Hannah’s dreams and eerie ghostly visions

A recurring theme in the Hannah Walker Mystery Series is Hannah’s dreams. From the very first book she is plagued by relentless premonition dreams that feel unnervingly real; when she wakes she is often terrified, her heart pounding and her breath coming fast. How and why does Hannah see these eerie, ghostlike figures? The explanation traces back to the time she developed an obsession with solving a murder and emulating Sherlock Holmes—an obsession that opened a door to visions and possibilities she could never have anticipated. These haunting images can be the spirits of those who died at the college, strangers she has never met, or, on the most troubling nights, the inscrutable hooded figure who keeps returning, silent and watching. At times Hannah is alone in her room, with Rafael next door. Suddenly she hears someone come in and it is the hooded figure. Then, a victim from the college murders sits by her bedside. Hannah questions why they are there, and they tell Hannah….

“Your problem was always being where you shouldn’t be. Listening to the wrong people. On the contrary, had you devoted yourself to writing, you would have saved yourself a lifetime of pain. There were times, in which I thought you were going to be able to be happy. But instead, you buried the last piece of happiness you ever had. And the worst part of all? You were never able to be faithful to anything or anyone. Not even yourself.”

What do the dreams mean? Essentially, they hinge on the idea that if Hannah had committed herself fully to study and writing, none of this would have occurred. They also comment on the double standards woven through the series—an aspect only readers of my books will truly grasp. These dreams will continue in the 5th and 6th book respectively.