I was a bit skeptical at first because I am not a huge fan of the unreliable narrator; however this book proved me dead wrong. No pun intended

I'm afraid Camilla Sten missed the mark with her newest book, The Resting Place, her sophomore release after her debut adult thriller, The Lost Village, an international bestseller in 2021..
The Resting Place follows Eleanor, a young woman trying to recover from the grisly murder of her grandmother, Vivienne, a salty piece of work who probably should never have reproduced (but, hey, that's just my opinion). Eleanor; her boyfriend, Sebastian; her aunt, Veronika, and a mysterious lawyer decide to spend the weekend cataloguing the belongings in Vivienne's country estate, a place Eleanor never even knew existed. Adding to the mystery is the fact that Eleanor walked in on her grandmother's murderer but she can't describe the person because she has prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness. If the term sounds familiar, it might be because Alice Feeney's 2021 thriller novel, Rock, Paper, Scissors, also used it as a plot device. This was the first thing about this novel that rubbed me the wrong way. Just how many books are going to feature characters with this disorder? Is this the new popular ailment featured in thriller novels? There can't be that many people in the world with this issue, can there? Well, it seems there can be. A recent study suggests that as many as 1 in 50 people may have prosopagnosia. OK, I'll give this a pass, Camilla.
But, even forgetting the prosopagnosia plot device, the book just didn't resonate with me. Due to the limited number of characters introduced, the who-done-it aspect of the novel was quickly resolved (at least in my mind). Sure, there are lots of red herrings and plot twists but none of them thrilled me. And isn't that what a thriller is meant to do?
I also just couldn't get worked up about Vivienne's murder. Based on the flash backs and Eleanor's internal thought dialogue, someone should have murdered the old hag sooner, before she mentally damaged her daughters and granddaughter. I was rooting for the killer by the end of the book.
The only character I had any investment in was Veronika. Eleanor just annoyed me with her feelings about her grandmother's murder (celebrate, the witch is dead!) and her boyfriend, Sebastien, read like a spineless, two-dimensional character (which was kind of refreshing, in a way, because that's usually a role played by female secondary characters in thriller books).
In the end, I liked the book, it was entertaining, but it just didn't grab me, like a thriller and suspense novel should.

A murder witnessed by a woman who can't remember faces, an inherited estate filled with long kept secrets, and a storm trapping everyone in place! What could possibly go wrong?
Sten returns with a new novel filled to the brim with mysteries to solve and a setting that is chilly, but figuratively and literally.
Mysteries unfold in the past and the present across dual timelines giving ample time for both stories to be engaging and satisfying. I did not see the ending coming and I enjoyed the ride immensely.

I liked this book, but for some reason the entire time I was reading it I felt like I had already read this exact story before but I can’t quite put my finger on what other book follows this plot line so well that I saw all the twists coming.

I did like that Eleanor suffered from prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness so she is unable to recognize people’s faces, and instead needs to remember other characteristics about them. This did add an interesting twist to the story, but it also meant that the idea of an unknown killer felt almost like a cop out. The entire story revolves around Eleanor not being able to recognize anyone, because if she could, she would’ve known who her grandmother’s killer was as well as recognizing people when they were isolated at the estate. I think the face blindness aspect could’ve added such an interesting twist on this story, but instead, it just made things more convenient for the plot to even happen.

The pacing for this was very slow for a thriller, almost to the point where it wasn’t thrilling at all. In fact, I think that this could’ve ended up being a much shorter book because there really isn’t much that happens, and what does happen was pretty underwhelming.

This story is also split between the past and the present, which normally I enjoy in a thriller but for some reason this just felt a little bland. The portions of the book that are in the past are more of a family drama kind of story, while the present is a typical isolated house with a possible killer outside kind of thriller. Essentially, it wasn’t anything new or especially gripping as a thriller. It’s by no means written badly, in fact, I did very much enjoy the writing style! I’ve heard that he first book The Lost Village is very good, so I may give that a try and see if maybe my issue was just with this particular book.

I did like the atmosphere present when the plot was happening at the manor house, but while it took place in Sweden, I would not have been able to tell the difference if it had been set anywhere else in Europe. There were also a lot of elements to the characters and the setting that didn’t seem to really mean anything to the overall story, and I was left wondering why it was included, such a particular character being from another country but keeping in concealed.

Overall, this was an okay read, but I think if you’ve read a lot of thrillers, this one does a lot that other thrillers have already done and in some cases, have done better. I will definitely be trying the author’s other book, because I’ve seen a lot of people mention how great it is!

Super creepy, super foreboding, and just how I like my thrillers. This will have your skin crawling and you won’t want to put it down. The plot twist FANTASTIC and one of the best I’ve read in awhile. I do think the paranormal element means this book might not appeal to everyone and more a niche within the suspense/thriller crowd will really enjoy this.

I finished this book months ago and honestly don't remember much of it. I remember that I read it fast and found it "gripping" but now a few weeks/months later, nothing stands out. It's a good quick read but nothing out of the ordinary "suspense/thriller" genre.

