Camilla Bruce Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Camilla Bruce
Camilla Bruce is a Norwegian fantasy author who grew up in a forest, with a house next to an Iron-Age burial mound. Bruce holds a comparative literature master’s degree and helps run a small press that specializes in publishing dark fairy stories. The talented author has also worked in project management and communications. Currently, Bruce resides in Trondheim, together with her son and their cat.

You Let Me In
You Let Me In tells the story of Cassandra Tipp, an eccentric bestselling novelist with a colorful past. The book starts with an article detailing the disappearance of 75-year-old Cassandra. Is she dead or alive? Looking at the past, it is hard for anyone to guess what really happened to Cassandra. She has a notorious past even though no one has been able to prove that she is guilty of any offenses. About forty years earlier, she had been accused of killing her husband, Tommy. Even though Cassandra was acquitted, the case left a stain in her reputation. Tommy’s murder and the events that followed were so sensational that Cassandra’s therapist wrote a book about it.

Years later, Cassandra’s brother and father died in what was suspected to be a murder-suicide. The article also documents the novelist’s heirs and the manuscript they have to read to get the password that will make it easy for them to claim their estate. In this manuscript, Cassandra tells her story and experiences over the years to her nephew and niece, Janus, and Penelope. She talks about the faerie community she had been a part of since she was five. There are a lot of details about a close friend she refers to as Pepper-Man. This man has been one of the constants in her life. He had contributed to her difficult childhood and the deaths in her family.

Janus and Penelope have to carry out their investigation and authenticate Cassandra’s manuscript. Is there a chance that this information is accurate, or is this just a well-thought-out lie? Her therapist says that this is just an invention of Cassandra’s mind. That she invented the characters in an effort to understand the childhood abuse she went through. However, there are a few things about Tommy’s death that never made logical sense. Is it possible that Cassandra was so traumatized by the past that her mind refused to forget the fantasy, or is the Pepper-Man and his group of Faerie’s real?

Cassandra describes Pepper-Man in a gorgeous, seductive yet horrible and sickening way. Their symbiotic relationship was formed early in Cassandra’s life, so she couldn’t escape. This story is quite rich, and the characters are intriguing. Get to meet Cassandra through her manuscript as well as the other people who shape this novelist’s life. Through Cassandra’s writing, you will also get to know what happened to her husband, father, and brother.

You Let Me In is a brilliant story characterized by a convincing tone, lovable characters, and an intriguing storyline. Once Cassandra starts detailing about the Faeries, it becomes hard to put down this book. The florid prose is a perfect match for the enchanted stories of wood spirits that fly through the night and a man whose body is made of honey and twigs. This book is full of surprises, and it is hard to predict what the author has in store for you on the next page.

In the Garden of Spite
In the Garden of Spite is a historical fiction book that tells the story of Belle Gunness, otherwise known as Little Brynhild. This story is based on true events, thanks to a close encounter with one of the most dangerous, vicious, and dark women serial killers. Belle is a beast despite her beautiful name. She is a Norwegian who immigrates to the US, with the hope of a fresh start and a brighter future. Through the pages, the author will let you into Belle’s life, starting with her teenage years and the events that pushed her to become a serial killer.

First, the author will let you know about Belle’s difficult teenage years. This girl was abused mentally and physically by the men close to her, including her father. Later, Belle became pregnant only to lose this child through a kick to her abdomen. The man who did this was the baby’s father, but he never intended to marry her. Belle would have bled to death were it not for her determination and sturdiness. After cheating death and the years of abuse, losses, humiliation, and unkindness, Belle found an outlet for her pent-up anger. She embarks on a journey for revenge, and once she takes care of the man who killed her baby and destroyed her life, she reaches out to her sister in Chicago. This explains how she relocates to the US.

Unlike most visitors to a new continent, Belle doesn’t struggle to fit in her new home. The first thing she does is change her name from Little Brynhild to Belle. She is a woman on a mission, and the two things she promises herself is that she would never live in poverty, and no man would ever hurt her again. Well, Belle becomes wealthy, but the men she marries all die suspiciously hence the name Widow of La Porte. No one ever sees the men who come to her, and it seems like they all vanish into thin air. So, where do these men go? Could the rumors about Belle’s dark side be true?

In the Garden of Spite is a fictionalized true crime story. This book throws you into Belle’s world with her insatiable thirst for wealth, sex, and so much more. Belle comes with an uncontrollable temper, but she is an actress who is able to deceive men and lure them to her home. The book is well written, extremely intense, and dazzling. You will get to read about Belle both from her and her sister’s point of view. If you are in the mood for a bloody and intense horror story, this book is ideal.