The Resting Place by Camilla Sten

 

 

Publication: March 29, 2022

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Translation: Alexandra Fleming

Source: Publisher

Synopsis:

 

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.

 

 

******

The Resting Place was an atmospheric and fun suspense story that kept getting more and more interesting, the further I got into the book.

 

Due to not being able to recognize faces, Eleanor has lived her life with a certain amount of fear. That fear and uncertainty increased after bumping into her grandmother’s murderer and not being able to recognize him or her. 

 

The story largely revolves around Elanor’s larger than life grandmother Vivianne and Eleanor who cannot identify people’s faces clearly.  But her logical yet always skeptical boyfriend Sebastian, her unique and interesting Aunt Veronika and the lawyer handling her grandmother’s estate all add something to this mysterious tale.

 

The story bounces back-and-forth between the past and the present which I enjoyed. The characters were interesting, especially Eleanor’s grandmother Vivian. 

 

I did get a little frustrated with Sebastian. I wish that he would have been more understanding and supportive of Eleanor especially given the fact that she doesn’t recognize people and faces like the rest of them do. Aunt Veronika was a bold and unapologetic character also…it would have been nice to discover more of her backstory.

                                                                      

I also listened to the audiobook while I was reading. Occasionally I will switch between reading and listening. The narrator, Angela Dawe is one of my top narrators. She always does a good job of bringing the characters to life and adding to an already interesting storyline. The audiobook is just shy of 9 hours, but nothing felt slow or dragged and that time went by fairly quickly.

 

This is the second book that I’ve read from this author, and it will not be the last. I enjoy her writing style and the creative way she spins a story. There were a couple of twists and surprises that occurred that they took me by surprise, and I honestly did not guess who the murderer was until it was practically revealed.

 

 

RATING: 3½ OUT OF 5.

 

 

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The Winter Sister by Megan Collins

Publication: February 5, 2019

Publisher: Touchstone

Source: Publisher

Synopsis:                                                             

In this spellbinding and suspenseful debut, a young woman haunted by the past returns home to care for her ailing mother and begins to dig deeper into her sister’s unsolved murder.

Sixteen years ago, Sylvie’s sister Persephone never came home. Out too late with the boyfriend she was forbidden to see, Persephone was missing for three days before her body was found—and years later, her murder remains unsolved.

In the present day, Sylvie returns home to care for her estranged mother, Annie, as she undergoes treatment for cancer. Prone to unexplained “Dark Days” even before Persephone’s death, Annie’s once-close bond with Sylvie dissolved in the weeks after their loss, making for an uncomfortable reunion all these years later. Worse, Persephone’s former boyfriend, Ben, is now a nurse at the cancer center where Annie is being treated. Sylvie’s always believed Ben was responsible for the murder—but she carries her own guilt about that night, guilt that traps her in the past while the world goes on around her.

As she navigates the complicated relationship with her mother, Sylvie begins to uncover the secrets that fill their house—and what really happened the night Persephone died. As it turns out, the truth really will set you free, once you can bear to look at it.

The Winter Sister is a mesmerizing portrayal of the complex bond between sisters, between mothers and daughters alike, and forces us to ask ourselves—how well do we really know the people we love most?

******

“We all played our part, Sylvie. We all played our part.”

It seems like everyone is feeling the guilt over Persephone's death. Each blaming themselves and each other for the role they may have played in her murder.

Persephone's mom, Annie turned into an alcoholic that shut herself off from the rest of the world. She refuses to communicate with anyone, even her own daughter Sylvie. Is  the sudden change in Annie’s health, the wakeup call she needs in order to repair her fragile family?

Sylvie, Persephone’s sister, blames herself for what happened to Persephone that night. And because of that belief, she lives under the weight of that guilt every single day to the point where she's just coasting through life not really enjoying it. But then again, she thinks she shouldn't really get the chance to enjoy her life.

