""The world of art is blown wide open" (Jonathan Santlofer, national bestselling author of The Lost Van Gogh) in this novel for fans of The Cartographers, a simmering speculative suspense following art historian Camille Leray, whose secret ability lands her in the middle of the dangerous schemes of the most powerful players in the industry...

Art historian Camille Leray has spent her career surrounding herself with fineries and selling pieces worth millions. But she harbors a secret: she has the ability to enter the world of any piece of artwork, and she can take others with her. But tapping into history comes with great risks. And someone has been watching, someone who knows about her magic, and her mistakes...

After Camille ruins her career and reputation by misusing her powers, she vows to get her old life back. So when Maxime Foucault, an enigmatic aristocrat who owns a sprawling French estate, enlists her help in authenticating the statues of a mysterious artist, whose disappearance she has been trying to solve for years, she knows this could be her chance to turn her career around and get the man she's always wanted.

But something isn't right about the Foucault family and the grand chateau they inhabit, and as Camille gets sucked into its walls, she finds a world of luxury and greed that causes her to risk losing herself, and everything she has ever known, forever.

Filled with magic, suspense, the allure of Arthurian legend, and dark academia, The Estate unravels a mystery that spans generations. This captivating tale will leave readers pondering the fine lines between reality and imagination, creation and destruction, and being haunted or free."

A book that is hard to quantify and yet I just want to move into its pages.

I enjoyed this, but it was a bit slow for a while. I don't know how to describe how I felt reading this. Most of the time, I was uncomfortable, but I think you're supposed to feel that way. As the reader, for me anyway, the way Camille is feeling is distorted? Idk if that's the right word. It feels wrong like Camille feels when learning about the art. The whole time you're questioning what's truth, what's deception, and where is the damn real Night Swimming.

I will say I was so proud at the end of the book. I think if this book came with an accompanied song, it should be Labour by Paris Paloma.

3.5/5

This book has such a cool concept: our main character has the ability to enter artwork. That is so cool! But this book is also a thriller/mystery/suspense/whatever you want to call that sort of genre. Our main character, Camille, ends up working for a weird rich man and she is trapped.

As cool as this premise is, I really wasn't nearly as captivated and engaged by this story as I thought it would make me. I guess this is just another case of me wishing a concept was executed just a bit better. These characters didn't capture my attention and it was a bit slow going at first too.

I just wanted more from this. It could've been so incredibly cool!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

I am a fantasy girl through and through, but I am dipping my toes into thrillers. The Estate is an art thriller and it follows our main character Camille Leray who is an art historian with an amazing ability to transport herself into art. This was such a cool concept to me that made me want to read this book that much more. Imagine looking at a painting and being transported into it! Camille’s ability is a little more nuanced though, as she can transport herself into art but more so in a way of transporting into the mind of the artist as they were creating the specific piece of art. Seeing what the artist wants you to see. This is what gives her the edge as an art historian as she can uniquely tap into the soul of an art piece as well as the mind of the artist.

The Estate draws inspiration and contains elements from Arturian legend which was new to me and gave the story that much more of a fairy tale quality.

The story grabs your attention from the start, as Camille loses her career when she uncovers a fake art piece that jeopardizes the sale for her now-former auction house. But as she is at her lowest, the mysterious owner of The Estate offers her an opportunity to redeem herself. Faced with the ghosts of her past, Camile takes us on a journey of self-discovery and perseverance as she uncovers the mystery of her favorite artist and her long-lost sculpture.

The Estate is a page-turner! Full of mystery and twists and turns and it was hard to put down! I couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out what happened. There is also a theme in this book of how women's lives can be shaped and affected by men and their ambitions and how there is often lots of misconceptions involved in the process. Overall, following Camille’s journey was a wild ride but it shows that the past does not define us nor do our past notions about what our life should look like. Sometimes we need to reevaluate and let go of everything we think we know to freely live in the now.

Not everything is always as it seems…

Camille is an art historian who has the unique palette to enter the arch she studies. She spent the majority of her career studying a particular artist named Constance Sorel.

Then somebody claims to have discovered a lost last work of hers and brings it to the gallery to be authenticated where she decrees it to be a fake and ruins her career in the process.

We are then introduced to a man named Maxim and they both have history together. He invites her to his huge French estate to authenticate some of Constance's work. Maxim also is aware of Camille's special ability and he hopes to use it to further his own agenda.

This was definitely a slow burn book, but it made it so worthwhile. The writing in this was so incredibly descriptive and immersive. You really felt how truly powerful and life-changing art can be. He was also a lot of incredibly great moments in this book. That made me forget that I was reading a book. I was just so enraptured with it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced reader copy.

I loved The Cartographers and enjoyed The Cloisters, so I thought this would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, the combination of a very slow start and too many old fashioned names that sounded similar enough that they blended together (I even had trouble remembering who the protagonist was) meant that this just wasn't for me.

I wanted to like this, but it just wasn’t for me. I never really felt hooked. I found the plot difficult to wrap my mind around, and the characters weren’t captivating enough on their own to pull me in.

