The Resting Place by Camilla Sten
After she witnesses the murder of her grandmother, Eleanor learns that she's inherited a lost mansion. The estate has been in the family for many years, but it's been decades since anyone last visited the main house. There's a groundskeeper and hunting parties visit the lodge on the property, but the house itself has stood empty. Now Eleanor and her boyfriend visit the house along with her aunt and her grandmother's lawyer to take an inventory of the furnishings. The story unfolds slowly, alternating between the present day and chapters from a diary they find in a sealed room. It's intriguing, but didn't hold my interest nearly as well as The Lost Village did.
The Family Holiday by Shalini Boland
Two families arrange to swap homes for a two week vacation. It seems like the perfect opportunity, even if Amber is a little critical of Beth's cozy cottage. Beth is loving Amber's Italian villa until she finds an old photo of her husband in one of Amber's jacket pockets and starts asking questions.
I loved that all four of the adult characters were distinct individuals with their own personalities and temperments, which made them easy to keep straight at the plot developed. The settings were vivid and atmospheric and gave me a bit of vicarious travel. But when the revelations came there were a LOT of them and I felt that the way they were presented let the plot fall flat.
Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. This post contains affiliate links.
