I was really pleasantly surprised by this book. I like how prosopagnosia was used. It made it a little more creepier thinking that the killer could be right there, but Eleanor may not know it. This book really kept me guessing and every time something gets revealed, there's still more to uncover. I liked how Camilla Sten used the Annika's diary to unveil her side and then went back into the current time. It was very easy to follow along with. I would have liked a few more details at the end, to make it cleaner, but it was enjoyable just the same.

I enjoyed The Lost Village and I was excited to read another book by Sten. I'm happy to write that she didn't disappoint again! The scene-building & character development was smooth, just the right speed, and the conclusion of the book was a surprise that I admit I didn't see coming right away.

I love a good suspense/thriller and it was just the right amount of back story to support the conflicts the MC is struggling with. I loved how it explored therapy & how those who raise us can influence. The inner voice in Eleanor's head & her inability to recognize faces, even her own, creates such an interesting struggle for her all the while trying to discover who her grandmother really was.

The dual POV & timeline did a great job of showing both sides of the story & how each woman became who they are and the path that led them to make the choices they did. I look forward to reading more from Sten in the future!

Imagine this, you walk in on a horrific murder scene and the killer walks right past you but you can’t identify them because you have face blindness-prosopagnosia. Is there anything more terrifying? No!

I love a book that’ll make me just a tiny bit scared to read after dark. This one was perfect for that! It had such a spooky setting and I felt right there in the house with these characters.
However, I honestly had no idea what was going on for more than half of this book. I felt it was kinda all over the place and even though the ending everything came together, it still just felt off too me. Not bad, not my favorite.

The Resting Place was a psychological roller coaster set in a creepy atmosphere. The main character has prosopagnosia which means when she comes face to face with a murderer, she can't help the police with a description of the person. Events of the past come to play a big part in the story when an old family mansion is inherited. This book will keep you in suspense and give you chills to the very end.

The Resting Place is a wonderfully atmospheric gothic read! Eleanor struggles with prosopagnosia, or commonly known as face blindness. After witnessing the death of her grandmother, Vivianne, proceeded by a brief encounter with the killer, she finds herself in possession of her aunt's property. A trip to the isolated manor has Eleanor questioning the identity of the killer, her own judgement, and family secrets. In contrast, the reader is also introduced to Annushka through her diary, a servant girl that lived with the family in 1965. With a killer in the woods and a dark family secrets lurking in the past, there is not a lack of dark, creepy atmospheric vibes to propel readers through the story. I loved the claustrophobic feel of this book. Sten does a wonderful job of keeping readers on the edge of their seat. Overall, a great read and perfect for a dark and stormy night.

I just finished reading it and, wow. I loved it. I didn't want to put the book down. It kept me wanting more. I love the creepy house in the middle of nowhere vibes. I really liked Eleanor, I thought she was a strong character.

I guessed one of the twists, but the other I didn't see coming. I loved guessing what was going to happen. I think the authors writing was brilliant. I look forward to reading more of her work!

Thank you to @minotaur_books for the physical copy of the book, and @netgalley for my ebook! The opinions are my own.

Camilla Sten has a way with telling creepy, tension filled stories. Eleanor's Grandmother was murdered and she happened to show up just as the murderer was exiting the house. Eleanor has prosopagnosia, which doesn't allow her to recognize faces; even her own. After receiving a call from the lawyer, she finds out she has been willed a huge estate in the country, that she never knew existed. Why would her Grandma keep this secret from her? Eleanor, her boyfriend Sebastian, her Aunt Veronika and the lawyer all venture out to the estate to take inventory of the house. Now stuck out there in a snow storm, weird things start happening and Eleanor tries to piece together the life of her Grandmother, who she now realizes she never really knew. In alternating timelines, we learn of a maid named Anushka and her time at the estate when Eleanor's family lived there and present day where a new secret is revealed with every moment. This book was creepy, suspenseful, thrilling and so fast paced it was hard to put down. On top of all of that, just wait for the twist! I loved this story even more than Camilla's previous book, The Lost Village. I cannot wait to read any of her upcoming work!

3.5

Pretty good creep factor with an isolated, snowy location but something didn't quite connect me to the story like the many readers who seem to find this one unputdownable. This is my first book by the author and I would give her books another try as it seems she can create great eerie, creepy settings to come life.

While this was pretty predictable, the writing was so good that it kept me reading. There were a couple of unexpected twists so the plot does keep you on your toes. Victoria, or Eleanor, is a young lady that has been raised by her grandmother, Vivienne. Eleanor’s boyfriend, Sebastian, find Vivienne murdered in her floor and Eleanor can’t agree with the Police that it was a botched burglary attempt so she decides to find out what happened. Sebastian doesn’t agree but goes along anyway. This is the story.
Thank you NetGalley and Minatour books for an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed the story and characters.
#Netgalley #MinatourBooks

When Eleanor accidently stumbles upon her grandmother’s murder scene, she comes face to face with her killer. The catch is, she has prosopagnosia—face blindness—, so she’s unable to recognize them.

