Haven’t stopped thinking about this book since I read it, and I don’t foresee that changing tbh.
The vibes
book / headphones / pepper spray / fanny pack / wine glasses / shades / candle / lip gloss
“Law enforcement would rather we remember a dull man as brilliant than take a good hard look at the role they played in this absolute sideshow, and I am sick to death of watching them in their pressed shirts and cowboy boots, in their comfortable leather interview chairs, in hugely successful and critically acclaimed crime documentaries, talking about the intelligence and charm and wiliness of an ordinary misogynist. This story is not that.”
― Jessica Knoll, Bright Young Women
The review
The book isn’t about Ted Bundy. In fact, that name never appears in the 384 pages. The novel follows two characters: type A, pre-law sorority house leader Pamela, who wakes up to a literal nightmare, and insecure divorcee Ruth, who goes missing in a park on the other side of the country years earlier. These two perspectives intersect when Tina seeks out Pamela, the lone witness to the house’s attacker, to get to the bottom of her friend Ruth’s disappearance.
The villain in this book is unnamed and definitely Ted Bundy, but I love the power move that came with not naming him while dispelling every single positive thing society attributed to this serial killer and rapist. This book doesn’t attack the villain that Bundy is. It tears apart the world that let him walk free for so long, allowing him to kill and maim so many innocent women. It criticizes the society that propagated fake positive things about Bundy — that he was so smart (he cheated his way into law school then failed out) and handsome (he was petite and beady eyed) and a “bright young man” who had such a great future for him if he hadn’t done the silly little murder spree he did.
Whew, I’m heated all over again. 😤
I hope you choose to read this brilliant book — or listen to the audio, which is fantastic and partly narrated by Sutton Foster (whom I adore) — it’s such a retro vibe in all the best and worst ways. But you should know that the story is gory and completely unsettling (as it should be).
BookNerdalie 