A Dream to Die For

At the outset of Ritz’s uninspired debut, weak-willed bartender Celeste Fortune attends her usual session with dream therapist Larry Blatsky, determined to end their relationship. Instead, the manipulative Larry insists that she break up with her fiancé, demands her engagement ring, and then kicks her out of his office after she relates a disturbing dream. Larry has become a cult leader of sorts in Riverton Falls, Vt. Patients of his known as the Dreamers claim to share a collective unconscious, the Dreamscape, in which members dream each other’s dreams. When Celeste later returns to Larry’s office to get her ring back, she finds him near death, his skull crushed by his healing crystal. His computer, which contains a lot of personal information on Riverton Falls residents, is missing. Celeste, the logical suspect in Larry’s murder, seeks to clear her name by identifying the real killer. Readers will struggle to root for Celeste, who’s prone to hysterics, makes dumb choices, and refuses to listen to the advice of her attorney. Hopefully, Ritz will do better next time. (July)