A review by takarakei
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’m not a big thriller reader, but I was in the mood for one and this one came recommended by a friend. It’s told in two time periods: the past when this group of friends is in college, and about 10 years later they return for a class reunion, but the premise is that when they were in college one of the friends was murdered and the case was never solved.

I liked that it’s dark academia (adjacent maybe) because the main character Jessica’s motivations are about doing well in school, being in the best sorority, being popular etc - it’s more like she is part of this elite group and so puts a lot of pressure on herself to fit in and do well. I felt like her characterization was the best developed, the backstory of her father’s struggles really informs Jessica’s actions throughout the book. "Parents can really f up their kids" is what I kept thinking 💀

I found a few of the other people in her friend group to be a little hard to differentiate - maybe that’s cause I did audio, but the girls especially felt interchangeable (maybe that’s intentional?). Also like no one in the book is a good person, so if you like reading about morally gray characters you might be into this too.

Overall I enjoyed this! Would recommend

Expand filter menu Content Warnings