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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. But there’s more at stake than the delicious envy of her peers—not everyone is ready to move on. Not everyone can let Heather’s murder go unsolved. In fact, someone has orchestrated the whole weekend to trap the real killer. As the weekend unfolds and they get closer to the truth, the group finds there was more than murder hidden amongst them on campus. In My Dreams I Hold a Knife is Winstead’s debut book. She followed that with The Last Housewife (2022) It looks like she’s also publishing romance, including Fool Me Once (2022). I guess she likes balancing the light with the dark when it comes to writing. And I easily connected with her because even though you hate your, you wish to grab her shoulders to shake some sense into her: you cannot help yourself for being sorry for her as well. Because of her wasted childhood, her warped moral compass, she cannot see what her true purpose and her father’s entire life goals replace her own dreams.
I devoted a lot of time to imagining who each character was and how they felt about each other and themselves, so I felt like I knew my characters inside out. 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. As the story—which alternates between past and present and is narrated at one point by many of the friends—unfolds, secrets will be revealed, grudges will be unearthed, and old scars will be reopened. Those carefree days of college, where they felt on top of the world, were also some of the worst days for some of them. 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. Shelf Awareness “A complex and deftly crafted psychological thriller of a mystery novel, "In My Dreams I Hold A Knife" showcases author Ashley Winstead's remarkably impressive narrative driven storytelling style. Original, compelling, cogent, "In My Dreams I Hold A Knife" is highly recommended.” When all your characters have secrets, how do you get to know them? Did you have their failures and alibis mapped out before you began writing, or did you figure out their roles as you went?Courtney thinks disdainfully that the East House Seven are all so obsessed with each other that they’re practically in love. How does that level of friendship develop throughout the book? Is it healthy? I studied myself the way I’d done my whole life, searching for what others saw when they looked at me….I could never tell which story was right - Exceptional Jessica, or Mediocre Jessica. My life was a narrative I couldn’t parse, full of conflicting evidence.” Plain jane Jessica Miller always felt like an outsider in their group, not good enough. Even though she dated one of the most popular guys at school, she felt like a fake. Now she is an Upper East Side girl named partner at one of the most sought after positions at a consulting company in NYC. She can't wait for reunion day...to show them all what she has made of herself....no matter what it took...she made it to the top...did the others?
Once the characters began working to solve the mystery, I enjoyed this book very much. Winstead’s pacing and storytelling are exceptionally good as she brings in many important social issues into the story, always in appropriate and respectful ways. My only struggle was with the first few chapters as we are getting to know the characters. Being about 20 years older than these characters, I found it very difficult to care about the things that they cared about and found it incredibly difficult to relate to them at first. 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. His efforts get the group to start spilling secrets (both their own and each other’s) as they try to put the pieces together and find out what really happened to Heather that night. The best thing I discovered in college was that I had access to free counseling. (This is true of grad school, too.) What a gift. Talking to someone else about how you’re feeling is healing.
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Part murder mystery, part coming of age, these flawed (and somewhat unlikable characters) will challenge you in the best way possible, and perhaps convince you to feel for them just a bit by the end? 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. Highly recommended to other thriller readers who may be feeling jaded towards the genre like I was.
What consequences would you expect for Dr. Garvey when his affairs came to light? How does tenure work against students in cases like Garvey’s? I also listened to this playlist of dark academia music while I read the book and it was LIFE CHANGING: https://youtu.be/uQpmIm4I1dwPDF / EPUB File Name: In_My_Dreams_I_Hold_a_Knife_A_Novel_-_Ashley_Winstead.pdf, In_My_Dreams_I_Hold_a_Knife_A_Novel_-_Ashley_Winstead.epub I already talked enough. Giving my five blazing stars! I truly more books of the author. She did amazing job! They met the first week of college and they promised to be friends forever. To do something great with their wild and precious lives. Booklist “[An] edge-of-your-seat academic thriller...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. Perfect for fans of dark academia, the well-drawn characters will remind many of their own college days. In My Dreams I Hold a Knife is a twisty, literary thriller not to be missed.” This is absolutely genius, outstandingly entertaining, extremely heart pounding, absolutely better mash up of Breakfast Club and Pretty Little Liars than “one of us is lying” installment!
A college reunion at the prestigious Duquette University...home of the infamous East House Seven...a tight little knit group that ruled the halls, ten years ago. They were the definition of cool, everyone wanted to be them....Oh how the mighty have fallen...when one of them is found brutally murdered in their dorm and one of them is accused...😳 Deeply drawn characters and masterful storytelling come together to create an addictive and riveting psychological thriller. Put this one at the very top of your 2021 reading list.”
A Conversation with Ashley Winstead
But not everyone is ready to move on. Someone wants to trap the real killer and make the guilty pay.
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