Ultimately I think I just wasn’t the right reader, and if the synopsis is appealing to you, I encourage giving it a shot for yourself.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC

So I wanted to like this a lot. It had all the fixings for a gothic tale of woe. But instead the book got bogged down on a lot of strange detail without actually explaining what hell was going on. I left feeling pretty frustrated

While the premise sounded very interesting, a disgraced art historian takes a job at a French estate to evaluate his collection of sculptures from her favorite artist, the execution fell short for me.

For me, I found things hard to follow. Camille, the FMC, is able to weave her way in and out of reality through the art pieces she's studying. Her character also lacked overall development. Random characters seem to come and go with no real purpose to the story. And her obsession with the MMC was borderline insufferable. In the end, I don’t think this story was for me.

However, there are many references to King Arthur, so if you’re an Arthurian fan, you may like this one.

The premise of stepping into paintings was an instant grab. Add to that, that the main character, Camille, is an art historian who can experience what the artist was feeling when they were creating the painting—and color me intrigued. The gothic setting of a French castle frames this slow building mystery which follows Camille’s investigation of, Night Swimming, a piece of art which she’s almost certain wasn’t created by her favorite artist. 



When she arrives in France to explore the artist’s past and Maxime, with whom she has a history, becomes the central focus, the story both picks up and slows down and the twists have a more languid pace which makes the journey to the solution less clear and less exciting. Despite the tension which was excellent at times, I found the pages turning a little more slowly than I'd hope. I wished for more of Camille’s talent and a little faster ramp to solving the mystery.

That said, The Estate does a great job of exploring themes of privilege and power while leaning into the Gothic tropes of dark secrets and oozing suspense with a dose of speculative. For spooky Gothic October reads, add it to your list.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Estate from Sarah Jost is the story of Camille Lerray, an art historian and expert on the artist Constance Sorel. Camille is a different sort of art historian as she is able to get inside the art, to feel the intention, the pain, and the joy of the artists.

When her gallery displays a 'lost work' from Constance, Camille puts her entire career in jeopardy when she wants to expose the work as a fake. After a few weeks of unemployment, Camille is contacted by Maxime Foucault the owner/heir to the historic French estate where Constance last lived and worked.

Maxime (lol—of course) and Camille have a history, one from their childhood and one from their young adult/college lives. Maxime is also one of the only people who knows about Camille's power. While he gains her trust with the job offer, he has another motive: He wants to use the power to increase crowds to look at the art.

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This was a slow burn and I don't HATE it, but I didn't love it. Camille was a bit of a mess - just fundamentally. She was a little annoying but eventually, her 'power' moved the story to a more interesting plot point.

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

The Estate is an intense fever dream of a novel. Jost brings art and history to life through Arthurian myths and French Impressionism. This book feels like it was made for me as I studied both intensely in high school - writing poems about Arthur, Morgane, Merlin, Viviane while engrossing myself in the history and culture of the French Impressionist movement. The story was at times confusing and erratic, but I soon learned that intentional, and I was enchanted by the atmosphere of D’Arvor and the mystery of Constance Sorel. I loved the inclusion of magical realism and Camille’s dedication to Constance’s voice and story. This novel is perfect for readers who love art history, chilling mysteries, wronged women, and dark fairytales!

Thank you to Netgalley Sourcebooks Landmark for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A highly entertaining and atmospheric novel about the nature of art, The Estate started strong and never lost steam. For anyone who’s watched Kurosawa’s “Dreams” and wished they could literally get into paintings, Camille , the main character here, shows that, sometimes, a gift can be a curse,. She is a specialist in Constance Sorel, a thinly disguised version of Camille Claudel with a similar backstory of forbidden love with a more famous sculptor. Camille can enter the world of Sorel’s sculptures, which has made her successful in the art business. The plot is a little complicated to summarize here but every twist was unexpected. The author says that she feared that her protagonist might not have been likable but I didn’t see her that way. She is ambitious and sometimes hurts the ones she loves, but she’s been damaged since childhood so it’s hard to hold it against her. The rest of the characters are not that likable either, so I had no issues rooting for her. I also liked that, unlike modern feminist novels, this one doesn’t turn all men into evil caricatures. The message is poignant and clear, but it doesn’t ever get into “this guy is the villain just because he’s a man,” which is something that always aggravates me. Instead of preaching, the author shows us how to overcome our issues. I also loved this in a more superficial level, in that it’s very suspenseful and creative and I could see all the fictitious works of art in my mind. Very impressive.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Sourcebooks Landmark.

The Estate is a gripping novel that’s both thrilling and spine-tingling. Camille Lerray, an art historian, has carefully built her reputation over the years. Her unique ability to enter a piece of art and immerse herself in the artist’s world is her secret weapon, letting her offer amazing insights into their work. But then, one disastrous night, her life comes crashing down, and she gets unceremoniously fired. Just as things look bleak, a golden opportunity presents itself—an invitation from her longtime obsession, Maxime Foucaul, to his French estate. He wants her to authenticate statues by the very artist who ignited her passion. Yet, the Estate holds its own mysteries. Between her unique gift, the hidden secrets, and the webs of deception, Camille must navigate this labyrinth to rediscover herself and find her true path.

