I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

This was my first Sten book but won’t be my last.

The way this author creates such atmospheric settings and makes you feel the horror and gripping tension - wow! What a true artwork and talent.

You will not find rest here...."Your fear is valid, but that doesn't make it real. The fear may be true, but it doesn't have to be your truth." The Lost Village was a chilling atmospheric bounty of chilling twists, but this one was even better.
This atmospheric Noir thriller will have you shivering in an estate in the countryside of Sweden. With its cold, dark winters and no escape from its past, a diary reveals much of its secrets weaving in from 1966 to present times. The diary was written by the housekeeper, Annushka, divulging many disillusions, pessimism and cruelties from the Ma'am of the house, Vivianne.

Vivianne's granddaughter, Eleanor, cringes at the thought of this evil, heartless woman, who raised her. Her continuous calls go unanswered most of the time because of her disillusions of voices in the walls coming to get her. She treks to her apartment and finds her stabbed to death as the killer is leaving the house. To her disadvantage, she suffers from prosopagnosia (face blindness) and unable to recognize the killer's face.

Eleanor inherits the summer country estate Solhoga that her grandmother never mentioned owning. With her boyfriend, Sebastian, the family lawyer and Vivianne's sister in tow that find an eerie mansion with spooky vibes and the past coming to life. Strange occurrences begin to take place with danger lurking in the shadows. Is there a killer watching them? As the winter snow piles up, locking them in, it becomes hard to put this book down. At least the wine cellar is full, but that dumbwaiter is dangerous!

Some of the characters you will only learn about through the diary, but they are fully disclosed giving you real vibes and their uncanny appearance. The evil of this grandmother is spine tingling and the unexpected twists at the end will be even more so.
I'm thankful to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/ Minotaur books for allowing me to read another Camilla Sten book in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to read this after reading The Lost Village. Camilla Sten is a queen of writing horrifying stories! She has such a way of creating an atmosphere alone that places you in the story and is terrifying in itself. I was definitely on the edge of my seat with this one!

The Resting Place is another creepy thriller from the author of The Lost Village. Eleanor is struggling after witnessing the vicious murder of grandmother, so when a lawyer contacts her about her inheritance - a country estate deep in the Swedish woods that Eleanor never knew existed - and requests access to the manor to do an inventory, Eleanor insists on meeting him there, along with her boyfriend Sebastian and aunt Veronika. Already on edge, Eleanor becomes increasingly unsettled when no one can locate or contact the estate caretaker, though she is convinced that someone is sneaking around on the property. Just when secrets begin to be revealed a blizzard cuts the group off from the outside world.

Much is made of the fact that the main character has face blindness, and while this does play a part in the story, overall I didn't think it added much to the story, which was plenty creepy without that added detail. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and once I started reading it could not put it down.

I am so happy I found this author. The story had a medium pace with just the right amount of detail. The main character Eleanor suffering from a condition I have never heard of was a twist for me. I kept trying to picture what she could and could not "see". The only thing I found a little tricky was following all the characters while the story hopped between two time periods.

Eleanor has a condition that causes her to not recognize a familiar face. She has to learn a person by voice, hair style, hands , etc…. She finds her grandmother dying and the murderer walks right past her.
The lawyer takes Eleanor, her aunt Veronica, and her boyfriend to the summer estate. And now memories of a sad childhood and secrets are beginning to imerge. The groundskeeper is missing. . Lots of suspense.

Thank you NetHalley for this book. It’s a Scandi thriller. Not on the order of Nesbo or Lackberg but certainly good. Eleanor and her boyfriend go to see a house that she has inherited from her grandmother. Eleanor was there when she was murdered. Due to a medical condition, she doesn’t recognize faces out of context. This is a good book. You will be able to read it in one go.

Let me just start off by saying, wow! This book was so addictive that I read the entire thing in one day. I just could not put it down. Camilla Sten perfectly captured the feeling of a creepy house in the woods without making it seem gimmicky as can sometimes happen with this genre. Every page is filled with suspense and intrigue, and it is a story that will keep you guessing until the very end!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, the author and NetGalley for the arc of this book!

