The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse is a suspenseful thriller set in a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps, built on the site of a former TB sanatorium. The story follows Elin Warner, a British policewoman on leave, who gets involved in a murder investigation after her brother's fiancée goes missing. Trapped by a snowstorm and an avalanche, Elin becomes the key figure in solving the mysterious deaths that occur in the isolated hotel. The plot is filled with twists and turns, creating a tense atmosphere with a touch of violence, as Elin navigates through her own trauma and insecurities to uncover the truth behind the murders.
Genres:
Tropes/Plot Devices:
Topics:
Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of trauma, murder, and psychological distress, which could be triggering for some readers.
Has Romance?
While primarily a mystery, there is a medium level of romance, mainly through Elin's relationship with Will and its complications.
From The Publisher:
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK
An instant New York Times bestseller!
"An eerie, atmospheric novel that had me completely on the edge of my seat." -Reese Witherspoon
You won't want to leave. . . until you can't.
Half-hidden by forest and overshadowed by threatening peaks, Le Sommet has always been a sinister place. Long plagued by troubling rumors, the former abandoned sanatorium has since been renovated into a five-star minimalist hotel.
An imposing, isolated getaway spot high up in the Swiss Alps is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But Elin's taken time off from her job as a detective, so when her estranged brother, Isaac, and his fiancée, Laure, invite her to celebrate their engagement at the hotel, Elin really has no reason not to accept.
Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge-there's something about the hotel that makes her nervous. And when they wake the following morning to discover Laure is missing, Elin must trust her instincts if they hope to find her. With the storm closing off all access to the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.
Elin is under pressure to find Laure, but no one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she's the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they are all in. . .
Ratings (30)
Incredible (2) | |
Loved It (7) | |
Liked It (9) | |
It Was OK (8) | |
Did Not Like (3) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (63):
Read It (33) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (22) | |
Did Not Finish (3) | |
Not Interested (4) |
2 comment(s)
The main character was a complete moron. Elin makes bad choice after bad choice and I’m supposed to believe that she’s a competent detective and that her boyfriend puts up with this???
I wasn't quite sure what to expect as this book has rather mixed reviews. But I really liked it.
This is supposedly the author's literary debut. I've read other debut thrillers recently and I think this one is exceptionally successful compared to them. The author had a good idea for the story and knew how to use it well. The whole book is well written and interesting and unique enough to interest even readers who often read thrillers and mysteries. Earlier, I had read somewhere that this book was more of a horror story and I was a bit worried that it wouldn't be a story for me because I really don't like that genre, but luckily it turned out to be much more of a thriller after all.
The pace of the story is quite fast and the plot twists are really surprising. In addition to the main mystery, which focuses on what is happening in the hotel and why people are disappearing, the main character is also looking for answers to questions about her past and the mysterious death of her beloved younger brother, in which her older brother may be involved. And although I think the answer to the second question is quite simple and did not surprise me at all, I still enjoyed the whole thing.
I know that a second book in this series with the same main character has already been published and I think I will read it in a while.
What can you read after
The Sanatorium?
About the Author:
Sarah Pearse grew up in Devon, UK, and studied English literature and creative writing at the University of Warwick before completing a postgraduate diploma in broadcast journalism. She lived in Switzerland for several years before returning to the UK. The…
When you click the Amazon link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commision, at no cost to you.
