A lighting fast horror novel, full of twists, excellent prose, and incredibly complex and likeable characters. This is an incredible follow up to The Lost Village and one that deals with the idea of face blindness so extremely well and frighteningly. I have not felt this connected to a story in a long time. I just devoured this book and would highly recommend.

The Resting Place by Camilla Sten is a psychological suspense with an edge of horror in the mix. The story in The Resting Place is one that is told in different timelines from a present time and one with events in the past from diary entries with a different point of view.

Eleanor suffers from prosopagnosia or face blindness not being able to make out features on others faces. When Eleanor goes to visit her grandmother, Vivianne, she passes someone on their way out only to find her grandmother lying in a pool of blood brutally murdered.

A few months after the death of Vivianne Eleanor gets a call from a lawyer about an estate where her grandfather had died. The lawyer wants Eleanor to come with her aunt to the estate to take inventory of the house where Eleanor ends up finding a diary from the past.

So, The Resting Place by Camilla Sten seems to be another book that I am in the minority on but that’s ok, we can’t love them all. First, I’ve read other books with prosopagnosia and have absolutely loved them but with The Resting Place I would often forget until reminded it was a thing. But the thing that has my rating down to two stars really is that the story was just so slow going in my opinion and that made me just want more and end up losing interest. With other great reviews on this one I’d suggest checking it out for yourself if it sounds interesting to you.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The Resting Place started off strong – a historical dual-time line with a nice creepy atmosphere and interesting storyline. Unfortunately, the characters just didn’t quite hold up throughout the story. I found all the “V” names very confusing, and the characters’ actions were very inconsistent. Also, while I found the idea of the main character’s face blindness interesting, I honestly don’t think it really contributed much to the story. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Author’s note is one of the best I’ve read. Charming and funny, she offers an entire paragraph for each person who supported her writing. It was brilliant and witty (as is her Author Bio on Goodreads). Sadly, the story itself didn’t work as well for me (clearly, I”m in the minority based on other reviews).

Eleanor witnesses her grandmother’s murder and comes face-to-face with the killer. She has Prosopagnosia (face blindness), so she doesn’t know who did it or why. Months later, she learns her grandmother left her a spooky estate in the middle of nowhere, so she goes there. There are shadows, sneaky bits, and a blizzard. Cell phones are not the only things that die.

The pacing didn’t pull me in, and I cared so little for the characters that I wasn't even worried about their health and safety. Eleanor/Victoria (depending on who refers to her) is inconsistent. She swings from weak and anxious to brave and daring from one scene to the next.

The Resting Place is classified as “Horror,” but I don’t see it. Luckily.

Thanks, NetGalley and Minotaur Books, for a Digital Review Copy in exchange for an honest review. (US Pub Date 29 Mar 2022)

4.5 stars

The Resting Place by Camilla Sten is a psychological thriller.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books) and in particular Danielle Prielipp from the publisher who sent me a widget,  and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Eleanor reluctantly visits her rather cruel grandmother Vivianne every week.  One Sunday, she knocks on the door and comes face to face with a killer, who calmly walks away, blood on her hands.  Inside the apartment, Vivianne lays dying from being viciously stabbed by a pair of scissors.

Unfortunately, Eleanor suffers from prosopagnosia, a rare disease that does not allow her to remember faces.  Although the killer walked right by her, Eleanor has no idea who it was, or if she even knew them.

Months go by, with the police considering it a break and enter, and Eleanor still trying to understand her grandmother's death.  Then, Eleanor hears from a lawyer of Vivianne's estate.  She and her Aunt Veronika need to do an inventory of a mansion that Eleanor had never even heard of.  Apparently her grandmother had kept many secrets.

Almost upon arrival at the large estate, things start going wrong.  Eleanor's boyfriend Sebastian doesn't believe that she saw someone in the woods, but when her aunt is attacked, things start getting serious...all in the middle of a blizzard.


My Opinions:   
This was really good. The premise of the story was good (although the face-blindness angle could have been a little stronger), and the author took the reader on quite a journey.  It felt "tense" from beginning to end.  Nothing is as it seems, and although I had guessed a couple of the twists, I didn't see the last one coming.  It was about a very dysfunctional family, and also touched on mental illness.

The story was told by different perspectives and through a decades old diary, but it was laid out very well.

My only complaint were some of the characters, as they weren't very deep (Sebastian in particular).  Then there were the names....so many started with a V that I started getting a little confused, and a few of the characters were known by two different names, so that didn't help either.

Overall, it's a creepy, atmospheric, and compelling thriller.  I can't wait to see what Sten pulls out of her mind next!

Thank you to Netgalley, Camilla, and Minotaur Books for an advance copy of The Resting Place.

I am officially 2 for 2 on Camilla’s translated US releases. I received an ARC of The Lost Village last year and was impressed. The Resting Place did not disappoint either.

Eleanor has Prosopagnosia (face blindness) and who better to have walk in on a crime than someone who cannot recognize faces? After stumbling upon the murder of her vicious grandmother, Eleanor discovers that an estate she was unaware of has been left to her. Sölhaga is the source of family trauma for years and years for Eleanor’s family, as she soon finds out. In the middle of nowhere with her boyfriend, aunt, and lawyer handling the estate, secrets are uncovered and lives are changed, or lost, forever.

This book was good. Camilla takes things that aren’t quite original ideas but gives them a fresh twist and makes them feel new. A mysterious estate, cruel family members, and buried secrets are definitely nothing we haven’t already seen (at this point, neither is prosopagnosia honestly) but Camilla pushes the limits. We have seen characters in the past with prosopagnosia, but we haven’t seen one actually witness a murder, that I can recall. Camilla also throws in a missing person, a mysterious journal, and family tension. We really get a little bit of everything in this suspenseful book. Speaking of the journal, I was very invested in that and hopping between the entries and present day really kept me interested and reading when I should’ve put my book down to be responsible.

The characters were memorable, but not exactly likable. Vivianne was an incredible character. Each character could’ve had their own full-length novel, that’s how invested in them I was. I like to dislike characters but still be invested in and intrigued by them, which is exactly what Camilla gave me.

The one big criticism that I have is that the names were SO confusing. It wasn’t a translation issue, there were just a lot of names. Multiple names for multiple people made it difficult to keep people straight at times. I completely understand why it was part of the book and it was necessary, but it did get me turned around a time or two.

If you are looking for a chilling gothic-esqe thriller, The Resting Place is for you. Eleanor has face blindness, and when she walks in on Vivianne, her grandmother, being murdered, she cannot remember the murderer's face and has no idea who it could be, possibly even someone she knows. While coping with the trauma, Eleanor discovers that her grandmother has a long held secret - an estate deep in the woods unknown to Eleanor until her passing. Eleanor, her boyfriend, Sebastian, her aunt, Veronika, and a lawyer, Rickard, meet at the estate to settle Vivianne's affairs and soon uncover secrets long buried away much like the property itself.

The story swaps between two perspectives: current day with Eleanor, and late 1960s from the perspective of Anushka, Vivianne's maid.

One of the book's greatest strengths is its strong sense of place at an unsettling estate in Sweden in the middle of winter. The characters get stuck in a blizzard - increasing the anxiety and disorientation of the story. With the combination of the twisting story and the frigid environment, I felt the chill my bones as I read. Each chapter is relatively short, which made me not want to put it down - I had to find out what was next. There were certain aspects I began to guess prior to their reveal, but others came as a shock. Ultimately, the conclusion was unexpected and it wrapped up everything in a way that I felt satisfied.

I much preferred The Resting Place to The Lost Village from last year, I felt like the story wrapped up much better. I enjoy that Camilla Sten brings mental health into her stories and humanizes them. I found this with both of these titles. Additionally, Eleanor having face blindness made me understand the condition a lot more, and has brought me to research it to further my understanding.

In conclusion - if you are looking for a twisting mystery set in a creepy old estate in the dead of winter, definitely pick up this one!

If you’re looking for an atmospheric creepy read, look no further. The Resting Place by Camilla Sten is out on March 29, and is probably going to be one my favorites of the year. Thank you @minotaur_books for the gifted copy!

This book isn’t going to be for everyone, but I loved it. There’s something about the combination of a mystery, cold weather/snow, and the locked room style that just really draws me in. It’s not a super fast plot, and there is a bit of violence, but I read it in two days and didn’t want it to end.

Eleanor has prosopagnosia, which is face blindness. When she walks in on her grandmas murder, and the killer walks right past her, she couldn’t recognize them or give any description of them to the police. Fast forward, and Eleanor, finds out that her grandma left her an estate in the woods that Eleanor didn’t know existed. She travels there along with her boyfriend, aunt, and a lawyer to try to find answers.

Cue snow, power outages, creepy things happening, people disappearing, and I was like YES BRING IT!!! The ending really picked up speed and I zipped through trying to fit the pieces together.

