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themis_biblos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
1. In the acknowledgements Knoll thanks Kathy Kleiner Rubin, giving the impression that Knoll spoke to her and had her permission to tell this, albeit fictional, story. I've since seen people allegedly close to Kathy saying that that never happened. I'm sceptical - if that's true, Rubin's name surely wouldn't have made it into the acknowledgements? I don't know.
2. I loved, loved, loved the way Knoll discusses what a pathetic man The Defendant in reality was - contrary to how he was and continues to be portrayed, what the women (both those who survived and those who didn't) went through - not just on the night it happened, but after in the news, in the courtroom, in the public. How they were judged, written and gossipped about without their consent or input. However - why then did Knoll choose to write about them yet again, even if in this case the focus was on the women? She could have made it entirely fictional and it still would have hit.
3. A minor detail: It drove me up the wall how Knoll had the characters speak through their body language, but then always explained what gestures meant in italics right after!
But all that said, I was still impressed and moved and sad.
"They just don't want her to get hysterical," I said in the family's defense. Tina scoffed. "And so? What's wrong with being hysterical? It's a hysterical thing that happened."
I'd been asked to go over it so many times already that I was starting to feel like certain aspects of my story were more hindrance than help, that I ought to simplify it. No one tells you that the truest stories are the messy, unwieldy ones, that you will be tempted to trim in the places that make people scratch their heads. It takes fortitude to remain a true and constant witness, and I did.
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Misogyny, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexism, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Death, Medical trauma, Rape, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Stalking, Classism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Drug use
burnourhistory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Violence, Death, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Mental illness, Dementia, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Car accident
mothie_girlie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Gaslighting
Minor: Eating disorder
bookishevy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The story is told from the perspectives of Pamela and Ruth. Pamela's is from the present when she receives a letter summoning her return to Florida and through flashbacks. Ruth's is from winter 1974 until her disappearance that summer and provides insight into how unhappy she was before meeting Tina.
Inspired by true events, the novel's name comes from the judge, who called Ted Bundy a "bright young man," which is ridiculous because the only thing Bundy had going for him was that he was a white male. Pamela often points out that The Defendent's (how Knoll refers to Bundy here to keep the focus on his victims and their families) good looks and intelligence are exaggerated.
He was able to carry out this final killing spree due to the ineptitude of law endorsement in Colorado. It made officers look less incompetent to paint him as this slippery genius, and the press was just as complicit in his glamorization.
It's up to Pamela and Tina to do what the men in charge of the investigation failed to do.
Ruth put her own happiness aside to appease her mother. The Defendent targeted young women because they are conditioned to please others. While reading Ruth's heartbreaking account, I was reminded of the killer's monologue in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Fincher's version) when he tells Mikael "It's hard to believe that the fear of offending can be stronger than the fear of pain. But you know what? It is. And they always come willingly."
Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Murder, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Toxic relationship
lollymac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Child death, Death, and Homophobia
Minor: Sexual harassment, Stalking, Torture, Murder, Rape, Infidelity, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Sexism
hanhantap's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Sexual violence, Misogyny, Death, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Child abuse
ammcd1118's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
spicycronereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
It’s a thriller with no romance elements. The story is narrated from two points of view over multiple time periods. So that gets a little confusing. And then at the end suddenly there’s a male narrator which really felt like it came out of left field. A lot of the narrative hinges on women bonding together over the violence done by men and forming support networks among systems that failed them.
In terms of diversity there are a few lesbian characters. No racial diversity that I can tell. And obviously no spice or swooniness.
Overall, it was an entertaining listen. The mystery of how everything fit together and the larger themes of society failing women were pretty engaging. Don’t know that I’ll ever need to listen to it or read it again.
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Stalking
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, and Child abuse
Police incompetence; police gaslightingdangarias's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Murder, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Sexual violence
sdcalgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Minor: Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, and Sexual harassment