This a story about a place that isn’t home.

I absolutely loved the authors first book, so I was really excited for this one. It was a very slow burn with alternating perspectives between past and present. I liked elements of it, and I think prosopagnosia to be an interesting condition… but the pacing kept losing me. I’ll definitely pick up more by the author, even if this wasn’t a homerun for me because I think she’s super talented & I think this one will be a good fit for readers who like a slow burn mystery.

Thank you so much netgalley minotaur books & macmillan audio for the copies- I thought the audio was excellent!

𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖: elenor witnesses her grandmothers murder and the lawyer asks her, her boyfriend, and her aunt to go out to the house her grandmother left them in the middle of the woods to sort through the estate.

𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒: this book was pretty good! our MC Elenor suffers from prosopagnosia (face blindness) which automatically sets the the tone for an unreliable narrator when she witnesses her grandmother get murdered. this book was full of family secrets and had a super creepy & claustrophobic feeling setting. i was a little confused with all the names & characters & the timelines but once i figured out how it all fit together i was really invested. the ending was also great & completely shocked me! i have yet to read the lost village but will have to add it to my tbr soon!

𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: i liked it!

special thank you to camilla sten, macmillan audio, and netgalley for a copy of this ALC in exchange for an honest review!

I just love an atmospheric creepy gothic mystery mansion vibe and this delivered that and so much more.. dark family secrets, the suspense is palpable . This book sucks you in page by page , character by character. It’s slow and it has a dual timeline and narration which works well.

This story is told via dual narrative - present by Eleanor, past by Annushka - a young maid at the country home.
Eleanor enters her grandmother's home for their weekly meal. She finds Vivianne’s dying from multiple stab wounds, bleeding out with no hope for recovery.
Months later, Eleanor leaves the hospital - her shock and grief less all encompassing. To her surprise, she is called to her grandmother's country estate, an asset Eleanor has never heard of. Her aunt, Veronika, along with her boyfriend Sebastian meet the family lawyer at the estate to itemize the contents.
Eleanor hears someone else in the house - gets pushed in the abandoned dumb waiter but no one believes her, only have her shaky recovery emphasized.
Annushka tells the story of Sir and Ma'am, the wealthy owners of the country home employing her. Ma'am is desperate for a child, yet fails to conceive. Annushka provides considerable insight into the owners' lives, also becoming embroiled in their scandal.
Great twist, somewhat predictable. I enjoyed these characters and the family mystery.

Y’all. This book! It hit all my sweet spots! Murder, suspense, family secrets, a scary house, and two different timelines were only some of the reasons I loved this book from beginning to end. The fact that the main character, Eleanor, had a condition called prosopagnocia made it even more interesting! Prosopagnocia keeps Eleanor from recognizing people by their faces so she uses markers like hair styles, tattoos, and other definable characteristics to keep track of the people in her life. How frustrating, right?

Eleanor finds herself at a large estate left to her by her grandmother after she was murdered. She, her boyfriend, her aunt, and the lawyer are tasked with completing an inventory of the buildings on the estate but they find so much more. None of them had any clue what they were in for and each of their lives are flipped completely upside down.

Camilla Sten creates a believable story and characters with depth and I felt as though I was there at Solhöga watching this horror story unfold. It had me listening late into the night and waking early just to try and figure out “whodunnit”. There were many shocking and horrifying parts throughout but the big twist was the entire last quarter of the book. I cannot recommend this one highly enough!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I had the pleasure of listening to the audio version of this book provided by #netgalley #macmillanaudio and #camillasten in exchange for my honest review. Lucky for you, this one just came out on 3/29!

The Resting Place, by Camilla Sten, is an interesting, intricate, and intriguing story. It’s well-plotted, shrouded in mystery, and fosters a fairly creepy, chilling, claustrophobic atmosphere.

The beginning of this story definitely has a slower pace and felt slightly uninspiring. I think part of my apathy was due to some of the tropes employed. While I really liked the main female character, who was rational, despite her circumstances, clearheaded, brave, and resolute, I did not care for her male counterpart. I have such a hard time with stories that showcase significant others who are condescending and make excuses for their partners’ fears and suspicions. And then later in the story, he can’t hack it and cowers in fear, while she stands strong. I also don’t appreciate the trope of characters who belittle and berate themselves, which our main character did at first, without good cause, in my opinion. And stories in which characters make a series of poor choices always frustrates me.

