This psychological horror/suspense/thriller follows Eleanor after she witnesses her grandmother's murder. She came face to face with the killer as they fled the scene but Eleanor can't identify the killer because she has prosopagnosia - or face blindness. Eleanor's relationship with her cruel grandmother is complicated, but not being able to help find her killer and knowing that the killer could be right in front of her and she'd never know causes Eleanor's anxiety to spike, leading to stress-induced hallucinations. Months after the murder, after Eleanor got some psychological help, a lawyer calls and advises of an estate deep in the countryside that her grandmother never told Eleanor about. Now, Eleanor, her boyfriend Sebastian, her aunt Veronika, and the lawyer all meet up at this house to inspect and inventory it. The longer they stay there and more hidden secrets they unearth, the more they come to understand why the house has been left abandoned for over 50 years.
TW/CW: suicide, miscarriage, infidelity, child abuse
This was a really interesting blend of psychological horror, suspense, and thriller. Some aspects were more successful than others but overall this was a really great creepy read. We have a somewhat rundown estate in the middle of the wilderness, a snow storm blowing in, and uncovering unsavory family secrets from the past. I just want to mention one pet peeve of mine that was really prevalent in this story - we have 3 characters with names that start with M and 4 characters with names that start with V. For some reason, this just really bothers me and makes it harder for me to keep the characters distinct in my head.
I think the psychological horror portions of the book could have really been developed more. We're told that a few months prior, Eleanor was having stress induced hallucinations and ended up staying in a mental health facility for a while. We're told she's doing better now but when she mentions how she thought she saw someone out in the woods the first night, Sebastian is hesitant to believe her and thinks she's just getting too worked up with memories and grief of her grandmother. This makes sense in the grand scheme of the story, but it falls a bit flat because we're in Eleanor's POV and she never really questions herself. She's pretty much certain what she is seeing and experiencing in the house is real but just stops mentioning things to Sebastian because he thinks she's just getting stressed. I think if we got more of Eleanor also questioning herself and her own mind it really would have upped the horror elements. As it stands, this really felt more like an isolation thriller and less a psychological horror.
The thriller elements, I thought, were really well done. I really enjoy a good isolation thriller and this book really hit the spot. It really reminded me of Alice Feeney's Rock Paper Scissors with the tense interpersonal dynamic, snowy setting, and eerie feeling that our characters aren't alone. I feel like I could read a thousand snowy isolation thrillers and I'd never get tired of them. I think there was such a good gradual build up of the thriller elements where each character sort of came to the conclusion on their own that they might be in danger and then when the snow traps them at the house, they find out of their fears are correct. I also enjoyed how the thriller elements built on elements and places we'd seen in less-threatening situations. For example, we see Eleanor and Sebastian exploring the estate grounds early on and then later, when they're trying to figure out what is going on and if they're in danger or not, we see them revisit the same places but now they have a much different tone.
There's a dual timeline element that worked fantastically. I'm a big fan of dual timeline stories, especially when it isn't immediately clear how the two timelines will cross. In this case, we're following Eleanor in the present day and also 1965 following a maid in the home. The 1965 timeline starts off pretty mundane, but quickly becomes more interesting as we get more secrets revealed. Some of these secrets Eleanor discovers as well but some she doesn't so the reader has some extra information at times. Taken on their own, each timeline could be a bit slow but I think the simple act of flipping back and forth between the times allows the pacing to feel a bit quicker and more interesting.
Where this book lost me, a bit, was the ending. We had a good amount of tension built up by that point but then when it comes to the actual ending reveal and twist, the pacing felt like it ground to a halt. The actual twist, on paper, was good but just the way it was executed and the amount of exposition needed in that moment to put all the pieces together ended up really slowing down the story. There's also a pretty significant time skip in the ending where I was a bit confused. We get the big climax of the ending and then sort of skip over the resolution/come down portion and then to right to the epilogue. I had so many questions that were really more logistical than actual plot holes but I still would have liked maybe a chapter with some of this information to act as a gentle calm down for the reader. I did like the way Eleanor's face blindness came into play with the ending. Her condition is really important in the set up of the story and then I sort of forgot about it in the middle. It didn't feel, to me, like her face blindness was used as a crutch or 'easy' twist for Sten to use which I'm always concerned about when this particular condition is used in a thriller.
This is the second book I've read from Sten and I really enjoy the way she writes character group dynamics in these isolated settings. Both books I've read by her include a small group of characters who are somewhat connected, but often all members don't know each other super well which leads to some great tension moments. In this case, Eleanor is a bit estranged from her aunt and the lawyer is a complete stranger to everyone in the group. Despite only being in Eleanor's POV, Sten does a great job of giving us a good amount of characterization of the others in the group through their interactions. For example, Eleanor's aunt wasn't initially going to come but once she's in the house where she has memories from her early childhood, she becomes almost wistful at times which is a stark contrast to the person Eleanor knows. I really loved the ramp up from little snide remarks and hidden digs to when the gloves are fully off and each character is done with trying to keep things civil. I would have liked a bit more interpersonal drama before we get the outside threats taking over.
Overall, this was a fantastically atmospheric read. I loved the creepy atmosphere of this snowy, isolated estate. The character dynamics were spot-on and the thriller elements worked well. I do wish the ending was a bit snappier and that the psychological horror elements were a bit more developed. Sten is quickly becoming an auto-read author for me and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC
Expected publication date is March 29, 2022
Originally published in Swedish. English translation by Alexandra Fleming
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