There’s also a second POV, told by Anushka, a maid to Eleanor’s grandparents in the 1960’s. How does she fit into this mess? You’ll find out in bits and pieces, and by the end it’ll all fit together.

If you like atmospheric reads, pick this one up when it comes out next week!

Yes! Yes! Yes! This book had exactly what I was looking for. Dark family drama. Deeply buried secrets, amazing characters, and of course a mansion that is giving off major creepy vibes. This book had me from the first page. Be sure to have some snacks, and that the rest of your family is feed before you begin. You will not want to stop once you start. You will be riveted to your seat, nails chewed down to the quick, chills will rush down your spine with every turn, you know something is off you just do not know who or what it is.

Eleanor suffers from prosopagnosia; she is unable to recognize people's faces no matter how many times she has seen them. She doesn't even recognize herself in the mirror. When she walks in on her grandmother being brutally murdered, she is unable to give a description of the killer. Leaving her guilt ridden and unable to move forward until she knows what happened that terrible night. Since her grandmother's passing Eleanor has discovered an estate that her grandmother has hidden from her. When the lawyer calls to do an inventory, she jumps at the chance to see if there are any clues as to why this place was kept a secret. Eleanor, her boyfriend, the lawyer, and her bitter aunt all meet there in the middle of winter. What could possibly go wrong?

This book is phenomenal! Camilla Sten has set the atmosphere perfectly. Dark, snowy, biting cold, all in the shadow of a mansion with a dark past with hidden nooks and crannies. The story is slowly exposed through a dual timeline, rocking you back and forth between the present and 1965. I devoured this book in one day. Thank you to Camilla Sten, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for letting me read this horrifyingly twisty book.

Given how much I enjoyed Sten's last novel THE LOST VILLAGE I thought that THE RESTING PLACE would be another slam dunk, but I was left a little disappointed. That isn't to say that it was a bad read; there were a lot of things that I liked about it. I really liked the Gothic locale of a Swedish country home in the middle of a snowstorm, I liked the dual storylines of Eleanor, Sebastian, Rickard, and Viktoria trapped in the estate house with a potential killer on the lose and the flashbacks to Vivianne's time there when she was younger seen through the diary of the live in maid Anushka. I also thought that the mystery was pretty well developed and that Sten made realistic impediments, be it the ill timed snowstorm or Eleanor's face blindness. I think that what made THE RESTING PLACE fall short is that I didn't really feel like we were covering any new or unique ground when it came to the solution or the big twists and reveals. I'm not going to spoil it here for obvious reasons, but once we did get to the ending climax I was left feeling like I wanted more.

But the journey was enjoyable nonetheless! THE RESTING PLACE is an entertaining Gothic thriller and may work for others more than it worked for me!

An atmospheric and creepy gothic novel that is beautifully narrated in audio format by Angela Dawe.

This book follows two timelines, one in the Nordic 1800s and one in present day. Eleanor, our present-day heroine, suffers from face blindness, and comes upon some writings implicating her ancestors in some terrible and very gothic crimes and abuses at the same time as she is working to solve a present-day mystery. Take one part Flowers in the Attic, mix with one part Nordic noir and half a cup of historical romance and you will have The Resting Place.

This is a slow burn for sure, but beautifully written, haunting, and full of atmosphere, weird familial relations, forbidden relationships, longed-for children, .identity crises, and abusive and sinister ancient adults. The narrator does a wonderful job of increasing the drama, mood and atmosphere, and I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook and the many characters and their convincing tones and accents.

Camilla Sten remains a unique, lovely and descriptive writer and I look forward to her next book! Her tone and atmosphere are a perfect match for Angela Dawe’s voice acting skills. I hope the author can keep using this narrator for future books.

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Press for this lovely and creepy listen.

I loved Sten's other book so I was excited to receive an ARC for The Resting Place. This book does not disappoint. I wasn't sure how Sten would handle writing face blindness because it is something that is difficult for me to imagine/picture what it would actually be like. But she does an amazing job. The characters are interesting and the story kept me guessing. I appreciated that while the plot does twist and turn it never takes a turn completely out of character or an impossible twist. It is an incredible book. I can't wait to read more from Camilla Sten.

You only had to tell me this book was about murder, family secrets, and being trapped in a spooky mansion during a snowstorm for me to sign up! I enjoyed Sten’s newest book even more than her last.

The story starts with Eleanor coming face to face with her grandmother’s murderer as they escape her apartment. The problem is Eleanor has “face-blindness” – she cannot recognize nor remember anyone’s face, including her own. (This is a real thing – look it up!) Eleanor soon finds out she has inherited her grandmother’s country estate, which she never knew about.

