After witnessing the death of her grandmother but having no knowledge of who the killer is, Eleanor must visit a house that has been in her family for over fifty years, a place with a shady past and secrets kept inside. As Eleanor struggles with guilt and anxiety over her grandmother's murder, she must figure out mysteries within her family and a presence at the house that she knows is not supposed to be there.

Overall, I thought this was an engaging read that kept me hooked throughout it. I really enjoyed the dual timelines from different character perspectives. I love a good slow burn with a creepy atmosphere, and I thought that The Resting Place delivered on that quite well. However, the plot twists were a little bit . . . lackluster to me, and there were moments when I had to go back and reread sections or refer to previous pages in the book to make connections to what was happening. Because of that, I was a little bit confused at times. Although this isn't a new favorite of mine, I thought it was a quick read, and I would recommend it to people who enjoy thrillers about family secrets.

TW for death, violence, blood, mention of miscarriage, suicide in the past.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the ARC of The Resting Place by Camilla Sten.

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 🔪

This book has such an interesting premise - I am fascinated by prosopagnosia and was ready to learn more about it. And it was interesting how Eleanor talked about having markers for people and what she saw when she looked at someone's face. However, if it's one of the big draws I would think we would get more out of it, but that's about where it ended. I could not feel connected to any of the characters. The atmosphere was going for a gothic feeling, but mostly I just felt lost and like not much was happening. I didn't even feel connected to this "mysterious mansion" that would be just the coolest setting, but again felt flat. This book was slooooow burn, which just wasn't my personal preference. I did enjoy the back and forth between POVs that gave you that back of the neck feeling that something wasn't right. And the twists (though I saw them coming) could have been more dramatic - if I had more of a clear picture of the characters involved, but I just didn't. The ending was a dramatic, but still somehow seemed agonizingly slow.

Eleanor has prosopagnosia, which is the inability to recognize a familiar person’s face, even the faces of those closest to you. When she walks in on the scene of her capriciously cruel grandmother, Vivianne’s, murder, she came face to face with the killer. With each passing day, her anxiety mounts. Then a lawyer calls to tell her that Vivianne has left her a house – a looming estate tucked away in the Swedish woods. The place where her grandfather died, suddenly. A place that has housed a dark past for over fifty years. Eleanor, along with her boyfriend Sebastian, aunt Veronika, and the lawyer have arrived at the house looking for answers, but what they find is a house of disturbing secrets.

THE RESTING PLACE is a gripping and eerie story of psychological suspense set in an atmospheric and isolated location. I’m a firm believer that setting can be key to making a book a winner for me. I absolutely devour books set in isolated locations where we find our cast of characters second guessing each other and their intentions. THE RESTING PLACE showcases this style featuring an estate with a mysterious past, a cast of characters that don’t quite trust each other, and an intense snow storm moving in. Sten wisely weaves together narratives from our main character, Eleanor, with glimpses into the past through diary entries from a maid who once worked at the estate. These two narratives compliment each other and craft a guessing game for the reader about how these events from the past possibly relate to Eleanor’s current situation. THE RESTING PLACE is a chilling and claustrophobic read that will keep you glued to the pages!

A huge thank you to Minotaur Books for my gifted copy!

3.25 stars

A page turner for sure, you want to keep reading to see what is going to happen. The ending was just ok for me. I wish there was more of a twist and a bit of a different direction that it could have gone. Even with that being said it was good, interesting and I will for sure continue to pick more books my Camilla up.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for allowing me access to an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Eleanor find her grandmother murdered in her apartment. Then she has to go to a house in the country where her Grandmother lived years ago. She finds a book that has some information from years ago.
This book is different and has twists and turns.

I was so excited for this one, after reading The Lost Village last year! Camilla Sten knows how to deliver a spooky story, eerie settings, and twists that you don’t see coming. This was no different!

One thing I love is how she alternates timelines and then slowly brings everything full circle. There weren’t a ton of characters in this one, meaning that there weren’t a ton of people who could be behind everything and I STILL could not figure it out. I was questioning everything! Although I was questioning everything, there were times where things felt slow and some stuff that wasn’t exactly necessary the plot.

This one came out Tuesday, so you can grab it now!

Thank you so much to @minotaur_books for the #gifted copy!

3.5 Stars

I will start off by saying I was disappointed in the comparison to crimson peak and the like. It wasn’t anything like that. It definitely had the creep factor but something I’ve learned about Sten, is the villain is always right behind you and I love how you have no idea who it is or what is going on until all the puzzle pieces start to fit together.

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!

