Sleepy and postcard-perfect, Riverton Falls is the quintessential New England town where everyone knows everyone else’s business. It’s where lifelong nomad Celeste Fortune has chosen to put down roots, though at the steep cost of her personal relationships. When she tries to wrestle herself free from the manipulative spell of her dream therapist to salvage her engagement, scandal and murder send shockwaves through the cozy streets. Celeste, at its epicenter, embarks on a race against time to clear her name while the bodies pile up. With her friend Gloria’s help, the two women work to unravel decades of cult influence destroying Riverton Falls before the real killer makes them their next target.
A DREAM TO DIE FOR stays true to the hallmarks of a classic murder mystery, yet offers a unique story that seamlessly blends in fantasy and science fiction. This merging of what’s real and what isn’t quite real turns the narrative into an immersive experience. It fits the theme perfectly, with the central questions hanging in the balance: What if your dreams aren’t safe anymore? What if they can be captured and sold for someone else’s profit? Beyond virtual reality and prophetic dreams, Ritz offers a world where the danger is frighteningly close. It could happen anywhere, even in tiny towns like Riverton Falls.
Celeste, the plucky, flawed heroine, becomes unrecognizable after years of manipulation from Larry, a man who uses the guise of a therapist to lead a cult of Dreamers. He’s at the center of the tangled web she has to unravel; his influence so powerful that he has a flock of devoted followers who treat him like a god and who surrender their dreams to him. The narrative does an excellent job of centering Celeste, Gloria, and other women who’ve been gaslit and abused by his so-called therapy. There’s a strong thread of female friendship and empowerment at the core of the story, where Celeste regains her agency, where other women who’ve been victimized get control of their lives in different ways.
The overall mystery is wrapped up in prose that’s deeply enjoyable to read, at turns poetic and humorous. The Vermont town of Riverton Falls, caught between the chill of fading autumn and approaching winter, comes alive on the pages. While A DREAM TO DIE FOR has a slow start, the momentum quickly builds, thrilling at each twist of this sometimes bizarre plot. And the novel is populated with a cast of extra quirky, unforgettable characters, who feel just as real as the danger that creeps on the edge of town.
In A DREAM TO DIE FOR, a uniquely imaginative debut, author Susan Z. Ritz delivers a wild psychological mystery brimming with intrigue, humor, and female empowerment.
~Jessica Thomas for IndieReader