One book can be the inspiration for a book display or list. Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (Marysue Rucci Books, 2023) flips the serial killer tale to focus on the victims and those left behind. The killer isn’t named although he’s based upon the most famous serial killer of the 1970’s who was eventually captured in Florida. There are two narrators, Pamela Schumacher who survived the killer’s attack on her sorority house and Ruth, one of the killer’s early Washington state victims, who disappeared from Lake Sammamish State Park. By leaving the killer unnamed and exploring the lives of the women who became victims, Knoll de-mythologizes the murderer and allow the women to be complex and fully human, apart from their connection with him. Fast-paced and disturbing, readers who enjoy crime stories told from a different angle will find this book compelling. I mention several books below which would be read-alikes for this book.
While one could go to the true crime section and just grab handfuls of books about serial killers, there are some other options I would like to explore to show how there are many ways to approach a book and fit them into a book display. The object is to market your back list and have fun with the process of creating a display or list, not create a project for an English class analyzing the text.
For fiction, consider books like Emma Cline’s The Girls. Both are based on real crimes, from roughly the same time, and from the perspective of women rather than the criminal. Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates is another option. It tells the Chappaquiddick incident in 1969 which led to the death of Mary Jo Kopechne as flashbacks as she slowly drowns. You can add other novels based upon true crimes or novels that read like true crime. Consider novels set in the 1970’s in general as well. It was a time of upheaval and crisis which has led to many great books
The book is set in both Florida and Washington state which present other options. Florida and its history have been part of many novels. Fortunately, many large library systems create lists of books set in their state. A display contrasting these two places, at opposite ends of the United States, would also be interesting.
The university setting could become part of a display about the darker side of the college experience. Academic thrillers have been popular lately with both suspense and horror novels popping up. A sign playing with the idea of a syllabus or dreading the next semester would draw in readers along with the face outs.
If you do want to use true crime, select books which also focus on the victims and their lives. Boys Enter the House : The Victims of John Wayne Gacy and The Lives They Left Behind by David Nelson is not about Gacy but about many of his victims and the lives of gay men in 1970’s Chicago. Last Call : A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green focuses on the victims of a killer who preyed upon gay men in New York City in the 80’s and 90’s. I’ll Be Gone In The Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara is almost a classic in the genre now. McNamara’s book focused on the victims and crimes of the then-unknown Golden State Killer. Finally, Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker retells the lives and deaths of five women who were the victims of the Long Island Serial Killer and the families they left behind.
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