Book about a murder and a toxic friend group, anyone?? This book overflowed with LOTS of relationship drama that had to be unraveled to solve the crime. Check out my review of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife!
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead. Published on August 3, 2021 by Sourcebooks.
Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
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Content warning: characters unknowingly drugged, plus sexual harassment and abuse.
Synopsis: Ten years after graduation, Jessica Miller has planned her triumphant return to elite Duquette University. She’s ready, 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. They won’t remember the girl she was when she left campus, back when Heather’s murder fractured everything, including the tight bond linking the six friends she’d been closest to since freshman year.
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 not everyone is ready to move on. Someone wants to trap the real killer and make the guilty pay.
When the six friends reunite, 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.
What Else Has Ashley Winstead Written?
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.
Review of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife
Friend Group Murder, Anyone?
I’m usually a fan of books in which a group of friends covers up a murder, so I was excited to read this.
My take?
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife was very entertaining but with extremely unlikable characters and more drama than plot.
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife was definitely entertaining. I enjoyed trying to figure out which of these “friends” was a murderer. If you’re okay with very unlikable characters and enjoy books and shows with a lot of interpersonal drama, this is the book for you!
In In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, one member of a friend group was murdered ten years ago. When the group returns for their ten year college reunion, the brother of the murder victim confronts them, insisting that one of them did it (Totally plausible, especially the women, because they were that mean.)
The book had a past/present narrative that usually focused on main character Jessica, but sometimes included the POVs of other characters.
The core “friend” group consisted of three girls: Heather, Jessica, and Caro, and four guys: Jack, Frankie, Coop and Mint. The group called themselves “the seven,” but by the reunion, Courtney had snuck her way in there, much to the annoyance of Jessica.
I buddy read this with a friend and we discussed our opinions of Jessica. At first we thought that she was annoying, but decided, no, she was completely insufferable.
She whined all the time that NO ONE paid attention to her and that she felt “invisible.” Meanwhile, she seemed pretty visible in the romance department. She’d dated one guy in the group, while cheating on him with another.
When it came to her female friends, Jessica was petty, jealous, and vindictive. She secretly despised Heather and Courtney. The explanation for this was backstory about Jessica’s father going to Harvard and never fulfilling his potential, which made her have to try to fulfill his dreams. Poor Jess!
The gender stereotypes in this felt a little dated to me. The women were catty, shallow, and jealous, competing fiercely over looks, clothes, guys, and which sorority was the best.
Meanwhile, all the guys got to be hot and smoldering on the outside, yet secretly sensitive within. That’s a bit unfair, but okay. The other major character was the brother of the murder victim. He knew the case from front to back, and crashed this happy little friend reunion, pointing his finger at just about everyone.
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife definitely offered more drama than plot. Or rather, the friend and relationship drama was the entire plot.
What I’d be hoping was a twist was usually just a revelation that one of the friends cheated on another one with someone else in the group! As they say: with friends like this, who needs enemies?
What are Books Like In My Dreams I Hold a Knife?
You can check out my post on Dark Academia to find more books with friend group murder, including The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Also check out The It Girl by Ruth Ware, which features a group of friends and a murder in their college days.
This book also reminded me a little of Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan and a LOT like The Girls Are So Nice Here by Laurie Flynn, which also features mean girls at a college reunion.
Have you read In My Dreams I Hold a Knife? Talk to me (and feel free to disagree with me) in the comments!
“What I’d be hoping was a twist was usually just a revelation that one of the friends cheated on another one with someone else in the group!”
😂 For real. That’s why I pretty much never read thrillers these days – all the drama. I want murderous stuff, not catty females and backstabbing and cheating!
That sounds interesting. Thanks for the great review.
This reminds me too of a book I just recently read- The Girls Are All So Nice here. I liked it- didn’t think it was excellent but it was good- but thr similarities are there. Unlikable characters too haha. At any rate glad you enjoyed this one even with the issues.
YES it is very similar to that. I meant to point that out in my review and forgot.
I just dnf’d it. Glad there are sites out there with spoilers so I could learn who the—oooooh—murderer was. I found it entirely tedious. And, as you pointed out, the characters were incredibly one-note stereotypes. I didn’t really get to know any of them and, honestly, I didn’t want to. Sorry to be so harsh but yeah, not the best.
Yes, I don’t think I did a spoiler post on this one. She has a new book out and I’m going to try it, but this one was a bit of a letdown…
I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way about this book. It seems everyone is raving and I don’t understand. While listening to the audiobook I was cringing through the grocery store at some of the dialogue. “I was definitely the best looking girl in the place.” BARF! These characters were so unlikeable! It’s not dark academia, it’s catty killer delta phi! Like being on the set of the Bachelor, only someone has died, and we have 7 eliminations until the murderer is revealed. None of these characters were interesting to me. I wanted to skip to the end but I’m reading it for a book club and I didn’t want to be unprepared for the discussion.
Always happy to have someone agree with me. But a lot of people liked it, so … hope your book club has a good discussion. I like hearing different opinions!