I started this book not sure how I felt about a fictionalised version of very real events. Especially as the stories are told in first person, which felt like the author putting words into people’s mouths. 

Upon finishing the book, I came to the conclusion that it should not have been written. The idea of the author to put more emphasis on the victims and to dispel the positive media spin around Bundy is not inherently a bad one. However, despite its aims, this book has made Bundy the topic of so much conversation again, without giving anything to the real victims and victims loved ones. If Bundy had stayed a silent character viewed from afar as he was for the bulk of the book, I think the author could have achieved a lot more without bringing more attention to him as a person. 

Unfortunately, Knoll made decisions which did sensationalise Bundy’s actions. The most egregious of these was to include Ruth’s abduction/murder. The rest of the book was either taken from documented events or were projections of the documented events onto ‘fake’ (more on this later) characters. However, the abduction being included felt very wrong. It put words into Bundy’s mouth, and in my opinion, it was distasteful to make up a victim’s final thoughts as they ‘went through’ what Bundy did to real people. The book would have been just as effective in getting its intended message across if that section had been completely left out, but it felt Knoll included it just for the shock factor and sensationalism. It put Bundy back at the centre of the narrative, rather than the victims. It was also a strange choice to include real words from Bundy at the end of the book, made all the weirder in the audiobook with a voice actor trying his god damn best to sound like Bundy. 

After reading reviews about this book, I made the discovery that Knoll did not completely make up her characters. The ‘fictionalised’ characters are in fact real victims. She used their ‘Bundy stories’ and just changed their names and backstories so she could write the book. That makes the book feel even worse to me, and amps up my distress at her putting words into real victim’s mouths. 

Aside from the Bundy stuff, there were other issues with this book. Even with different audiobook narrators for the two women, I still sometimes found myself getting confused by the two narratives and who was speaking, especially when they were talking about family topics (which I enjoyed far more than the Bundy stuff) rather than the case. I also got lost with the various time skips in Pamela’s sections. 

It really emphasises how women are often taken advantage of because they are worried about appearing kind/approachable so don’t say no, especially when they feel uncomfortable or vulnerable. I think that is a really important message, but a lot of the time it was put across in a very heavy-handed way that didn’t feel natural. 

The pacing was also a little off – it started off well, but then my interest/’enjoyment’ really ebbed and flowed throughout. 

At the end of the day, this wasn’t a terribly written book, but the author is making money off Bundy and his victims, which in my opinion is wrong and not any different from true crime (which I also have many problems with). I’m glad I didn’t spend my own money on it.