I REALLY liked this book. The narrator was amazing. Her accents, at least to this listener, were spot-on!
The atmosphere was so gothic and spooky, which is right up my alley. Prosopagnosia is a common theme in thrillers in the past few years. in The Resting Place, I did not feel manipulated by it as I often do. The way it was used in the story seemed less forced than usual.

Eleanor witnesses her grandmother's murderer fleeing the scene of the crime. However, having a condition that does not allow her to distinguish facial features means she can't identify the killer she was face to face with. Shortly after her grandmother's death, Eleanor and her aunt Veronika are called to do inventory at a mysterious Swedish mansion in the woods, a property of her grandmother's that Eleanor never knew anything about.

The spooky mansion is filled with family history Eleanor knew nothing about. Who murdered her grandmother? Why was the grandmother so casually cruel? All the mysteries were resolved satisfactorily. As I said, this is my favorite genre of book: gothic mysteries. Many authors try and few succeed. This one did for me.

This was a fast-paced psychological thriller that had really creative chapters jumping between a diary and the main character’s perspective. I always enjoy getting small bits of information and having to piece it all together. The ending was also a twist I would have never guessed. I listened to this one and felt that the narrator did a great job.

The story begins with Eleanor discovering her grandmother fatally assaulted. Even though she sees her grandmother's assailant rush past her, she is unable to identify the individual due to her suffering from "prosopagnosia," also known as face blindness. After this traumatic discovery she tries to cope with her PTSD and the ultimate fear that the murderer is still alive and had a chance to see her own face. The story continues with Eleanor, her boyfriend, her cousin, and a lawyer visiting her grandmother's estate where they will uncover dark family secrets.

I found the story had a lot of potential, but it drags on in the beginning with many repetitive spots of her remembering the bloody scene of her grandmother. There were suspenseful scenes and the substory in the book intertwines well with the main story. Thank you to NetGally and the publishers for the ARC copy.

This book definitely did a good job keeping my attention. I did enjoy this one, but I think it was a lot of cheap thrills when it came to the thrill department. The set up should of made for a good tale, but hearing it over and over became repetitive to the point where I didn't expect to guess who anyone was without remembering details. I got through this pretty quickly, but I won't be reading this one again.

I have tried, truly I have, but this is going to be a DNF for me. I loved Sten's THE LOST VILLAGE, but this one is just so boring. Like honestly. Maybe it'll pick up but if a book doesn't grab my attention from the get go it's not going to work for me, sadly. Which is disappointing.

Very twisty. And in a good way.

There is a lot happening in this book- lots of characters, lots of twists, lots of everything. Sometimes that can make it too much- but that is not the case here.

Eleanor suffers from "face blindness". She walks in on her grandmother being murdered and sees the killer. But she can't recognize people so she cannot help the police identify the killer. After her grandmother's death, she discovers that she owned a second home in the country. She travels to the estate to take inventory and begins to discover that there are a lot of secrets in her family.

I tore through this one very quickly. It is impossible to completely figure out early on- though I thought I was smart and had it figured out. And I did have PART of it figured out, but there is a whole lot more happening than you realize early on.

I listened to the audio version at 1.25 speed and the narrator was great. Despite alternating timelines and POVs, I was never lost- which is always a good thing.

I received an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Camilla Sten although The Lost Village has been on my to read list for quite some time. I think because of the reviews of The Lost Village I set my expectations too high for this book so felt a little let down.

I enjoyed the writing style of Sten. I don’t think there is any doubt that she can write and write well. I enjoyed the narrative jumping back and forth from present day to the past and I liked the setting of the novel. There is nothing more creepy than a vacant Victorian mansion in the middle of a remote countryside during inclement weather. I even liked that the main character had a sort of disability-prosopagnosia. I also liked that I didn’t find the twist overly predictable or see it coming but that also is one of the reasons I didn’t love this book.

I didn’t particularly love that the shocking twist involved a character I had to ask myself- who? And reread parts of the book to place that character. I also didn’t love that in using prosopagnosia in the book, the author seemed to pick and choose when faces or markers were recognizable but then left me questioning at a few times throughout the book how one character or another was or wasn’t recognized when they should have been or shouldn’t have been. It was a bit inconsistent. I also had quite a few questions on logistics and how things played out but feel I can’t really go into detail without giving away spoilers even more so than I feel I have already done.

Overall I think this was a solid 3.5 stars and definitely a book I’m glad I read but it certainly wasn’t the same caliber as some of the other books I’ve read and reviewed this year.

This was an excellent atmospheric blend of mystery and horror with a gothic ambiance. The main characters inability to recognize people’s faces added a unique element to this. The descriptions of the setting drew me in and I felt like I was right there. The narrator successfully held my attention and conveyed the sense of drama of the intense situation. There were several unforeseen twists. I highly recommend the audio version to fans of mystery/thrillers.

Thank you to Netgalley, Camilla Sten, and Macmillan Audio for an advance listening copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I went into this one blindly because I had seen it all over Bookstagram and it definitely was not what I was expecting. I had just recently read a book that also dealt with Face Blindness so I was not ready for another book that dealt with this. The author is a truly talented writer (and I will read more of her work in the future) and I think at a different time I would have enjoyed this book more. This one is out on March 29th, 2022!

This was just dull. There are too many books like this, and this one wasn't particularly interesting.


Review copy provided by publisher.