Eleanor heads to the estate with her boyfriend, aunt, and a lawyer to inventory the home’s contents, so it can be divided per the will. But Eleanor finds more than old family photos and a wine collection when she arrives. Someone else is at the manor and is trying to keep hidden a 40-year old family secret that Eleanor unpicks bit by bit.

The suspense factor is strong with this one. I found myself frequently reading as quickly as I could to find out what was next and jumping as things went bump in the old, dark mansion! There were several twists to the tale, making it not as predictable as it could have been. I did get a bit confused with almost everyone having multiple identities, but I guess it added to the twists. I look forward to whatever Sten has up next!

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and StMartinsPress to preview. It publishes next week! March 29, 2022

Another creepy, unsettling and atmospheric chiller from Camila Sten! Fans of The Lost Village will love the haunting, isolated setting and the mystery behind a house with a dark history.

The book starts off with Eleanor walking into the scene of her grandmother's murder. She comes face to face with the killer but since she suffers from face blindness, she's not able to identify the person she saw. In her grandmother's will, Eleanor is left an estate that happens to be the place where her grandfather died years ago. Eleanor, her boyfriend, an estranged aunt and their lawyer take a trip to the estate to claim their inheritance and discover why Vivianne never returned to the house despite owning it all of these years.

This is a slow burn mystery with alternating perspectives: Eleanor in the present day and the diary pages of a former maid that worked in the house in 1965. The slow pace and the snowy, chilling setting definitely compliment each other and it's easy to get lost in this book. I think the ending is a little messy and confusing at a few parts but overall I really enjoyed this book and Camila Sten is even more so one of my favorite authors in the genre.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/ Minotaur books for the ARC!

** “You’re in pain, and you want that pain to stop, so you want revenge. … But that isn’t how it works. ‘An eye for an eye makes the world blind,’ wasn’t it you who told me that? ‘The only one who can heal you is you.’ ” **

Camilla Sten delivers another incredible thriller with “The Resting Place.”

Eleanor suffers from prosopagnosia, a condition where she can’t recognize faces. This is extremely problematic when she witnesses her grandmother Vivianne’s murder, because Eleanor can’t recognize the killer.

When a lawyer invites her to visit Solhoga, Vivianne’s secret manor house, to clear up her estate, she quickly learns there’s more to her grandmother’s story and the story of this house. Things — and people — aren’t who they seem to be.

Similar to a locked-room mystery, “The Resting Place” takes place in an isolated location where mystery after mystery occurs. Sten does a great job of creating a spine-tingling plot with unexpected events and characters.

“The Resting Place” will keep readers guessing until the very end as to what is truly going on, all while reminding us of the power of bitterness, revenge, secrets and fear (“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”).

Fans of authors like Ruth Ware and novels like “The Sanatorium” by Sarah Pearse will love “The Resting Place,” which is due out March 29.

Disclaimers: this novel does include language and adult situations.

Five stars out of five.

Minotaur Books provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

This author does a great job with dark, dreary, suspense-filled sceneries. In this case, an ancestral home that Eleanor didn't know about until her grandmother's death. As the past is slowly revealed, and scary things take place, what happened so many years ago comes back to the surface for Eleanor and family to reckon with. Increasing the reader and character's sense of discomfort is Eleanor's inability to remember faces. I liked how it was explained throughout the book as well as how Eleanor dealt with it. This added a depth to the character and the story itself. At many moments I felt a step ahead of the characters in knowing what was taking place, but never far enough to feel secure in what I knew. Until the end I remained moored in dark dreary suspense!

The Resting Place has just enough clues to figure out most of the deeply protected secrets within its pages. There is just the right amount of angst and tension to keep the reader engaged.

The Resting Place is a psychological suspense by author Camilla Sten.

Eleanor walks in on the murder of her grandmother as the perpetrator flees the scene. Unfortunately because of her prosopagnosia, the inability to recognize faces, she is unable to identify the killer. Fast forward a few months, and she discovers she has inherited an old summer home of her grandmothers. She arrives to take inventory of the house along with her boyfriend, her aunt, and a lawyer. But secrets are hidden at this abandoned summer home, and the four find themselves at the mercy of an isolating snow storm and an unknown person out to hurt them.