This book immediately sucked me in, as soon as I started it I binged the whole book in one day. I highly recommend reading this book to anyone who likes mysteries. Having the main character not recognize people's faces and still seeing the crime was so amazing.

I received a free Advanced Reading Copy via NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review.
This book was very interesting. I didn’t fully understand what was going on until the last 5%. This was probably due to there being too many characters with similar V-starting names. Also, I wish we got a little more backstory on Anushka, we only see her progression and growth in glances but nothing more than that. Also, Eleanor, the protagonist, has prosopagnosia but it's not even necessary. The blurb made it seem like Eleanor’s prosopagnosia was going to have such a huge impact on the plot, but it just wasn’t done well at all. I truly think the author should have done more research on it so that she could incorporate it more seamlessly. It felt as if Eleanor’s prosopagnosia was brought up only when it was convenient.
Overall, this book was okay. It was entertaining but I hated how it took so long to understand the plot.

This book is told mainly from two points of view...Eleanor's voice in the present and Anushka's voice in the 1960ties. It is the story of multi-generations and about a secret that has been kept for about fifty years, through several deaths in the family. I thought that the first 50% of it was pretty slow, but then it started to get interesting. Most of it takes place at an old family summer house that Eleanor had never knew existed until after her Grandmother's death. Something there pulls at her, and although she is right in feeling that they are in danger there, she needs to follow through and find out exactly what went on. I found the family history to be interesting, but can not comment on it without some spoilers. Thanks NetGalley and McMilian publishers for letting me read it ahead of time.

First i want to thank #netgalley and #minotaurbooks for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

Honestly Camilla Sten has officially became an auto read author for me after loving two of her books back to back. This on was very different than The Lost Village but honestly I loved it so much as it sooo many of my favorite tropes in it (won’t go into details because no one likes spoilers). Honestly this book kept me engaged and the pacing was slightly on the slower side for my pace but just had enough twist to keep me engaged.

The book is written like her last one with a split perspective which at first I did not understand but HOLY COW does it all make sense in the end. THAT ENDING i audibly said “oh sh*t” several times at the end because i honestly did not see the twist coming at all. Overall very well written book and truly enjoyed reading it…i can’t wait to see what this author has in store next!

The Resting Place was intense from beginning until the end. This thriller was a little slower at times, but I think that was a good ploy on the authors part. The twists and turns didn't happen too soon which left me with wanting more and more as the story progressed.

Eleanor is from a long line of women full of secrets, one of which is the grandmother who raised her. When her grandmother is murdered, Eleanor finds out that the summer house of mysteries is left behind. Eleanor's grandmother was so secretive that no one in the family knew the house still existed.

When it's the to go through the assets of the house, Eleanor, her fiance, a random lawyer and her aunt show up at the house. After they begin going through the house and the family history, they realize there are so many secrets that no one knows what is real and what is fake when it comes to their family history.

Some secrets are meant to be kept, but only time will tell the truth. Thats what this story is all about and it's an intriguing, scary and intense ride to find out what really happened to Eleanor's mysterious family years ago.

The book is paced perfectly, simultaneously a page-turner and yet giving enough time for the foreboding atmosphere to set in. Similar to The Lost Village, The Resting Place jumps back and forth between the present with Eleanor and the past, as told through Anuska’s diary. The two stories come together as the secrets of the past are revealed in the present. I was able to predict the major twist prior to the reveal, but it did not ruin my enjoyment of the story.

Much like The Lost Village, Sten does a fantastic job of creating a sense of isolation. Between the location and the blizzard that consumes them, the characters might as well be on another planet. She also does an amazing job of breathing life into her settings. Similar to the village of Silvertjarn, Solhoga is as much of a character as Eleanor, Anushka or the others. And as the story goes on, and the characters realize that they are not alone, Sten captures their increasing paranoia and panic through both dialogue and description.

Having loved both The Lost Village and The Resting Place, I am very much looking forward to reading more books from Camilla Sten.

I was granted eARC access to The Resting Place by Camilla Sten via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the approval! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

I absolutely loved The Lost Village last year, so when a new Camilla Sten book came up I just had to read it! Alas, the bar set by The Lost Village was just too high.

Although Sten's impeccable writing skills shine through, you really can't hide a natural talent for good writing, nothing of what made The Lost Village unique and compelling can be found in The Resting Place. It's a generic family thriller set in Sweden. If this is your genre and you're looking for an easy read, this might well be a 3 or 4 star book for you. For me, I read many genres and I try to read them very quickly. Nothing about the character or plot in this one grabbed me and by the time the first third of the book had passed me by, I realized I didn't care about any of it.

I chose to DNF at 36% complete in favour of getting to other ARC reviews ahead of publication. I may come back to this one some day when I have more time, and I am definitely still interested in reading more from this author in the future.