Have you ever seen someone and realize you know them from somewhere, but just can’t place your finger on where you know them from? Imagine not even being able to recognize a familiar face…ever. You hear so many tales of that one person out of thousands or millions that experiences life a bit differently and this tale is more terrifying with those circumstances.

Our protagonist, Eleanor, suffers from face blindness and, as the story goes along, you as the reader experience similar feelings as she does. She is the unfortunate and sole witness of her grandmother’s murder, but lives with the fact that she’s never been able to identify or even give a description of the murderer.

Her story to heal begins on a slightly pleasant note; to return to the house that was her grandmother’s and to hopefully learn more and have a better connection to her and her family. But this is just the beginning of a nightmare.

This story was told with flashbacks in a journal in line with present day, but don’t think you know everything. There are some twists and turns in this tale, so make sure that you are paying attention to the details.

There is such empathy within this story and each of the characters. Each character is flawed in some way and genuine in others making you not sure who you should root for, but definitely leaves you wanting to uncover everything. As you read, the author really showcases beautiful imagery, making it easy to picture and feel in your imagination; I felt the chill of the weather and pictured the layout of a room.

I definitely enjoyed this story and will be investing time in the authors other works.

I liked the atmospheric element of this book. I found myself getting lost between characters a bit. Solid psychological/horror book.

Camilla Sten knows how to write an amazing suspenseful, thriller. The Resting Place is her latest novel and it keeps you on your feet, guessing what is going to happen next. Eleanor finds her grandmother murdered in her apartment and actually comes face-to-face with the killer. The only problem, Eleanor suffers from prosopagnosia (face blindness) and she can't recall what the murderer looks like. That is a scary situation all in itself. but wait there is more.
To settle the estate of her grandparents, Eleanor has to go to the one place she has never been, her grandfather's estate, Solhoga, to take inventory. That is when the story unfolds. Secrets long buried begin to surface and nothing is what it seems.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Resting Place. My only fault was the characters and their names. I just couldn't keep all the names straight. But even that couldn't take way from the amazing thrill ride. I will be recommending The Resting Place to others and will continue to look for works by Camilla Sten. Special thanks to NetGalley, Camilla Sten, and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. 4.5 stars for me.
#SecretsDontDie #NetGalley

Whose Face Looks Back From the Mirror?

I'd never heard of prosopagnosia until I read this book by Swedish author, Camilla Sten. Now, I see that there are stories, books, videos, and even an opera about the neurological disorder commonly called face blindness.

The crown princess of Sweden is one of approximately 200,000 people who have the condition in that country alone. Perhaps her story inspired the author, but if so, she's not alone. And I can see why: it's a perfect plot device for mysteries and thrillers.

In The Resting Place, Eleanor's brain disorder prevents her from identifying her grandmother's killer, despite discovering them before they escaped the scene. Because I had never heard of face blindness, I looked at Eleanor as an unreliable narrator who was traumatized by the event.

I'll let you discover the truth for yourself. This is a tense psychological suspense thriller that will have you on edge until the conclusion.

I'd like to thank the author, Camilla Sten; the publisher; and NetGalley for providing me with a free advanced review copy of this excellent book. My recommendation is freely and enthusiastically given!

I have not read Sten's first novel, but heard great things about it. I was highly intrigued by this one. I love ScandiNoir and the premise sounded very promising - and yet somehow from the opening pages I just never connected with the characters or felt engaged in the plot.

Despite the promise of eerie thriller and mystery elements (missing caretaker, "haunted" house, dysfunctional family, the ultimate unreliable witness due to face blindness), the story never grabbed me (by the throat or otherwise) and I found myself unable to relate to any of the characters or, frankly, care about the outcome of the mystery at the heart of the story. This one didn't work for me at all.

