In My Dreams I Hold a Knife: TikTok made me buy it! The breakout dark academia thriller everyone's talking about

Product Information

At its heart, Winstead's novel examines what it means to covet the lives of others, no matter the cost. 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.

When one of the girls in her tight group of 7 friends was brutally murdered, the blame was immediately placed on her boyfriend. Those carefree days of college, where they felt on top of the world, were also some of the worst days for some of them. I found all of the characters in this book very unlikable, however, this didn’t stop me from rapidly reading the story, suspecting everyone of being guilty at one point or another. It was impossible to put down and I thoroughly enjoyed the dual timelines and different points of view.Ashley Winstead's mordant debut novel is the latest entry in the budding subgenre of "dark academia," where the crime narrative takes place on a college campus. Alternating between flashback chapters that take place during Jess’ time in college in the lead-up to Heather’s murder, and present-day chapters that follow the increasingly sinister events of reunion weekend, IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE weaves an immersive tale of friendship, betrayal, love, and deadly obsession. The pacing is quick, but still gives the reader plenty of insights into the insecurities of the characters and how those same insecurities still haunt them, as their carefully hidden secrets, are brutally exposed one by one.

The plot is divided between the college years of six friends and then ten years later around the time of their college reunion. I love that Jess is a very morally gray character and she’s super flawed and hard to root for at times, it made her such an interesting protagonist. The different timelines and perspectives impressively illustrated exactly why these characters were as 'effed up' as they were, making the characters even that much more authentic! Over my years as a crime reader, I’ve found myself drawn over and over again to characters who are often described as “unlikeable”—characters who embody less-than-desirable traits that we’d all probably rather not admit we can sometimes relate to.

In our story’s past timeline, readers meet Jess as a newcomer to Duquette, as she navigates her new life surrounded by wealth and status—two things she herself has never had. Fans of books such as The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl will find this book captivating, as will anyone who enjoys being led down a winding, frightening path.

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. I also was actually a huge fan of the love triangle that was happening 😅 it’s been a while since I’ve read an interesting love triangle. Thank you to Harper Collins Canada, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. For heaven's sake, there are millions of choices for names out there, why oh why name characters with nearly the same names? If there was one element of IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE that perhaps didn’t work quite as well for me, it was the book’s pacing, particularly in the book’s first third.

this story thrillingly captures those exact imperfections the untouchable people desperately try to hide.

Taut and atmospheric, with scenes from Jessica's childhood and college years interposed with the dramatic events of the present day, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife will keep readers guessing until the very last moment. A fast-paced thriller set in a tense academic setting, In My Dreams I Hold A Knife is a page-turning mystery that follows a set of untrustworthy characters who could all be to blame.Twisty and compulsively readable, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife will have you turning pages late into the night, not just to figure out who murdered beloved Heather Shelby, but to see whether friendships forged under fire can ever be resurrected again. The combination of riveting characters, roller coaster plot twists and vivid campus setting made for quite the impressive read!