Sten's latest novel follows Eleanor (present day) and Anushka (past via diary entries) in a locked room mystery/thriller set in a lavish Swedish estate. Eleanor, who suffers from face blindness, witnesses her grandmother’s murder and then is faced with the task of taking inventory of her secret estate. The home was left abandoned by her grandmother in the care of a groundskeeper and never spoken of again. Eleanor uncovers many secrets in her families history through the discovery of a diary hidden in the maid's quarters. There are many names in this novel that begin with 'V', my only real complaint. I had to make a family tree to follow who was who.

Sten is really great at planting those little seeds throughout the book to keep you guessing and turning pages. The setting is really what stood out to me the most invoking serious foreboding. If you love a great atmospheric mystery with a twisted family history then put this novel on your list!

Wow I could not put this down, it’s creepy and atmospheric! Makes you feel like you’re walking through the mansion with the characters jumping at every sound & seeing shadows. Victoria “Eleanor “ has prosopagnosia, it’s the inability to recognize a familiar person’s face. She came upon the murder of her grandmother, Vivianne, and even saw the killer! Days pass with no answers, she gets a call from a lawyer Vivianne has left her a beautiful countryside estate. She gets there with boyfriend, Sebastian and surprisingly, her Aunt Veronika, arrives with the lawyer. Eleanor is determined to learn more about her family’s past, but strange things happen and it makes her paranoid! Thank you to Minotaur Books for a gifted copy.

Eleanor didn't remember the face of the person who killed the formidable grandmother who'd raised her, Vivianne. Even though the killer walked right past Eleanor after stabbing Vivianne with scissors. She couldn't remember in therapy, in dreams, not even in her PTSD induced hallucinations. Eleanor didn't remember anyone's face: she has prosopagnosia, face blindness.

Eleanor, her partner Sebastian, and her aunt Veronika are summoned to her grandmother's remote summer house in Sweden, Solhöga, by the estate's lawyer, Rickard. Eleanor is already uneasy, because Vivianne's killer is still out there somewhere, and then she finds the diary of Anushka, a maid at Solhöga before her mother was born. Disturbing occurrences in the old mansion start happening the first night, and Eleanor's unease slowly builds to real fear. Is she going mad? Is the killer stalking them at the house? Or is a family secret coming back to endanger them all?

This is the second book I've read by Camilla Sten, and <i>The Resting Place</i> is definitely on par with <i>The Lost Village</i> for slow-burn Nordic horror. Eleanor narrates the present-set story, so we don't really know if she's having flashback PTSD hallucinations or if something nefarious is really happening. Anushka narrates the past-set story, which details, slowly, the events that set off this family's troubles. The transitions between "now" and "then" are really well written, and the weave of events between the two are well matched through a satisfying and surprising ending.

I rated this one 4 instead of 5 only because I found some of Eleanor's narration to be a little slow, in the same way I want to yell at characters in a horror movie when they're too busy in their own heads and making poor decisions. I took a couple of breaks while reading <i>The Resting Place</i>, but I kept coming back to find out what happened. Sten's twisty plot threads and complicated characters make it wonderfully difficult to predict what will happen next, and I loved that. If you're a fan of gothic horror with some Nordic noir mixed in, I recommend <i>The Resting Place</i>.

3.5 stars. I enjoyed it but I was not blown away.

First and foremost, thank you for the E-ARC of THE RESTING PLACE.

I did enjoy this book, though I had such a high hope for this story. However, Sten does a great job of creating an atmosphere of tension and hauntingly setting. The Resting Place is more of a gothic thriller, an isolated estate with a dark past and family secrets. I really liked the short chapters, the characters were well developed and the storyline was well paced.

Unfortunately I had a really hard time getting and staying in this book. I wasn't crazy about Camilla's first book, THE LOST VILLAGE, but I thought a haunted house story might work for me this time. I guess her writing is just not for me. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, and the atmosphere wasn't as creepy as I would've liked.

Maybe next book.

Eleanor walks into her Grandmother's apartment and comes face to face with a brutal scene. Her cruel grandmother is laying on the floor, bleeding to death. The murderer is still in the apartment and knows that Eleanor suffers from prosopagnosia...so, even though, she may know them, she won't know who they are due to her condition. The average person calls it face blindness. Eleanor has just learned to study eyebrows and coloring.

Months later, Eleanor has been called to a mysterious summer home that has been left to her. It's a place she has never heard of, but apparently has been in her family all along. Along with her long time boyfriend, her hateful Aunt and the attorney who is handling the paperwork, Eleanor makes the trip to the house to see if they can figure out why it was such a secret.

But they aren't there alone.

I love The Lost Village from Camilla Sten. The Resting Place was a little blah for me though. It felt a bit forced and overly long in places. All of the name starting with V was a bit much and a little confusing. Still, it was a good book and had an excellent twist.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Unfortunately this book was just not for me. I made several attempts to start and get into it and I never made it very far. This does not mean it's a bad book. Some books just aren't for some people. Because I did not get far into this book, it wouldn't be fair to rate or review this book, so I prefer not to. Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I'm sorry, it just wasn't for me and I feel terribly for that.