Hello and welcome to the latest edition of #NewTitleTuesday, where we look at a new release that hits the shelves of bookstores (and your local libraries!) today.
Camilla Sten, the Swedish author responsible for 2019's sleeper hit The Lost Village and the daughter of best-selling Swedish crime novelist Viveca Sten, returns with a new novel that has serious breakout potential. The Resting Place focuses on Eleanor, a young woman who suffers from prosopagnosia, a real condition that prevents people from recognizing facial features. Hair, nose, eyes, lips - they're all a blur. Eleanor's been living with her grandmother, Vivianne, who is murdered right in front of Eleanor - but of course, because of her condition, Eleanor cannot recognize the culprit and cannot help the police. Eleanor inherits her grandmother's large country house, and she soon moves in, looking for clues from her grandmother's childhood that might provide some answers to her murder. She brings along her long-time boyfriend, an estate lawyer, and a lurking aunt, among some others. At the country estate, a secret diary is found, the power goes out, and a blizzard cuts off the grounds from the outside world. Plot threads intertwine to a powerful and dramatic conclusion.
The novel starts off at a steady pace, and then quickens as Eleanor arrives at the country house and then reaches a feverish crescendo at the end, with stunning reveals on every page. The Resting Place lies between two genres that share similar DNA - one is the psychological thriller that relies on shocking crimes, buried secrets, and plot twists hiding behind every page. The other, the gothic thriller, relies heavily on a menacing, brooding atmosphere, with looming ancestral homes and dark family secrets passed down from one generation to another. The Resting Place deftly balances between the two, and alongside the success of her previous novel, this has the potential to be a crossover hit. We hope you enjoy, and be sure to place your holds now!