This book is not that bad, but it doesn't give me the thrills I was looking for in a Mystery/Thriller book. This book fell flat to me, but this book do bring some curiosity in me of how it ends. This book is overall flat with a slow pace at the start (I do wish this book brings the thrills more often). I will give this book 3⭐. If you love a slow-paced mystery/thriller genre books, I think you can give this a try. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It started a little "YA" for me, with all of Jessica's self-doubt and need to upstage everyone at her 10-reunion, but the pace picked up once she actually arrived at the reunion and other characters were introduced. I even found myself rooting for Jessica, even though she wasn't at all likeable and clearly crazy!

A great summer read, it really held my interest -- there were a lot of twisted and damaged characters, everyone was a suspect and I didn't see it coming right up to the end!

It did make me a little nervous thinking about sending my own son off to university though...yikes!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

This one just really WORKED for me. At their ten year college reunion, Jessica and the rest of the East House Seven- those who can be there, anyways- are forced to confront the reality that one of them might be responsible for the murder of another. The book reveals how many secrets this once inseparable group had from each other. This is an absolute page turner that I completely devoured.

I could not put this book down so it deserves nothing short of 5 stars for that alone.
My favorite thing about this is how flawed and imperfect the characters are.
I literally could not figure out the killer because every single person seemed responsible in some way which I guess was the point of the story 🙃
Ok critiques are obviously the title because the weapon was a pair of scissors so idk why the knife is mentioned because it itches me wrong.
All the infidelity like is there not one faithful friend or lover in this whole damn school ?
Also, Coop? He can fuxk all the way off.

This book tells the story of friends at their 10 year college reunion where they are confronted with the past. I’ve mentioned before, I love a thriller with a college setting. This one reminded me so much of my own university - southern with a strong Greek life presence.

This book was otherwise okay. I think the main character could have been developed better. The twist was pretty predictable. I do think this would be a great thriller for someone just venturing into the genre.

It comes out THIS TUESDAY 8/3.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A thrilling and suspenseful murder mystery that explores how we reconcile who we pretend to be, who we want to be, and who we truly are.

10 years ago at Duquette University, Jessica Miller's close-knit group of friends was shattered by a brutal murder. When their friend Heather is found stabbed to death in her dorm, her boyfriend Jack is immediately accused of the murder. Now, Jessica and the remaining members of the group have returned to Duquette for Homecoming. It's not until they're reunited on their old stomping grounds that it becomes clear that Jack may be innocent. And if Jack is innocent, that means a killer is hiding among them.

I absolutely loved this book. At the risk of sounding cliched, I could not put it down. The story is fast-paced without rushing too quickly to the conclusion. Secrets come out one by one, building on each other, fleshing out the story of what really happened to Heather that night. This is a story that doesn't give too much away too quickly. The twists make sense and aren't just there for shock value. The ending pulls everything together beautifully.

I also really enjoyed the overarching exploration of identity. What it does mean to be a success or a failure? Are we defined by our best qualities or our worst? What masks do we put on? And how many of us are monsters hiding behind those masks? The narrative switches between the present and the past giving us a full view of how Jessica and the other characters became the people they are. Or the people they pretend to be.

If you like murder mysteries, I can't recommend this highly enough. It has the vibe of a classic locked room mystery. The entire mystery unravels over the course of several days and the characters are essentially stuck together, tormented by the knowledge that one of them might be a murderer. Accusations are thrown, loyalties shift, and no one is exempt from suspicion. A new favorite for me.

A solid dark academia entry and a propulsive read perfect for summer. I'm always fascinated by stories of friend groups full of people who most certainly should no longer be friends, but are bound by a dark secret from the past. The secret here revolves around the night one of the friends was murdered in college and everyone seems to be a suspect. I did figure out who did it before the end, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment!

𝘛𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦: In My Dreams I Hold A Knife
𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳: Ashley Winstead
𝘕𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘖𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴: 341(arc)
𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦: Psychological Thriller
𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦: 08/03/2021
𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: 📕📕📕📕📕(5 stars)

This is a story of 7 college friends, as unique in their nature as inseparable, and nothing can break their friendship apart – or so it seems. Until one fateful night, one of them is murdered, and one among the remaining 6 friends are the suspect.
The story happens in two timelines, one in the college life, another 10 years after at a glamorous reunion, where the brother of the deceased is reluctant to let go of the investigation till, he uncovers the entire truth.
The storyline may seem common to you, but what makes it an utterly bone chilling, nerve wrecking, haunting piece of a novel is the character development – which is mind blowing, honest and deeply layered. The narcissism, ambition, jealousy, desire, rage in each character has been picked up and meticulously covered in the story – which, actually made it an unputdownable psychological thriller.
You would love this book if dark academia and psycho thrillers are your thing. I give this book a 5 out of 5-star rating.

This book is absolutely amazing! This cast of characters (the East House Seven) were so well crafted and will stick with me for a loooong time. I was immediately drawn into this story and stayed 100% captivated throughout the entire book. This is a great who-dun-it mystery that will keep you turning the pages. It was so hard to put it down (kept me up way past my bedtime) and I did not see that ending coming! Easy five stars for me!