As the days pass, she remains haunted and increasingly paranoid by her death, and when a lawyer calls her to inform that she’s inherited her old family manor in the Swedish woods, she decides to visit it with her long-time boyfriend along with the lawyer himself.

However, as a blizzard sets in, they’re all stuck inside … with possibly the killer, and she has to figure who it is before it’s too late.

The Resting Place by Camilla Sten is a twisty turvy domestic thriller and an intimate portrait of a dysfunctional family that’ll constantly leave you guessing.

However, I’m entirely conflicted on this one because I had night and day experiences between the story’s two POVs.

On one hand, we have Eleanor’s POV where her story is like a classic psychological thriller: a group of people are stuck inside an old manor during a blizzard, and someone inside might potentially be the murderer.

This is a fantastic set up, and it’s her perspective that felt claustrophobic and gave me that edge-of-your-seat thriller feeling.

On the other hand, the other POV is told by a maid named Annushka, who, as we slowly find out, holds clues to Eleanor’s family’s terrible past. However, it felt unnecessary. I thought the alternating timelines ruined the pacing and I think it would it would have felt less disruptive if Eleanor had found parts of Annushka’s diary or notes in smaller bits and pieces.

Overall, the story would have felt more gripping to me if it had been told from a single narrator, but it’s still an atmospheric read that’s perfect to cozy up with during the winter.

This was a perfect winter read. A hot cup of tea, a warm blanket and a dark, moody, chilling suspense novel. Full disclosure - I am definitely partial to Scandinavian and Nordic literature, especially psychological thrillers, suspense and noir so that definitely contributed to my enjoyment level. The full credit goes to Camilla Sten for magically transporting the reader into the setting you will simultaneously want to immerse yourself in and run away from.

Eleanor lives with face blindness (prosopagnosia). As if not being able to recognize people's faces (including her own) wasn't challenging enough, she also has to live with the knowledge that her grandmother's killer walked right by her, yet she wasn't able to recognize them. In the wake of this traumatic experience and the loss of grandmother she had a complex & complicated relationship with, she finds out that Vivianne left behind an inheritance in the form of a family home tucked away far in the Swedish woods, a home Eleanor was completely unaware of. While visiting the property Eleanor, her fiance, aunt & a lawyer find themselves caught in the dark web of secrets the house has been hiding. The story dips back into 1965 to give the reader a glimpse of the past through the eyes of Anushka, one of the maids.

This story gave me a bit of Haunting of the Hill House vibes, sprinkled with some Agatha Christie "gather everyone in an old, spooky house and see what happens" elements. Characters really came alive for me and the prevailing mood of isolation and fear lingered long after I closed the pages of the book. This week brings a lot of exciting new publications but I definitely recommend picking up The Resting Place especially for those readers who truly appreciate spooky atmosphere and settings.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for gifting me an ARC of this book in exchance for an honest review.

I never once would have guessed who the killer was. I also didn't find myself preoccupied trying to figure that out. I could tell that there were secrets the lawyer and her aunt were keeping information to themselves but the really juicy stuff was coming from the old journal.
This was my first time reading something from this author and I really enjoyed it.

Eleanor has a condition known as prosopagnosia. It's the inability to recognize a familiar person's face.
She has a standing Sunday dinner with her fickle grandmother Vivianne. When she arrives the door is opened to let her in and she realizes that her grandmother is on the floor, after being attacked. Knowing that she saw the killer and will never be able to identify them fills her with anxiety.

Then she's contacted by a lawyer. Her grandmother left a country estate. She travels with her boyfriend to meet up with the lawyer and her aunt. They expect to be greeted and shown around by the longtime groundskeeper but no one can get a hold of him. The plan is to take inventory at the estate.

Eleanor can't shake the feeling of being watched. But she's afraid to mention anything. Then she overhears the lawyer on a strange call. Her aunt discovers that personal letters are missing. And Eleanor discovers an old journal written in another language.

As things are revealed, they learn secrets that burdened those that are no longer alive.

Thank you so much to the author, St.Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC to review.

This story was very suspenseful and will grab you from the very beginning. I would suggest going into it blink and prepare for a bit of slow burn during the middle. Overall I would recommend this book.

I was looking forward to reading this book has I had read Ms. Sten’s The Lost Village and was not impressed, but wanted to give her another chance. I am so glad I did as I enjoyed this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I could not have been more surprised at the end. I will be looking forward to seeing more from Ms. Sten.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Great set up! Just what you would expect from Camilla Sten, a haunted mansion, a mysterious killer and a heroine that has prosopagnosia ( face blindness).

