THE RESTING PLACE by Camilla Sten

 

Most Anticipated by Bustle * Goodreads * Mystery Tribune * Crime Reads Best International Books of March

"Engrossing, character-rich, powerful. Sten is on a roll."—Publishers Weekly(starred review)

Crimson Peak meets The Sanatorium in The Resting Place, a heart-thumping, unforgettable novel of horror and suspense by international sensation Camilla Sten.

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

Eleanor lives with prosopagnosia, the inability to recognize a familiar person's face. It causes stress. Acute anxiety.

It can make you question what you think you know.

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, the horror of having come so close to a murderer—and not knowing 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 chilling 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 uncovering the truth, they’ll wish they had never come to disturb what rests there.

MY THOUGHTS

My first book by this author. I will read more of her books in the future. 

This is a very creepy and edge of your seat thriller. I would not call it horror though by any means. It is a very good and very well written book. Set in Sweden and in two different POVs. 

Eleanor walks into her grandmother's home to find her murdered. The murderer walked right past her and she can't identify them at all. She suffers from prosopagnosia, or face blindness. She can't see faces. Only certain things that help her remember friends. 

Vivianne, the grandmother, was not a very nice woman most of the time. She was very cruel to Eleanor. Eleanor was seeing a therapist, Carina. Carina helped her deal with the craziness that went on with her grandmother and set boundaries with her. 

The story is told from Eleanor's POV in the present and tells about her going to Solhöga. That was a place that Vivianne had lived with her husband. It belonged to her husband but after his death went to Vivianne and then to her child and grandchild. You'll meet these people when reading this. Also a lawyer, Rickard. Also from Anushka's POV in 1966.

In the past, 1966, the story is from Anushka's experience in the house. There is a lot going on and all of it is not good. You read Anushka's story from her diary and find out what happened to her and a couple of other people. 

There are a lot of secrets in this book. A lot of actions you won't see coming. A murderer that will totally surprise you. The house appears to be possessed in a way. Like the walls have eyes or sounds. Maybe both. Or maybe none. Maybe someone is up to no good and you try to figure out what is going on. There are a couple of deaths in this story. A few not so nice people. I can't decide which era I liked best and maybe both equally. I actually did not like any of the characters though. Eleanor appears to be a very week person most of the time yet gets pretty strong when she has too. Her boyfriend, Sebastian is a total sissy in my opinion. He starts out a bit strong but then she has to do everything because he turned whiney and just stupid. At least to me he did. 

This book was a bit slow until about halfway through. Then it took off and I found it hard to put down. I wanted to know who the two eras would come together and who the killer was. I loved how the author brought the two together even though I have to wonder if it would have really worked. It was very good and I never saw that. I had a big guess but I was very wrong. I had no idea who the murderer was and was completely shocked. All I thought I had figured out was way wrong. That made the book even better for me.

Thank you #NetGalley, #CamillaSten, #StMartinsPress for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

4/5 stars. Lost one because it was a bit slow for a while. I do recommend it though. It's very good. I think this author is good. I enjoyed her "Thank You' at the end.