After the Lost Village, I was super interested in where Camilla Sten could head for me because I loved the eerily atmosphere in it. I will say that the atmosphere continues to be the best part, but it really is not my thing when it comes down to preference as the story unfolded in comparison. Some will like this better, others like myself, will wish for another book similar to The Lost Village.

Wow, twists and turns and secrets galore!

I really enjoyed this story, though I did find it a bit confusing until I finally sorted out the characters.

There’s Vivianne, Veronika, Vendela and Victoria (who wants to be called Eleanor.) Yeah, that’s a lot of V’s to keep track of, let me help you get sorted out. Vivianne is the grandmother, Vendala and Veronika are her daughters and Victoria (Eleanor) is the daughter of Vendala. Vendala died before the current story takes place and Eleanor was mainly raised by her grandmother, Vivianne.

This twisty tale is told from two different time periods. In 1965, we are following Anushka (who is called Annika,) the maid of Vivianne.

With Annika’s story, tensions are building as secrets and lies are set in place.

In the current time, Eleanor is returning to a family home that she never knew existed following the murder of her grandmother. We get a few hints that things aren’t quite as they seem right from the beginning and the ramifications from the past start unfolding.

Lots of twists and turns, none of which I saw coming. This family is loaded with secrets! A nice slow build with a tense satisfying climax. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

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.

The Resting Place by Camilla Sten is the first book I’ve read by this author, but I will be reading more!

While I didn’t get the creep factor that a lot of other readers did (I’ve been watching horror movies since I was around eight, so I might be a bit jaded…) I was blown away by how Sten kept me guessing who the killer was. With such a small list of characters. I knew early on that it had to be someone who knew the main character, Eleanor, (since how else would they know she would not be able to tell who they were if they just kept quiet, since Eleanor has a disease that makes it impossible for her to see faces…)

I thought for sure the killer was one person, but it turned out to be another. I love when that happens. Although once the item came into play a thing that kept niggling at Eleanor’s brain that she couldn’t put it into context, I knew who it would turn out to be.

But even solving the mystery as to who the killer was before the end of the book, Sten really did keep me intrigued as to what would happen next since there were lots of twists. Combine all the side stories and entwined stories along with a gothic house in the middle of a blizzard and this book is one that is not to be missed.

In this, her second novel, Ms. Sten shows that she is not a one trick wonder. Her new novel is an immersive, atmospheric and somewhat creepy read that will keep readers turning the pages and looking over their shoulders.

This book is seriously scary so know that before diving in. The protagonist witnessed a murder but has a condition which leaves her unable to recognize faces. How will she be able to know how much danger she is in? How threatened will the killer feel? Along with this, there is a house that is every bit as evocative as Manderley.

Try this one if you are a brave reader. Just keep the lights on.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Minotaur for this title. All opinions are my own.

🪦family secrets
🪦set in Sweden
🪦crumbling ancestral home
🪦an unsolved murder

Camilla Sten became an author to watch with her English language debut THE LOST VILLAGE last year. I was so excited to receive an e-ARC of her latest, THE RESTING PLACE, on NetGalley.

This book is fast paced and has dual timelines, like her previous book. Eleanor’s overbearing grandmother Vivianne is dead. And to make matters worse, Eleanor came face to face with the killer but due to her facial blindness, is unable to describe the perpetrator to the authorities. Along with her boyfriend, her aunt Veronika, and a shady lawyer, Eleanor must take stock of the family assets in the wake of her grandmother’s death. There is an isolated setting in the Swedish countryside where the family’s creepy old summer home is located. From the moment Eleanor and the others arrive, the atmosphere is unsettling and laden with secrets. Why didn’t Eleanor know about the house before? What happened there so many years before? Why does her aunt seem to be terrified of the house?

I loved the creepy tale and both timelines. I think fans of THE LOST VILLAGE will enjoy this as well. Spooky atmospheric and kept me guessing right up to the end!!

Many thanks to @netgalley @stmartinspress @minotaur_books and @wednesdaysten for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I read "The Lost Village" by Camilla Sten last year & it was one of my favorite books of the year.
When I discovered Ms. Sten had a new book coming out, I couldn't wait to request a copy to review.
"The Resting Place" is another winner by Ms. Sten.
It was chilling, tense & addictive.
The dual narrative/timeline was an interesting addition to this story.
I can't wait to read what she decides to write next.

When Eleanor’s grandmother died, she found out the family secret. She had never known her father, and her mother died of cancer when she was young. So her grandmother Vivienne had raised her. And even though Eleanor is an adult now, out on her own, she still has dinner with Vivienne once a week. And in all those years, Vivienne had never mentioned Solhöga, the manor house about an hour and half north of Stockholm that had been a part of her life for decades.