Eleanor - who suffers from "prosopagnosia" or "face blindness" walks in on her grandmother's murder, but is unable to identify the murderer, due to her condition. Since then, she's been on edge, unable to sake the feeling that she's being watched. Then she receives a call from an estate lawyer who says that her grandmother, Vivianne, left her and her aloof aunt a summer home, one she hid from Eleanor and hadn't;t visited in 50 years. When the group goes to inventory the mansion, they get caught in a storm at the isolated estate, discovering too late that along with the furniture, paintings and clothing at Solhoga, there are secrets, lies and possibly even blood that has been kept hidden.

As soon as I saw Camilla Sten's name I was immediately in - she wrote The Lost Village, which I loved, so I knew that she knows how to right some amazing psychological suspense. And this book did not disappoint me. It was am absolutely great work of suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat as the secrets kept spilling out.

There were plenty of red herrings throughout too, so there wasn't really a time when I could say that I had a handle on how things were going to work out or that I guessed the ending.

Not only was there the element of Eleanor's unique medical condition, but there is a unique story of the past and what happened 50 years ago that is continuing to affect things in the present. We get to these things on the two timelines that play out in the book. Both were really interesting. I did not guess the ending to this one. There was a lot going on but I thought it did come together nicely in the end. I love that Camilla Sten can just create these wild stories and bring them together neatly in the end in a way that I never expected. It's really exciting.

Everything was tense and suspenseful from the atmosphere to the characters themselves to the twists that come throughout - this book really has it all. Highly recommended!

I was really excited about this for October because I wanted to read during spooky season.

It was promising in the beginning but It didn’t carry throughout the book. It was a highly emotional story with lots of layers.

Maybe it’s because I had different expectations but this didn’t catch my attention the way I thought it would.

The Resting Place is a dark, atmospheric thriller that takes place in the middle of a Swedish winter in a gothic style mansion in the middle of nowhere. Supposedly no one has lived in it for over 40 years and Eleanor, who inherited it from her grandmother never even knew it existed. The story is told from dual timelines – the present, right after Eleanor walks in on someone murdering her grandmother. And, from 40 years earlier from the point of view of Anushka, the maid who is newly arrived at the country mansion. Eleanor suffers from prosopagnosia (face blindness) so even though she saw the killer she has no memory of his face. This just adds to the creepiness of the story as she is never sure of herself when it comes to recognizing people. A must read for those who love ghostly stories that leave you wondering what is real and what is not.

Eleanor suffers from prosopagnosia or face blindness. She arrives to her weekly dinner at her grandmother, Vivianne’s and walks in on her murder, only to find herself face to face with the killer. Eleanor is haunted by this because she can't remember who the killer was. Several months after Vivianne's death, Eleanor inherits Solhoga estate. She is hoping this will be the key to finding out who her grandmother really was. She goes to the estate with her boyfriend, Sebastian, her aunt Veronika, and the estate lawyer. After their arrival, mysterious things begin to happen and Eleanor believes someone is watching her.

This was an incredible creepy book! I loved the past and present time lines. The creepy old house made it even better. I loved the mystery of Eleanor's family and finding out what really happened in the past and her grandmother's secret. If you enjoy mysterious books, give this one a try. It is well worth the read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

I was excited to read this book. While it was good; it took me longer to get through than I normally would. It didn’t seem to hold my interest

Imagine the shock, sadness, and frustration of witnessing the brutal murder of a relative and not being able to help identify the killer.

Prosopagnosia or face blindness is a fascinating condition that makes for an interesting angle, sadly underused in this storyline. The opening of this book is explosive and then it quickly fell flat for me . . . the rest of the novel didn't live up to that initial wow factor.

With the atmospheric setup of investigating family secrets in a creepy isolated manor, there are enough ingredients for a good wintery gothic tale. Unfortunately, the suspense wanes and I found myself not really invested in the plight of any of these characters.

I have heard much raving about this author's first novel The Lost Villiage, so I plan to give that book a whirl.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced copy of The Resting Place for my unbiased evaluation. 3 stars