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Writing psychological thrillers is like falling under a spell that won’t be broken until I get the truth down on the page. Glory days, unbreakable friendships, all-night parties and a belief that the best in life is ahead of you. Set against the backdrop of an elite southern university, this engrossing suspense novel takes readers into the dark secrets of a picture-perfect friend group, exploring the complex dynamics that exist between individuals who have spent their formative years together. I cannot wait to discuss this one with more readers, and I believe it will be in my Top Ten Reads of 2021 wrap-up as well.
They are all in for a big shock when they discover that the reunion is also the opportunity someone has been waiting for- a chance to find out who murdered Heather and get justice once and for all. 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. Perfect for fans of dark academia, the well-drawn characters will remind many of their own college days.After my pre-writing, I wrote an extremely meticulous outline, chapter by chapter, where I color-coded the different storylines so I could literally visualize the plots weaving together. At a prestigious college- a group of very close friends, ‘dubbed the East House Seven’ lose one of their own when a young woman named Heather is murdered in cold blood. When I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about it, and felt equally invested in the character back stories and daily interactions as I was in Heather's death. This book kept us up reading late at night, and is perfect for those looking for a heart racing thriller!
However, readers won’t fully understand exactly what the story’s central mystery is, or what exactly is at stake for the book’s characters, until a shift in the story occurs that sets our characters on a new—and much more dangerous—path. Like being on the set of the Bachelor, only someone has died, and we have 7 eliminations until the murderer is revealed. i like ashley winstead but maybe i need to only read her romance novels because what the fuck was that?In the "now," they're back at college, celebrating Homecoming ten years after graduation--or so they think. I think the fact that we can recognize a range of possibilities within ourselves and within one another is the reason we find storytelling so compelling. Most of her former group from the East House Seven would be there, save two: Heather who was dead, and Jack who was accused of killing her just prior to graduation.
In addition to my love/hate relationship with the characters, I was incredibly impressed by how atmospheric this novel was. The plot twists and turns, murder suspects revealing and discarding themselves one by one in an angst-filled series of recollections. For example, Jessica feels very successful in her consulting career, while knowing that she failed all her specific post-graduate goals. By the time I started writing In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, it was almost like they were friends whose stories I’d absorbed. I tend to become consumed by ideas or goals; I expect a lot from myself, and I’m very impatient about next steps, achievements.So much time was wasted on trivial passages that were totally unnecessary and certainly did not enhance the story. In a nutshell, this is about a college reunion that takes a rather dark and twisted turn as a group of six friends are forced to reckon with their involvement in, and contribution to, the now 10-year-old unsolved murder of one of their own…talk about suspense at its absolute best! Jess is arresting, both in her clear, lyrical voice and the way she wants the same things so many of us want, even if we're afraid to admit it to ourselves. Ten years ago, everything fell apart, including the dreams Jessica worked for her whole life and her relationship with the one person she wasn’t supposed to love.
I found everything I crave in a thriller (multiple POV, two timelines and a clever plot) AND the characters were well-developped. Told in racing dual timelines, with a dark campus setting and a darker look at friendship, love, obsession, and ambition, IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE is an addictive, propulsive read you won't be able to put down. Unlike Jessica, I’ve worked hard to accept that failure is normal, that there’s no one right way to be, and that if I tell myself I’m successful, poof! Walking across the college campus, having fun with your friends, falling in love, making mistakes, no responsibility. Heather’s brother now works at Duquette and he finds a way to get the remaining “friends” together to help him solve what the authorities have given up on.
The past fills us in on the present cast and we get a good feel for what has shaped them and who they really are.
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