Vivienne didn’t die peacefully in her sleep. Eleanor had been coming over for dinner when she found Vivienne on the floor in a pool of blood, silver scissors in her neck. Eleanor had seen the murderer pass by her, but she hadn’t recognized the person. She suffers from prosopagnosia, a condition where she can’t recognize faces. She makes up for it in her daily life by memorizing facets of a person’s face—the hairline, the jawline, the hairstyle. And she can recognize voices. But the person who had rushed past her that night hadn’t said a word, so Eleanor couldn’t register who it was.

Six months later, a lawyer had called Eleanor and told her about Solhöga, saying they needed to meet out there to do an inventory of the house and its outbuildings. She picks a weekend and heads out there with her boyfriend of 6 years Sebastian, meeting the lawyer Rickard and her aunt Veronika at the manor house. There is a groundskeeper, Bergtsson, but repeated calls to him went to voicemail. Eleanor thought he might meet them when they showed up at the house, but he was nowhere in sight.

They get settled in the house and purchase food for several days, since the weather forecast is for cold, wind, and snow. They choose bedrooms for the weekend and get settled in for the night so they can start on the inventory first thing in the morning. But with a giant painting of Vivienne, her husband Evert, and their children Veronika and Vendela (Eleanor’s mother) in the front hallway, Eleanor finds it difficult to relax. There is something off, something creepy about Solhöga, and she just wants to get back home to Stockholm.

The next day, as the lawyer starts to look through the paperwork in the library, Eleanor and Sebastian set out to look at the outbuildings, and to try to find Bergtsson. They find a woodshed, a barn, and what looks like Bergtsson’s home. But there is no one there. There seems to be a blizzard brewing, so they head back to the main house. There they find Veronika screaming at Rickard about some missing letters. She thinks the lawyer stole her letters from her father, but that makes no sense to Eleanor. She calms Veronika down and helps her look, but the letters are nowhere to be found.

But Eleanor does find a diary hidden under a floorboard. It’s the diary of a young woman who had worked for Vivienne and Evert back in the 1960s. It’s not all in Swedish, so Eleanor can’t read it, but maybe she can translate it on her phone, or at least figure out what language it’s written in.

Eleanor can feel that Solhöga has secrets. It was a secret to her for so long, and now she just knows that something has been buried here. She can hear voices around her. She sees shadows that look like strangers. She can feel that something is wrong with Solhöga, and she’s determined to find out what happened there before she can leave it behind her. But will the house destroy them to keep its own secrets?

Author Camilla Sten, translated by Alexandra Fleming, brings us The Resting Place, a chilling novel of family secrets and lies. Told in alternating timelines, from Eleanor’s present day and household help Anushka back in the ‘60s, this novel unfolds slowly, with surprises and twists throughout. Sten’s writing sparkles like the newly fallen snow, but the storytelling is a winter storm, lulling you into a false sense of comfort until she brings up a bitter wind, blowing in with answers and truths, turning you around and around until you’re not sure what’s real, letting the ground shift beneath you until can find your footing again.

The Resting Place took my breath away. It’s so beautiful and harsh, cold and warming all at once, as I marveled at the depth of the family’s dysfunction and the courage of Eleanor to face each day anyway. As all the pieces of her taut plotting fell into place, I found myself unable to set the book aside until I knew it all. If you love a good, creepy, chilling thriller, then this one is not to be missed!

Egalleys for The Resting Place were provided by Minotaur Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I read to 35% but just can't muster up any interest in the characters or what will develop in the plot..

This was not for me so I called it quits. I hope the author has much success. Just because a book isn't for me doesn't mean it won't be for other readers.

This started off fast then slow then went really fast. It's an atmospheric Nordic drama that draws in the elements and leaves you with a spine tingling plot. It's not what I expected but definitely imaginative. This is a thriller that opens with the murder of Eleanor's grandmother. As she's led to their ancestral home she's never seen, she realizes her grandmother has been keeping many secrets. The four who are led out to the home to discuss the inheritance of the house and it's items and what they get is a heat pounding night that breaks open her family history. The descriptions of the house and the surrounding area are descriptive and lead you right into a claustrophobic kind of telling where you feel the shove into the mysterious secret rooms and hunting lodges that house more than just dead animals.

What a ride! Throughout the book I thought I had things mostly figured out and it turns out I was wrong about all of them. I loved the dual timelines and how they came together. I also felt like everything was explained and wrapped up in the end. The author did a great job keeping a little creepiness and creating the setting. Will definitely read more from this author. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️