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Village Books
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Dreams and Illusions by Rebecca Olmstead is a delicate interplay of mysteries balanced on an emotional undercurrent, exploring the immutable ebb and flow of life to find resilience in the shadow of misfortunes.
In the bustling town of Whitman, Gabrielle co-owns the boutique Belle Femme with her best friend, Kate. Radiating the tranquil aura of an empowered business owner, Gabrielle is a caring woman, but burdened with a secret she hides from everyone. Gabrielle is blessed—or perhaps cursed—with prophetic dreams.
Almost as if they are a glimpse into the future, Gabrielle wrestles with dreams that foretell an ominous fate. Soon she is confronted with a series of distressing events that thrust her into a mystery.
Suddenly, terrible news of her husband’s untimely death destroys Gabrielle’s world of normalcy.
The grief of losing a loving partner soon intersects with fear, as another disturbing dream plagues Gabrielle. Her sister, Tina, is being held in custody, charged with theft and the murder of Mrs. Winnifred Everette, a wealthy elderly lady.
Gabrielle’s absolute trust in the innocence of her sister falters when Tina emerges as the sole beneficiary of Mrs. Everette’s eighteen-million-dollar fortune.
Gabrielle sets out to investigate the truth behind the murder. In a twist of fate, the buried secrets of the victim herself are revealed through the unravelling mystery—secrets that hold the key to a deep connection between the murder and Gabrielle’s fragile bond with her sister.
Gabrielle emerges as a woman of many layers, presenting the human experience as a complicated experience of duality. She becomes the epitome of strength in the throes of painful upheaval, yet falls into inevitable vulnerability that comes with the unforeseen demise of a loved one and the accusations entangling her sister. Similarly, the forces of hope and despair, love and loss juxtapose in Gabrielle’s personal life, inviting readers to empathize deeply with her efforts to hold herself up long enough to solve this mystery.
Rebecca Olmstead crafts a rich interplay between foreshadowing and psychological symbolism.
She achieves this through Gabrielle’s premonitions, which illuminate much more than just subconscious fears and spooky occurrences. Each unsettling experience, such as the dream of eerie laughter, indicates a troubling revelation while symbolizing Gabrielle’s anxieties and inner turmoil. Olmstead’s vivid descriptions of emotion and action pull readers into these troubling visions.
The story maintains a balanced rhythm of nail-biting action and calm character development.
As the reader accompanies Gabrielle along her investigations into the murder mystery, they also connect with her emotional journey through personal reflections and conversations.
Dreams and Illusions speaks of a woman who transcends the transient nature of suffering and builds on the quote by Aristotle, “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”
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