The Resting Place by Camilla Sten

The Resting Place is completely creepy, haunting and sinister from beginning to end. And I loved it!

Eleanor’s past comes with a very high price. Her mother died of breast cancer when she was young, and her Aunt Vivianne took over her care. Vivianne was a very aloof and judgmental person to begin with, but add a young child to the mix and needless to say she had very little patience. But to Eleanor, she was the only person she could rely on and trust since she did not have very many relatives. Until Vivianne was murdered, and Eleanor unknowingly walked in on the crime.

So, you would think Eleanor would be able to tell the police who committed the crime, or at least give a description of the killer. But Eleanor has something called prosopagnosia which makes a person unable to distinguish or recognize features on a person. Someone who has prosopagnosia must rely on voice recognition and other qualities to know who they are with. Because of this illness she is paranoid and has intense anxiety which she has been treated for consistently over the years. So even though Eleanor saw the killer, she did not hear their voice therefore cannot recognize them.

When a lawyer calls her to let her know that he is settling Vivianne’s property and that includes an estate up in the mountains which Eleanor never knew existed she is stunned. The lawyer, Eleanor, her boyfriend Sebastian and her Aunt Veronika travel to this massive landholding which also includes a home for a caretaker who has lived on the property for over fifty years. How could she never have known this? But he seems to be missing.

Eleanor then finds out her grandfather possibly killed himself on this property. Perhaps that is why Vivianne refused to acknowledge the home, although her Aunt Veronika seems to be well aware of the house, even having spent time there as a child. Why has this never been mentioned?

The house seems frightening and nightmarish with nooks and crannies which one could get lost in, or even hurt. Eleanor believes this house holds past secrets, but what could they be? Out for a stroll she thinks she sees someone watching her. Could this be the elusive caretaker? Then she finds a diary hidden under the floorboards which was written by a maid at the time which details the daily life and struggles of her aunt and grandfather. She begins to question everything she has been told of the life of her family.

Then in the middle of a blizzard, the lawyer goes missing and she realizes something is very wrong and they must leave immediately. But they cannot escape the weather or the house. She may regret ever coming here because the house holds a disturbing past which Eleanor will never be able to understand or get over.

The Resting Place is a book you will not be able to put down. It reads like a ghost story, only some of those ghosts still feel like they are alive. And perhaps will always be.

Thank you #NetGalley #MinotaurBooks #CamillaSten #TheRestingPlace for the advanced copy.