That said, not too far past the halfway mark, the suspenseful plot picks up, becomes more complex and intrinsic; the atmosphere takes on a character-like status of its own, and the twists and turns become much more compelling, drawing the reader in. The characters evolve and the additional background offers greater understanding. By it’s conclusion, the story felt rather brilliantly-crafted and clever, despite its melancholy tone, and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read this gothic mystery.

I listened to the audio-version of this story and the narrator truly created the perfect voice, feel and atmosphere to make this story feel authentic and come alive. She was clear, articulate and engaging. Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio and Minotaur books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a haunting, chilling thriller. This was the second book I’ve read that includes a character with face blindness and I’m still so fascinated by it. Eleanor can’t recognize anyone when she sees them. So even though she witnesses the murder of her grandmother, she has no idea who the killer is. She can’t give any descriptions, not even the gender of the person she saw. This makes for a great mystery because she now suspects everyone and anyone.

After her grandmothers death, Eleanor inherits an old mansion that hasn’t been lived in in years. I love love loved this setting. It’s always dark and snowy and the fact that it revolves around a haunted house is perfect for a spooky story like this. From the beginning you are on edge and have a creeping sense that something is not what it seems.

Eleanor finds a diary and begins to unearth the secrets behind the house and her family. I’m a sucker for a dual timeline and having this diary created an eerie unraveling. Overall, this is a slow paced mystery with plenty of secrets to uncover. I liked that there were scary and spooky elements and that the slow burn, tension-building story made for a great payoff in the end.

The narration of this book was actually quite good. However, the story in both timelines just did not interest me enough to complete the novel after 50 percent. This is not necessarily the book's fault it simply was not what I was anticipating after reading the synopsis.

I enjoyed The Resting Place and The Lost Village, and recommend both of Sten’s books to anyone who enjoys a psychological suspense storyline.

In this novel, the protagonist (Eleanor) has a medical condition called prosopagnosia, sometimes referred to as face blindness, which renders her unable to recall people by their facial features. She can recall other parts of people like their hair, voices, nails, etc. however her inability to remember faces causes those around her to question what she sees and at times she is questioning herself, too.

The story takes place in a family estate in the Swedish woods that was left to Eleanor in her grandfather’s will. While she, her aunt, her boyfriend, and a lawyer are at the estate a series of suspicious and suspenseful events unfold. I wouldn’t go as far as classifying this as horror or scary, it’s more of a slow-building mystery where the truth keeps dodging the reader.

Initially I had a hard time keeping track of the characters across the two timelines on the audio book and I would recommend the paper or digital book if that’s a concern for anyone else. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the story and finished the book in about 24 hours – always a sign I enjoyed a story.

Thank you again to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio – I appreciated the chance to read this book!

I really enjoyed the the narration, I think that's what really made me enjoy to book but I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and a lot of the side characters didn't feel fully fleshed out.

Camilla Sten's The Resting Place is an atmospheric and spine-tingling marvel with with all my favorite elements including a puzzling mystery, an old mansion filled with secrets far away from everything, and characters stuck there because of a horrible snow storm. Eleanor is our main character and she has prosopagnosia or facial blindness, which is the inability to recognize faces including family and friends. The story starts with Eleanor walking in on her grandmother's murderer trying to flee covered in blood. In most cases a person who walked in on that would never forget the face of the monster who murdered their love one but because of Eleanor's prosopagnosia she can't recognize the person who killed her grandmother.

When a lawyer calls with news that her grandmother left her the family's mansion she takes her boyfriend to look at the mysterious estate that she had no idea about. When she gets there she finds her aunt is also waiting at the front of the mansion along with the lawyer. What is supposed to be a quick inventory of what's in the house turns into a nightmare for everyone in the house as the secrets are uncovered, eerie things are happening, and people go missing.

I really enjoyed her first novel "The Lost Village" and was excited to read this one and I was not disappointed. This story was a real nail biter as we followed Eleanor in the present and the Eleanor's grandmother's maid Anushka in the past. I loved the dual point of view and timeline because it never gave me a chance to find a part in the story that dragged because every time one of the short chapters would end it would leave you on an edge of your seat cliffhanger. This is such an atmospheric and creepy locked room thriller and it takes place in a haunted mansion which for me was a real plus.