I just finished In My Dreams I Hold A Knife! Once I got into this book I couldn’t put it down! I work at a public library and told everyone that they needed to read this book when it comes out. I know that I’ve said this before but this is the best thriller book I have read this year!! I hope that the author has more like this coming out soon. Everyone has their own dirty little secrets and they slowly unfold! Nobody seems what they are. I loved that this group of college kids found each other and stayed good friends throughout college. I I Ioved that when Eric was trying to figure out who the killer that the chapter was told by that person point of view of how they saw the events. The ending was just brilliant with Jess showing us how and why she didn’t get help for Heather. It was a “happy ending” with a twist. I will definitely recommend this book to my book club. Already have it on order for our library to purchase a copy!

A book destined for the best seller list.So tense so chilling picked it up could not put down.The writing kept me turning the pages tense till the last page.#netgalley #sourcebooks

In My Dreams I hold a Knife started off a bit slow. And I didn't have much empathy for any of the characters. I also kept getting Courtney and Heather confused. But once I got about half way through, it shot out of the gate. I am still thinking about it so I am going to give it four stars.

Ten years ago, something horrible happened at Duquette University. A senior girl, Heather, was murdered. Heather was part of the East House Seven -- a group of freshmen who were inseparable and knew everything about each other (or so they thought.) The group was composed of Heather, Caro, Jessica, Mint, Coop, Jack, and Frankie. Now at Duquette's Homecoming and 10-year reunion, someone is determined to get to the bottom of the murder. What happened the night of Heather's murder? What secrets will be uncovered? Who stabbed her 17 times? Told from Jessica's point of view the book explores her insecurities and dives into her background -- her need to be seen as the best. Her plan is to wow everyone at Homecoming and show them how "perfect" she is.

I absolutely devoured this book; I loved the interconnected relationships between the 7 friends -- they're all twined with each other whether as lovers, enemies, or friends. Each one had different motives for seeing Heather dead, and this was reminiscent of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express." I enjoyed the contrasting core relationships. This book was a very propulsive read -- I, literally, could not put it down!

A must read! A group of college students, friendship, love and ‘no secrets’. Each one with a secret and a reunion to bring them together again to solve the murder of one of their group. Very intense, a great who done it with a twist!

Six friends.
One college reunion.
One unsolved murder.

Now if that's not a description that's going to make my dark academia-loving heart read a book, then I don't know what is. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an ARC! This book publishes August 3rd.

I'm not going to give a plot summary because I think it's best to go into this one blind, but I'll say that this is one of the best thrillers I've read recently (and I read a lot of thrillers). Warning: these characters are not particularly likeable - they are sorority sisters and fraternity bros behaving badly. I loved how Winstead gave everyone a good reason to be a killer and revealed their secrets at perfectly planned times (both in the past and reunion timelines).

When you think you know what's happening, you don't know what's happening. I read this one in two sittings and stayed up late to finish it - the mark of a good thriller.

If you like dark academia, dual timelines, or friends with lots of secrets, definitely check this one out!

I knew from the moment I read the title that I HAD to read this book. In My Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead was every bit as good as I knew it would be, especially the second half of the book which I could not put down.
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The short synopsis is this- "A college reunion turns dark and deadly in this chilling and propulsive suspense novel about six friends, one unsolved murder, and the dark secrets they’ve been hiding from each other—and themselves—for a decade."
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Each person has a reason for hating Heather and we see how everyone's lives might be easier if she were gone. But a violent murder?
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I don't give out five stars very often on Goodreads but this novel earned every one of them!
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Smartly written and tightly paced, its a MUST READ.
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I can't wait to read what Ashley writes next.
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You can request this book via Edelweiss or Netgalley if you are a book reviewer,
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Have you ever wanted to read a book because the title was so fantastic?
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What an interesting, twist filled debut thriller! Set in a small university, the book alternates between present time during a class reunion and ten years in the past. One of the group is murdered and one in the group got away with murder. This kept my attention and I just couldn’t stop reading. I can’t wait to read Ms. Winstead’s next book.

Honestly, this one just didn't do it for me.

I found the cast of characters insufferable and incredibly immature. I kept having to remind myself that they are meant to be in their thirties during the present timeline. The drama felt very high school and I wanted to skip almost every single scene that happened at the reunion. I honestly spent so much of this book confused as to what was going on - they basically spent the night wandering around the campus? And despite the fact that Eric supposedly had been researching this for 10 years and had some master plan, he really just spent the evening throwing random accusations?

I did enjoy the dark academia vibes, and I love a book where basically all of the characters are terrible people, but a lot of the twists didn't quite hit home. I also found the ending to be incredibly frustrating, it's like the author had two very different ideas of how it should end and then just cobbled them together.

TWs: murder, attempted suicide, suicide, drug abuse, disordered eating, grief, sexual assault, sexual abuse, domestic violence, homophobia, hate crimes, cheating, police.

Six college frenemies reunite at Homecoming a decade after their seventh friend was brutally murdered. Nonstop lying and betrayal and manic ambition and social striving and snotty sorority girl/dumb frat bro behavior. I hated all of these people and kind of wished they’d all just kill each other already. I can understand why other people have enjoyed this book, but I really struggled to get through it.

I was all over the place in choosing stars for this one. I started out hating the characters, then relating to them a bit, back to be disgusted with them, a little envious of them, etc. Finally decided the author is a master plotter and character developer and I didn’t have to like the characters to appreciate the story. Amazing job of building back stories for each and making them relevant to the plot. Suspense carried well throughout. The ending was especially genius!

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC to read and review.