The story is told from two separate point of views that gradually reveals to the reader the history of the mysterious summer home. I appreciate a mystery that slowly pieces it all together and everything makes sense at the end. The author did a great job at placing little seeds of distrust when it came to the people around our lead Eleanor that were ramped up by her prosopagnosia. Even her devoted, steadfast boyfriend seemed shady to me at one point and I loved that. My middle ground rating has nothing to do with the writing, but more a personal dislikes of storyline details. Also, while I enjoyed the final reveal of all the secrets, the epilogue of the events was a bit unsatisfying.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and the author/translator for an advance reader’s copy of the Resting Place in exchange for an honest review. I read from 3/19/22-3/20/22.

Okay, so I definitely squealed with excitement when I was approved for this ARC. I loved Camilla’s the Lost Village, which I devoured last year and I couldn’t sleep in the dark for days. I enjoyed the creepy chilliness of her writing which was different from my usual crime thrillers. After that, I committed to buying all of her future English-translated works.

The plot of this book had so much potential. A murder, a witness who has a medical condition that doesn’t allow her to remember faces, a secret mansion in the rural countryside, a bad snowstorm, an estranged family, a missing groundskeeper, secret passageways, and more. I was so interested in how everything and everyone fit together and whodunit. It was definitely suspenseful and had me invested, wondering what was going to happen next. But it
lost me somewhere around 70% when things start to get a little confusing and the ending was unsatisfying in my opinion.

I will say, though, I do like the title and the creepy cover, they are fitting. You won’t understand the title until you get to the end of the book and I really dig that.

There were some English translation and grammatical errors that I am sure were probably fixed prior to the publication.

Overall, I would rate this book 3/5 stars. It was still entertaining even though I had some issues with the story near the end, and I would still recommend to others. Even if it is not my favorite of Camilla’s work, she will still be an auto-buy author for me.

Thank you again for the opportunity to read and review!

First Thoughts:
This book was gripping from the start. Our main characters prosopagnosia is a trippy, anxiety inducing attribute that just adds to the mystery and intensity of the plot. You’re right there, questioning everything and every one right along with her. There are multiple POVs which was enjoyable.

Writing: 4/5
Sten is an amazing writer. Theres no doubt about that. This version was a translation and while it was amazingly done, I can’t imagine it in its original voice. She is vivid in setting. Every detail is there, accounted for and beautifully portrayed. The internal voice she gives the main character puts you right in her shoes. The backlog of our alternate pov is well paced, setting you up for all the necessary clues and cues when it comes back to modern time. I was thoroughly enthralled, unable to put the book down.

Plot: 4/5
High stakes always. From the beginning, we get a bloody disaster that puts you on the edge of your seat. Eleanor comes face to face with her grandmothers murderer. After running straight into said murderer and witnessing the death of the only family she has left, she finds herself incapable of being much help in identifying the murderer due to her prosopagnosia. This gave the book such a creepy edge to it. You were second guessing every stranger.

To make things even more creepy, we move quickly to a mysterious house…in the middle of the woods…in the middle of a blizzard. Let me tell you. I was riveted. The mystery of the houses secrets, family politics, and a murderer on the lose made for a fast paced book with a string of unanswered questions that keep you invested.

Characters: 4/5
Our main character, Eleanor, was obviously the star of the show. She did however have to share a bit of the show when we got the alternative voice, Anushka. Anushkas chapters were blast from the pasts set in the old manor. at first I wasn’t sure how she’d tie in but that becomes obvious the more you get from her. A bit more obvious but not entirely what I thought. The ending got me by surprise.

The above mentioned are the most concerning characters. Though, we do also get Eleanor’s aunt, the lawyer responsible for settling the manor and will, Eleanors boyfriend, and the murderer on the lose. All were great characters to keep Eleanor grounded as well as her character development.

Romance: 4/5
If you’re looking for steam, this is not it. This is a mystery thriller. Most of the love is familial. Eleanor and Anushka both have to navigate family drama and politics. Eleanor has to evaluate her relationship both romantically and in herself. There is however a scandal angle that is everything!!

Overall: 4/5
I feel sometimes, the less you have to say about a book, the better the book is. I honestly have nothing negative to say about this book. I’m not sure what stopped me from giving it a full 5 star review. It was amazing, don’t get me wrong, I just was also not completely gripped to leave a lasting impact. I was ripping through pages. I ended up finishing half of it in a day and then thinking about it on my reading break, itching to finish.

It was a saving grace. My first thriller mystery left me rather disappointed and unimpressed. This book has restored my faith in it and itching to read another soon! I will definitely have my eye out for this author from here on out.