CW: murder, physical violence, sexual assault, suicide, homophobia, drug use and overdosing

I originally saw @cammreads on Instagram review In My Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead, and it sounded really good so I put it on hold at my public library. I was finally able to read it this past week and loved it! I’m usually very picky with my thrillers but ended up giving this one ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The story follows a group of college friends who were thick as thieves. They did everything together while in school, until their senior year, when one of them was murdered in their dorm. Now, 10 years later, they’re reuniting for homecoming, but someone is hiding a secret as to who the real killer truly was.

Throughout this book we get dual timelines, with most of the story told from Jessica’s perspective. In the later half there are other POVs as well. Jessica wants to be anything but ordinary; she wants to be perfect, and it drives her to do unspeakable things. However, she’s not the only one hiding events from her past.

The writing in this book was truly incredible. I read the whole thing in only a few sittings and couldn’t put it down. It has so many twists and turns, a dark academia setting, some romance, explores toxic masculinity, and looks at what extremes people are willing to go to in order to prove themselves to others and get what they want for themselves.

I highly recommend In My Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead, and would love to chat to others who have read it!