 2023 Macmillan (Audiobook): 9781529009248

Release date

Audiobook: 28 September 2023