I loved the history of family drama that was continuously being revealed and I found it so creepy how her grandmother's voice still haunted Eleanor even after her death The story just kept getting stranger and stranger as I continued reading and when I finally arrived at the huge plot twist and reveal I was just staring opened mouthed at the pages because I thought I had it figured out but man was I wrong. I love the way the author created such a menacing and intense atmosphere throughout the book that had me jumping at the littlest sounds while I was reading. I absolutely loved Angela Dawe as the narrator of the audiobook and the way her voice added to the sinister vibe of the story. She really did a wonderful job bringing the characters' voices and accents to life and just really just enjoyed listening to the audiobook version.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the digital audiobook copy of this book with me in exchange for an honest review.

This review is JUST for the audio book. I really enjoyed the novel, but for me, a good narrator can make or break a book, even one that I'm really excited to read.

This narrator is fantastic. She does a great job of alternating between the two characters that tell the story without making voices, etc. too drastically different. This book is translated so there are times when accents are involved, and they are realistic but not over the top. This novel is definitely a slow burn and the narrator does a great job of adding tension and escalation to her voice. At several points, one protagonist gets very upset and this narrator does an excellent job expressing her frustration and fear.

I really enjoyed this narrator and will be checking out her other work!

The Resting Place by Camilla Sten
⭐⭐⭐/5

So this is my first Camilla Sten read. And I do have to say she does a great job of creating a atmospheric, tension filled - and anxiety inducing setting .

Eleanor suffers from prosopagnosia ( facial blindness )
So when she walks into her grandmother's brutal slaying shes unable to recognize the person who she seen fleeing from the room . When she finds out her grandmother owned an estate in the swedish country side, she goes there with a lawyer to try and find something she doesn't know shes looking for .
When a snowstorm hits. They become trapped in the creepy mansion , and Eleanor swears she sees someome lurking in shadows .
They find an old diary from the 1960s on the property- in which this story starts to splice off into the standpoints of back then and today . .
Theres enough twists that have you thinking you know who did it. But then you are proven wrong . . Sten does a wonderful job creating a horror story for thriller lovers , to mix the two genres together beautifully.
Unfortunately, I didn't feel like I followed this book to the best of my ability . The characters felt a bit underdeveloped. And my audio kept going a little quiet in some parts.
Still a solid 3 star read. And Im looking forward to reading her previous novel and anything after !

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for letting me listen to an early audio copy of this book !

This was an enjoyable story with an interesting dynamic of someone who came face to face with a killer but having face blindness, cannot identify them. There is nice tension throughout as we try to figure out who is involved once the setting gets more secluded. I enjoyed the past perspective more than the current, but it was less frequent. It makes sense because the current story is more pressing. The writing was well done and I enjoyed the way Eleanor would repeat quotes throughout the book from other characters to remind us what they said earlier and how it was relevant.

After Elenor's grandmother is murdered, she finds out there was more to her than meets the eye.

What I loved about this book was how it just jumped immediately in the story. We are immedately dropped into this murder mystery. I liked the unique family dynamics that come to play in this story. Elenor is close with her grandmother but really isn't close to anyone else. She has a condition where she cannot see facial features- this also plays a big role in the story.

I loved the setting of this mystery! I love an old mysterious, maybe haunted estate. I feel like the setting was its own character and really aided to the eeriness of this novel- plus they are in a storm and there are power outages and no phone lines...somewhat of a locked room mystery.

What I didn't love was the ending... It seemed a little too farfetched to me.

Overall, I enjoyed this story.

Eleanor walks in on her grandmother’s murder, but due to her face blindness she can’t identify the murder. After, a lawyer calls saying that Eleanor’s grandmother had left her a house that she did not know about. In it Eleanor stays with her boyfriend, her aunt, and the lawyer. She uncovers the secrets that were kept.
I could not stop listening to this audio book. The book had me on the edge of my seat from the first chapter. I loved the way the writer was able to make the reader feel the fear of the characters. I also liked the writer’s use of face blindness, making sure to explain with detail and give the real name of the condition. My one complaint of the book would be that this book was slow and at times it could

I loved the premise for this one and I was excited to read it but in the end it just didn't work for me. The book has a great really creepy atmosphere and the tension is a constant throughout the book. I enjoyed the mystery and the twist of the main character having face blindness. I think the setting and the plot were well done but I just didn't care for the main character at all. She felt flat for me so I just never connected with her, which made connecting with the story hard as well. I did think the narrator did a really good job with this one though.