3.75 stars

In stories like this one, when a man (because it’s almost always a man) spends a lot of time and energy trying to convince a woman (and it’s almost always a woman) that she’s imagining things, that situations are all in her head, that she’s delusional…you can almost guarantee that she’s not imagining things, that’s it’s not all in her head, and that she’s very much in touch with reality. Even when he’s not directly responsible for the unsettling and dangerous events, the gaslighting is still intense. (Exception: when the writer pulls out the “oh haha look, this woman was crazy and dysfunctional all along” and calls it a plot twist instead of a cliché/stereotype.) Regardless of this one being rather predictable, I did still like it and enjoyed some of the characters; it also included some tropes and setting elements that I really enjoy. It was a fun, interesting story that I’ve been meaning to read for quite a while now. Glad I finally got there!

Suspenseful and well-written. Camilla Stern weaves a thrilling tapestry of family drama over several generations that slowly unravels to reveal a family history with several twists. I look forward to reading more works from this author.

I really enjoyed this arc. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I felt like I was right there with them in them middle of nowhere in a snowstorm, unsure of what else was in the woods with them.

Camilla Sten’s The resting Place is a tense thriller that centers around a woman, Eleanor , that has a condition called prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness. I had never heard of this and found it a unique piece of the story. As Eleanor enters the home of her grandmother, Vivianne, she encounters a person leaving her grandmother in a pool of blood. So there in lies the dilemma, how do you identify a killer when you are unable to recognize faces? The story is told from different narrators and volleys back and forth between the past and present. Vivianne, the grandmother, is a nasty woman with an interesting story that coincides with Eleanor’s.

Definitely an interesting read and very tense throughout. Albeit a little predictable I still enjoyed the story and recommend reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

The narrator did such an amazing job with setting the creepy atmosphere they were able to paint the v perfect picture of the creepy setting and events that were unfolding. It was definitely a book that i did not want to stop listening to because of all the secrets, less and drama that were unfolding

WOW! This was an unexpected fun surprise!

"Deep rooted secrets.
A twisted family history.
And a house that will never let go."

I loved the dual timelines and the twists on this one definitely got me! The last few chapters were INTENSE and I was very satisfied with the ending!

I listened to the audio version thanks to MacMillan audio sending me an advanced listening copy. This is out on the 29th!

4.5 stars rounded up

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five

TW: Infertility, language, family death, family drama, depression, smoking, abusive family, gaslighting, miscarriages, cheating

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:The medical term is prosopagnosia. The average person calls it face blindness—the inability to recognize a familiar person’s face, even the faces of those closest to you.When Eleanor walked in on the scene of her capriciously cruel grandmother, Vivianne’s, murder, she came face to face with the killer—a maddening expression that means nothing to someone like her. With each passing day, her anxiety mounts. The dark feelings of having brushed by a killer, yet not know who could do this—or if they’d be back—overtakes both her dreams and her waking moments, thwarting her perception of reality.Then a lawyer calls. Vivianne has left her a house—a looming estate tucked away in the Swedish woods. The place her grandfather died, suddenly. A place that has housed a dark past for over fifty years.Eleanor. Her steadfast boyfriend, Sebastian. Her reckless aunt, Veronika. The lawyer. All will go to this house of secrets, looking for answers. But as they get closer to bringing the truth to light, they’ll wish they had never come to disturb what rests there.
Release Date: 03/29/2022
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 336
Rating: ⭐

What I Liked:
• I'm a sucker for people moving into a house with mystery

What I Didn't Like:
• I hate the jumping timeline
• The ending
• It is confusing

Overall Thoughts:
✔️Woman inherited mansion from rich aunt she knew nothing about.
✔️Suffers from some kind of issue (has face blindness).
✔️Needs sleeping pills because of traumatic situation.
✔️Jumpy as fuck to ANY sound or movement!
✔️Character named Eleanor who moves into a mansion (sounds familiar....)
✔️Storm that knocks out all communication.

Why would it take them so long to check on the caretaker?

What is with this weird Psycho mother voice that Eleanor keeps hearing and tells her stuff.

I will give this book credit I was engaged enough to want to know what was happening and how stupid Eleanor could be.

Prepare to have whiplash after reading this book because it makes you go back and forth so many times that you literally get confused on who's who and what's going on. Some books should just not have the timeline from the past to the present. Also be prepared to have the most unsatisfactory ending ever in a book. Like seriously where the fuck did this ending come from? The therapist! The therapist is the one who did all this! What a ridiculously stupid ending. I don't even know what you're supposed to think about this book.

This book's seriously has so many twists and doesn't even need them. Every single character is someone else that you think they are but they're not because you find out that it's really a different person living a different life.

Final Thoughts: I just can't..... The author and I are parting ways after this. I gave her two books. 😑

Talk about a spooky read 👻

The Resting Place served up all the atmospheric Nordic vibes. Coupled with amazing dual timelines, loved both equally, and I was hooked.

There were a lot of moving parts that were so well handled. Everything was wrapped up nicely. I did wish we got more time with a certain character instead of just watching them during two points of time. However, Camilla Sten gave us more than enough to make that leap. I was just so fascinated with these characters that I wanted more time with them. Especially Veronica who I could only picture as Madeline Kahn à la Clue.

The plot was more twisty than I had initially anticipated. I was so focused on figuring out if my theory was correct while mildly suspecting another of not being who they said, that I ended up blind-sided quite a few times.

This is the perfect book to grab when you want a dash of horror with your thriller 🔪

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.
The audiobook is great!