IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE

SYNOPSIS

Six friends.

One college reunion.

One unsolved murder.

Ten years after graduation, Jessica Miller has planned her triumphant return to her southern, elite Duquette University, down to the envious whispers that are sure to follow in her wake. Everyone is going to see the girl she wants them to see—confident, beautiful, indifferent. Not the girl she was when she left campus, back when Heather Shelby's murder fractured everything, including the tight bond linking the six friends she'd been closest to since freshman year.

But not everyone is ready to move on. Not everyone left Duquette ten years ago, and not everyone can let Heather's murder go unsolved. Someone is determined to trap the real killer, to make the guilty pay. When the six friends are reunited, they will be forced to confront what happened that night—and the years' worth of secrets each of them would do anything to keep hidden.

Title: In my dreams I hold a knife

Author: Ashley Winstead

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Publication date: August 3, 2021

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When I first learnt about In my dreams I hold a knife months ago I was immediately drawn to the title and cover, even before I read what it was about. Then I read the synopsis and I knew I had to read it cause I love stories set in college. I was declined on NG for an eARC but the author kindly offered to reach out to her publicist to see if I could get an early copy and she sent me one! I was ecstatic! I just loved it. It is such a fantastic debut!

The East House Seven are back to their university for the 10 year college reunion, but now they’re only 5, cause 10 years ago during senior year one of them was murdered and another one accused of it and exonerated. With the case never closed someone is decided to force out the killer and reveal everyone’s secrets during their reunion.

The story is told in dual timelines and, in my opinion, it works like a well oiled machine. The author explores toxic relationships, the insecurities and expectations young people face while in college and the different ways they impact them. Sometimes with these kind of stories we find that only 2-3 characters are well developed while for the others we’re just given merely brushstrokes. That’s not the case here, each and every one of them is clearly distinctive, with their own voice, and I could feel like they were a group of real people, relating to so many of their experiences in college. I read somewhere about the author’s writing process, and I remember she said that previous to writing the story she wrote extensively about each character and their relationships with each other, and that clearly shows in the finished work.

The first third is more a presentation of the characters and the establishing of the setting. Once they’re all back in the reunion secrets and revelations in both lines won’t let you go until you’ve reached a very intense resolution, with surprises coming until the very end. That last revelation caught me completely unaware but looking back one realizes it fits perfectly with what we’ve been told all throughout the story.

Ashley Winstead perfectly conveys the dark side of college life, where ambition and obsession can make you crumble to pieces.

Binge worthy dark academia thriller called to be one the this summer thrillers that marks its author as one of the names to watch in the genre.

Thanks to Ashley Winstead, Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.