The Resting Place is a psychological thriller that takes place at a haunted mansion during a blizzard. I had a sense of foreboding from the very first chapter and the book continued to gain intensity with lots of twists, especially at the end. I loved the dual perspectives/timelines and couldn't wait to figure out how the two stories came together. If you love thrillers with short chapters and cliff hangers that will keep you turning the pages, this book is a great choice.

Synopsis: Eleanor has prosopagnosia, or face blindness, which keeps her from recognizing the faces of anyone, even those closest to her. When she walks in on the murder of her grandmother and comes face to face with the killer, she is unable to recognize or remember what they look like and it haunts her every day as she wonders whether or not the killer will return. Eleanor's grandmother, Vivianne, left her an estate which has been unvisited for over fifty years. Eleanor, her boyfriend, her aunt and a lawyer head to the mansion, looking for answers. A storm hits as they are getting closer to the truth and they start to wish they had never started searching in the first place.

I loved this thriller and can't wait to read more by Camilla Sten! Thank you for allowing me to listen and review this book in anticipation of its publication!

A unique diagnosis that propels a novel and opens up the learning experience is always a high mark for me. Sten brought something new to my table. For me it was prosopagnosia. Individuals with this medical diagnosis cannot recognize familiar faces. The character in this novel, Eleanor, focuses on specific aspects of a person's face, like their specific hair cut. When she walks in on her grandmothers murder and the murderer walking out the door, things get less than ideal. And you can imagine how that weighs on someone.

Sten has a way of effortlessly bringing sinister and building atmosphere to her novels. While I enjoyed The Lost Village a smidge more than this one, I still found myself eager to know the outcome. The narrative was extremely on the slow building side but there was a well done past and present timeline. The reveal brought everything together for me too.

The audiobook from Macmillan Audio is narrated by Angela Dawe. I enjoyed being able to go back and forth between bed time reading and day time listening. I felt Dawe kept an excellent pace and brought a good bit of emotion to her voice. There are points when accents come into play and those are beautifully done!

It took me a little longer than expected to get into overall. I also wouldn't label this as horrific or horror driven. I felt it was more a suspenseful mystery with a truly well thought out familial past. Can you tell the past was my favorite part?! Downright captivating!

Thank you Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for the ability to read and listen to this novel. If you're into family secrets and suspense than I have a feeling you'll enjoy this one too.

"There's something about the house...Something happened here. I don't know what, but whatever it is...it has something to do with this house."

In the claustrophobic atmospheric psychological thriller The Resting Place by Camilla Sten most of the story takes place in an old hidden manor in the cold dark Swedish woods but let's be real it's not the spooky house to fear but the people in the house...or outside it!

One of the most fascinating aspects of this thriller is that the one person, Eleanor, who comes face to face with a killer right after they murder her Grandmother is that she can't ever recognize them. Eleanor suffers from Prosopagnosia better known as "face blindness" a real disease. The murderer must know her since they don't bother to kill her too.

When a lawyer calls saying Eleanor has been left a house no one knew about she travels with her boyfriend and Great Aunt to see it and all hell breaks loose. The caretaker is missing, when the lawyer looks for him he doesn't come back and then there is the mysterious dumbwaiter. There is a storm, no cell reception and an old diary from the 1960s that messes with everyone including me.

Besides the author's ability to create spine tingling moments, narrator Angela Dawe has this very quiet voice that adds to the goosebump moments. It took awhile to figure it all out but partly because not all the players are revealed until near the end. I listened and read this story which gave me an appreciation of the flawless talent of translator Alexandra Fleming.

As in her last book, The Lost Village, the writer creates an atmosphere that makes you hold your breath, wonder if something unworldly is happening but knowing it's humans that are most scary.

I received a free copy of this book and audiobook from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.