The Resting Place

by Camilla Sten

Alexandra Fleming (Translator)

A spine-chilling, propulsive psychological suspense from international sensation Camilla Sten.

The medical term is prosopagnosia. The average person calls it face blindness-the inability to recognize a familiar person's face, even the faces of those closest to you.

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, her anxiety mounts. The dark feelings of having brushed by a killer, yet not know who could do this-or 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 dark 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 bringing the truth to light, they'll wish they had never come to disturb what rests there.

A heart-thumping, relentless thriller that will shake you to your core, The Resting Place is an unforgettable novel of horror and suspense.

• ISBN10: 1250249279
• ISBN13: 9781250249272
• Publish Date: 29 March 2022
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 2 January 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

The Resting Place is the latest novel to come from the mind of Camilla Sten, which means we're about to dive back into a world that is both atmospheric and terrifying – a balance that only Sten can manage.

Eleanor has what is called prosopagnosia – or face blindness. She has learned to live with this – but no coping mechanism can help her work around one simple fact. She witnessed her grandmother's murder – saw the killer face to face. And yet she cannot tell the world who it is, for she does not know.

Following the death of her grandmother, Eleanor inherits her home. One would think this would add the stability she needs following what happened. Instead, she's about to get thrown into an even darker world of secrets and pain.

To say that a lot is going on within The Resting Place would be an understatement. It feels like almost too much to keep up with, but then it all balances out. That is the dance readers follow in this haunting tale.

I've read a few books by Camilla Sten by this point, so I think it's safe to say this: Sten is a master when it comes to developing atmospheric tales. Her descriptions are like no others, creating something that is both haunting and eerie. Even when nothing of note was happening on the page, I felt like I was sitting on the edge of my seat.

The Resting Place is split into two points in time. There's the present day and the events set in the 1960s. Naturally, this means that two different perspectives accompany those times. Eleanor is the present, while Agnuska is the past. The latter surprised me, as I expected the story to come from Eleanor's grandmother instead of the maid. Yet it all made sense soon enough.
I enjoyed the pacing and overall vibe of The Resting Place. Though admittedly, I didn't find it to be quite as strong as The Lost Village.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks