I had been looking for ‘In My Dreams I Hold a Knife’ ever since I first heard about it but I only recently got my hands on a copy. The book, I believe, lives up to the hype it received on Good Reads and BookTube—it has a 3.91 rating on Good Reads and so many BookTubers rave about it, calling it one of their best reads of 2021. It has suspense, intrigue, and drama, and the story unfolds beautifully, creating a tense environment you can’t (or don’t want to) escape. About six friends who meet during a college reunion 10 years after graduation, the narrative of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife alternates between the past and the present, which makes the story even more compelling. Winstead’s debut novel is an engrossing tale of love, lust, obsession, and murder, set against a fascinating backdrop of an elite university. 10 years ago, Jessica Miller and her friends, a group known as the ‘East House Seven’, suffered a horrific tragedy when one of their own was brutally murdered in her dorm room. Heather Shelby was stabbed to death while she was sleeping. The incident brought some of them closer but also tore others apart. Now, Jessica is returning to Duquette University and she wants to prove to her classmates that despite what happened, she has managed to do well in life. But Heather’s brother is determined to figure out what happened to his sister and has plans of his own for Jessica and her friends.

I found the characters to be interesting, albeit a bit whiny and thus unlikable. Jessica feels like a central character but the others don’t seem like side characters either. Everyone seems integral to the story. It’s also interesting to see the story unfold from different perspectives. For a while, you walk in someone else’s shoes, and see things through someone else’s eyes and it’s fascinating. The good thing about the plot is that you can’t make up your mind about what might have happened. Just when you think things must have gone a certain way, something happens to make you doubt your thoughts.

You will either love or hate ‘In My Dreams I Hold a Knife’ depending on what you are looking for or want from a story. If you are just looking for some suspense-filled time, you are in for a treat. But if a relatable story is what you want when you pick up a book, this might not be for you. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/50485649 Three and a half stars In My Dreams I Hold a Knife Ashley Winstead Published: 2021 Publisher: Source Books Pages: 326, Paperback