The dark atmosphere of this slow-building mystery perfectly matched the story's progression. Camille's magical ability to enter the world of a painting was fascinating to read about. The concept of immersing oneself in a painting's world is inherently compelling. Camille's internal struggle between her lifelong ambitions and her comfort zone added a nice touch to the narrative. The ending was exceptionally satisfying, and I did not anticipate how it would unfold.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

The premise of this book was a lot of fun and rather unique. I thought it was cool how Camille could step into the world of paintings, that is rather interesting to me and I kept thinking about all the paitnings I’d like to step into. Of course for me, most of them were either on the country side or by the beach, because I just want to relax! Camille turned her ability into an interesting career and is now working as an auctioneer for art. Because of the fantasy / magical realism elements, my mind would often wander, not necessarily for bad reasons, but I just couldn’t help but imagine what this would be like in the “real” world. It did become a little distracting to me, but eventually I finished the book and ended up enjoying it. The main character was fairly unlikeable, and despite wanting to connect with her, I just couldn’t. But again, I felt a connection to the plot so that kept me going and I was rooting for her no matter how much I disliked her. It was an interesting tug-of-war with my emotions throughout. Because of how this book made me feel, I did take a little longer than my norm to finish it and completed it over the course of a few days as I couldn’t read more than an hour or so at a time.

I do recommend this book to those who love art and magical realism, this one is sure to play with your emotions!

The Estate had a good plot and excellent writing and while I liked the story I was hoping to for it to be a little bit more. There were some twists and definitely kept me engaged I'm just not sure it's a story that will stay with me. Entertaining read and always love a story involving the art world so would for sure recommend. I want to thank NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was fully enraptured from the first chapter. A woman who can enter paintings and witness what the artist was feeling and doing at the time they were creating. A near death experience at the age of seven that seems to have triggered this ability. A castle tucked in next to a pond in France. The vastness and the wonder fully intriguing the most innocent of visitors. I loved the whirling sense of wonder that Sarah Jost created in her writing. The mystery behind the story. The well-formed characters that spark your senses. Did I say castle? I love a story that is set at a castle during the present era.

Camille Leray is falling to the bottom of an endless pit. Her job that she has thrown herself into is gone. Camille is unwilling to back a piece of art that she does not believe is created by her favorite artist, Constance Sorel. She has studied every piece that she has created. Night Swimming is the one piece that is missing. She knows the one she entered is not it. It is too heavy, dark, scary, nothing like the others. She made a choice, and she must live with it. After touching bottom her dreams come true, and she receives an email from Maxime Foucault, the boy she met as a child. The man with a castle. He is inviting her to come examine some pieces he believes are Sorel's. Can she come? She climbs out of bed, puts the cake down, and heads for d'Arvor. As the days tick by things become just a bit odd, not adding up. Is this Sorel's actual work or is it the work of someone else?

This book catered to all my senses. The descriptions and details are spot on, making me become one with the sculptures. To witness the decay around the castle. In this day and age there really is no way one family can upkeep a house this size. That does not mean they do not try everything in their power to hold on. Thank you to Sarah Jost and Sourcebook Landmark for my gifted copy.

This is one of my normal troupes and while I enjoyed it, and it was worth the read, it's not something that blew me away.

Absolutely a good plot, and great writing, no regrets reading it, and I would reccomend it to anyone looking for a slow burn mystery thriller, heavy on the mystery part.

Not a bad read.

This book fell flat for me. The overall concept seemed interesting so I gave it a try but I felt like it dragged on in certain parts. I didn’t like the main character and her decision making. I feel like the story skipped around too much as well. I really wanted to like this one. 😣

The title, “The Estate” gives nothing away. It’s pretty broad and could mean anything. I’d like to say that it’s one of those art-fiction niche books that some will completely love while others will say: “meh.” Why? Because of the far-fetched world in the story that isn’t real.

Yet, readers that are working in the art field will no doubt get it. It’s a perception of how the wealthy buys high-end art pieces not because they like it but, because it gives them the sense of power to have it -- like a commodity. For the rest of us, we look for affordable art that “speaks to us.”

The main character, Camille Leray, has a gift. She is able to transport herself inside a painting or sculpture where she can feel impressions made by the artist. It’s definitely a place where readers need to believe in some type of fantasy. This special gift has made her successful in the field of auctioning high-end pieces. Yet, when there’s a sale for a million-dollar sculpture with a group of buyers, something terribly goes wrong. She is not able to vouch for its authenticity. Her boss is angry and lets her go even though she has worked with him for a long time.

Now what? She has a mortgage in London and suddenly her life feels like she’s headed for a dead end. After a week of not eating much and feeling distressed, she wakes up with a surprise call. The next phase of her life is full of suspense when she goes to France. The characters she meets have deep secrets and it keeps me turning the pages.

I’ve never read a plot like this that zeros in closely on how wealthy people can treat artists that are desperately trying to make it in competitive markets. It shows the contrast between those who buy million-dollar pieces and those who go to museums. It’s thought provoking. However, the story could have been a bit shorter without losing its meaning. It’s the first book I’ve read by this author and won’t be the last.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of November 19, 2024.