Eleanor grew up under her elderly grandmother's care but it was a fractured relationship. At the start of the story she possibly views her aunt's murderer but her prosopagnosia prevents her from remembers any facial features to report to the police. A few months later, she learns she has inherited a mansion that she knew nothing about. Her and her boyfriend meet her other prickly aunt Veronika and the estate lawyer at the site.

The mansion is dark and deserted - the groundskeeper is missing. A blizzard cuts the group off from communicating or leaving. Before long, it's clear that there is a killer on the grounds but who is it and why?

Very good thriller, spooky and creepy. The end seemed a bit rushed but I enjoyed it all the same! If you like Haunted Mansions, Locked Room Mysteries and Inheritance Stories, this book is for you! thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital copy of this book with me in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved Camilla Sten’s first book to be translated into English, The Lost Village. I loved her slow building of a creepy, ominous setting and, without giving anything away; I thought the ending was clever and unexpected. It didn’t take the easy way out when everything could have easily been blamed on the supernatural. I couldn’t request this book fast enough when it popped up as available to review. I was prepared to read another smart horror and I was not disappointed! The Resting Place leans hard into Gothic territory with a long unused estate house, isolated and remote (where no one can hear you scream.)

The story starts with a murder, witnessed by the main character, Eleanor who unfortunately suffers from prosopagnosia or face-blindness and can’t identify the murderer. The scene then shifts to the manor house where Eleanor, her boyfriend and her aunt meet with a lawyer to sort out the estate. The atmosphere is ominous and strange things happen and, like reasonable people, they want to get the heck out of there but then a blizzard hits and they are all trapped. You just know a dead body will enter the picture soon!

The tale jumps between two time periods, the past storyline being of the previous residents of the house. It took me a bit to figure out the connections. At least I thought I had it figured out but there was a surprise twist. And then another surprise twist! The theme of this story is definitely identity; more than one person is pretending to be someone they are not. Everyone has hidden secrets and the house itself has its own mysteries. While this story starts with a slow, menacing creep but once the layers of deception start peeling off like an onion it was an exciting read that I didn’t want to put down. I just had to know what had happened to the characters in the past and who was responsible for the murder that started the story. I was quite surprised by the answers. If you like Gothic murder mysteries and horror that is more chilling than terrifying then I think this will be your cup of tea too!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

I enjoyed Camilla Sten’s atmospheric book, The Lost Village, last year, and I was eager to read her newest novel, The Resting Place. Sten delivered a spin-tingling, suspenseful thriller that kept me guessing.

Eleanor suffers from prosopagnosia. The inability to remember or recognize a face, even those of her closest friends. Over the years, Eleanor has made links between hair cuts, facial hair and, of course, voices to recognize those around her. Her closest friends know to call her and share pictures if they get a haircut or change the color.

When she arrives at her grandmother, Vivianne’s apartments for their customary Sunday dinner, she is feeling resentful but duty calls. That is when she notices the door ajar just as someone rushes past her. Inside, she finds her grandmother murdered. Fast forward five months and Eleanor still suffers from nightmares and worries that every face is that of the killer.

When a lawyer contacts her, she is shocked to learn she has inherited Solhoga, a country estate. She and her live-in boyfriend Sebastien travel to the estate tucked away in the Swedish woods. They plan to meet the lawyer there and hopefully the estate manager who no one has been able to reach. She is surprised when she discovers her Aunt Veronika waiting for them.

An odd family history and the gloomy atmospheric Solhoga Estate set the tone for this chilling tale. Family secrets and resentments give way to truths as they unlock the door.

The author shares two time periods. Present day and 1965 via the maid Annushka’s diary that Eleanor discovers. The diary divulging the disillusions, pessimism and cruelties Vivianne, the madam of the house, made everyone endure.

Creepy closed off rooms, and the claustrophobic setting gave this a Noir vibe. The constant feeling of someone watching, flickering lights, a missing estate manager and a snowstorm all add to the foreboding. I found myself unable to put it down. What happened here? Why did Vivianne never mention the summer home? What doesn’t Eleanor know?

The tale was clever with plenty of twists, heartache and suspense as Eleanor moves closer to discovering the secrets buried here. Sten masterfully wove past and present to create a suspenseful thriller that will keep you enthralled.

Oh this was such a good thriller! I was pulled in right away This one had it all a locked room mystery, eerie setting, and interesting backstory! I kept turning the pages needing answers to the mystery. I loved the authors writing how she alternated between past and present. I will have to read more of her books now! I definitely recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Camilla Sten and St Martin's Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read this one after being a huge fan of The Lost Village! I was a bit surprised by this one, it was less horror and more thriller, but overall so very very enjoyable anyway. It was action packed and pretty creepy in the abandoned old house. It was a quick and easy read and I just kept turning the pages to see what the heck was going on!