Persephone's boyfriend Ben's life is on an upswing. He's a nurse now and helps cancer patients. During the course of the story I began to wonder how much of an interest does Ben really have in nursing. Is he trying to make amends for past wrongs? Is it because he feels guilty over what happened to Persephone all those years ago? Is it because he murdered Persephone and he feels like this is atonement for him? The author had me questioning almost everyone’s motives.

The Winter Sister surprised me. It's a story that drew me in page by page until the next thing I knew, I was fully ensconced in it...in the lives of Sylvie, Annie, Ben, and of course Persephone. I had to know what secrets they were keeping and what really happened the night that Persephone went missing. The author, Megan Collins does a great job of weaving these characters stories together and creating a suspenseful yet emotionally complex story that tugs at your heartstrings and makes you want to keep reading until you finish the whole book. And that is exactly what happened to me. I read this book in one day and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing what this author writes next.

RATING: 4 out of 5.

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Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Publication: February 12, 2013

Publisher: Philomel Books

It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer.  She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street. Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test. With characters as captivating as those in her internationally bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a rich story of secrets, lies, and the haunting reminder that decisions can shape our destiny.

I loved Josie. She is so sweet, hardworking, smart, and determined. Josie and her mother have a very complicated relationship. Some people should not be parents, and I think her mom is one of those people.

Josie lives  by herself in an apartment in the bookshop that she works at in New Orleans during the 1950’s. Aside from that job she also cleans after clients at the house of a well-known madam.  But she isn’t satisfied with the life that she currently has. Josie wants more... She doesn’t want people to judge her based on what her mom does. She wants to attend college, get a degree, and make something of herself.

“Now don't let fear keep you in New Orleans. Sometimes we set off down a road thinkin' we're goin' one place and we end up another. But that's okay. The important thing is to start.”

What did I not like? Pretty much nothing. The story seemed to go at decent pace, and I never once felt like it dragged and I never got bored. All of the different characters like Willie, Cokie, Patrick, and even some of the other prostitutes added to the story and made it come to life.

The story is told from Josie’s POV and I thought the author did a great job of making the characters seem real. Reading Out of the Easy made me think about the choices we make in life and how those choices can shape our future. I can’t wait to try out other works from Ruta Sepetys.

I have the hard copy of Out of the Easy and the audiobook version of, but decided to try it out on audio and I have to say that I loved it. This is one of the best and most entertaining audiobooks I have listened to in a while. The narrator, Lauren Fortgang does an awesome job with all of the characters different voices/accents. Now I want to find more audiobooks narrated by her to see if they are just as good.

RATING: 5 out of 5.

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We Are The Goldens by Dana Reinhardt

Publication: May 27, 2014

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books

Nell knows a secret about her perfect, beautiful sister Layla. If she tells, it could blow their world apart. When Nell and Layla were little, Nell used to call them Nellaya. Because to Nell, there was no difference between where she started and her adored big sister ended. They're a unit; divorce made them rely on each other early on, so when one pulls away, what is the other to do? But now, Nell's a freshman in high school and Layla is changing, secretive. And then Nell discovers why. Layla is involved with one of their teachers. And even though Nell tries to support Layla, to understand that she's happy and in love, Nell struggles with her true feelings: it's wrong, and she must do something about it.

We Are the Goldens is told from the POV of Nell. Nell feels extremely close to her older sister Layla. She looks up to her and is over the moon excited about starting high school at the same one Layla goes to. Their close relationship changes one day however when Nell discovers Layla’s big secret. That is the major turning point in their relationship. Things are never the same for them and the closeness they once shared becomes more strained by lies and distance.

Nell has a huge choice to make…telling someone what she knows or keeping Layla’s secret. I didn’t envy her that decision. She knows the right thing to do, it’s just a matter of should she do it or not.

All in all I thought that We Are the Goldens was a good quick read. The book reads as if it were Nell writing letters to her sister. It was just hard for me to get into the narrative style at first. But once I got over that, I was able to enjoy the story-line. The relationship between sisters can be a delicate one and I thought that the author did a god job of showcasing that.

  

RATING: 3½ out of 5.

**I received this book on behalf of the publisher in exchange for nothing but my honest opinion. Thank you.**

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