What an immensely creepy story The Sanatorium is!
The fact that an abandoned Sanatorium has been renovated into a luxury hotel is creepy enough. I’m not sure it would be somewhere I would want to stay but I can understand the curiosity it might arouse in others.
When we first meet Elin, she is travelling with her partner, Will, to this very hotel to celebrate the engagement of her brother. His fiancée is one of the managers of the resort. I don’t think it’s somewhere she would choose to go either, but Will is fascinated by the architecture of the place. Elin finds it unsettling. Little does she know what she’s walking in to.
Already on leave from work as a detective Elin has had a rough time, work wise and with the loss of her younger brother. She’s a troubled soul. This break and celebration should be a perfect opportunity to relax and unwind, or so Will keeps telling her. However, when her brother’s fiancée goes missing all hope of a relaxing break disappears. Adding to that a snowstorm cuts off all access to the hotel. They are trapped.
The story that follows is nothing short of terrifying.
This book is so brilliantly written. It had me hooked from the very beginning and I could have quite happily ignored everything else and read it from cover to cover in one sitting. It’s atmospheric, chilling, and heart wrenching. And that ending! WOW! It gave me goosebumps.
I can’t wait to read book 2, The Retreat. Off to purchase now!
** Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy via NetGalley although I did end up reading a paperback copy which I won via a giveaway**

Elin Warner is on leave from work where she is a detective and receives an invitation to celebrate the recent engagement of her brother.
The celebration is taking place in the Swiss Alps in a beautiful hotel which used to be sanatorium.

Following an avalanche, one of the guests is missing and as they are cut off from the rest of the world, everyone becomes more and more panicked.

Red herrings are dropped all over the place and I had no bloody idea of who was guilty but it all makes sense in the end - and after all, that's the point of this kind of book.

I look forward to more from the author.

I loved this so much I bought the paperback.
Thank you netgalley for the ARC, apologies for the late review.
A slow burner.

I loved the premise and the setting of this novel as I have a fascination with Sanatoriums. Elin is on leave from her job as detective when she receives an invite to her estranged brother's wedding at an isolated hotel - an ex Sanatorium- in the Swiss Alps. On arrival at the hotel , with a storm approaching, Elin has an uneasy, unsettled feeling, and then her brother's fiancee goes missing. It took me 3 attempts over a few months to finally finish this novel as I kept thinking that I really wanted to like it. Sadly however, it was a slow read that did not engage me. I felt that there were too many characters and the plot devices were cliched. Overall it felt like a missed opportunity to make the most of a fascinating setting.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Was very much looking forward to The Sanatorium because of the isolated setting in the Alps along with the rumours of what happened there in the past. It initially had my interest but for me it didn’t go anywhere apart from loads of people dying mysteriously but really it plodded along without purpose and I found it tedious to the end.

The Sanitorium by Sarah Pearse was an intriguing read, but sadly it didn't hold my attention as much as I'd hoped it would and I found it a slow read in places

This thriller was chilling and not what I expected at all. I was slightly dissatisfied with the ending which is why I can’t give it the full 5 stars. I will ok definitely read more from the author in the future.

Great thriller which kept me turning the pages well into the night. Great characters and plot. Highly recommend to others!!

I was a little disappointed in this - the setting and the premise of the story really could have been great but we were dealt a pretty typical man character I felt like I'd read a bunch of times, overly cheesy on the horror vibes and in the end this was just okay for me.

Thank you for providing me with a review copy of this book. Enjoyed reading, some nice plot twists, would recommend....

The mystery at the books heart was pretty intriguing and kept me invested in finding out more. I just think I was maybe expecting a little more from the story. This wasn’t necessarily a major issue for me. As the story progressed building up the tension and making me wonder about all the characters.

There was a very claustrophobic feeling when it came to the setting. An isolated place will always help to raise the tension. I do have a soft spot for this kind of setting!. With mountains and impassable roads providing an imposing and trapped feeling. Then add in the history of the hotel and this brought an extra intense vibe.

Overall I did enjoy this story. Some parts didn’t quite work for me. However some parts had me gripped and I enjoyed all the twisty moments that the author crafted in.

Started off well, but I got lost in the middle and felt it drifted off too much. I’m glad I persevered with it though as I never guessed the ending.

Well that wasn't what I expected or was it?
Having seen mixed reviews for this book I delayed reading it. I really enjoyed the story, some of the characters and the way it was written but it was a bit on the slow side for me.
I would be interested in reading Sarah's next book in the hope it was a bit speedier.
Altogether a good story and if you have a couple of days I would recommend.

After seeing a lot of mixed reviews for this book, I went in a little sceptical but tried to keep an open mind. And for the majority, I managed - this book had a creepy setting, lots of action, and plenty of mystery. But as things started to unravel, so did the plot.

The story is set in a shady sanatorium that has been converted into a five-star hotel and is nestled at the base of the Alps. The hotel's history is far from subtle, with hanging glass boxes dotted around the building showcasing grisly devices used on the sanatorium patients, as well as a work-in-progress 'archive room.' Elin and her partner have arrived to celebrate the engagement of Elin's estranged brother and his fiancee, Laure. But Elin isn't just there to raise a toast - she's there for answers that only her brother can provide. That is until an avalanche hits, cutting off access to the road. Then some of the staff go missing, including Laure. When bodies start turning up, Elin must put her past aside to find the murderer, before they all die.

The premise of this one made it a great October pick and for a while, I was wrapped up in the mystery, filled with unanswered questions and trusting no one. But as the answers began to surface and the motive was revealed, I did a massive internal eye roll. It felt like a weak excuse for murder and made no sense to me. I don't mind when a novel makes you suspend disbelief but this went too far in my opinion to the point where it verged on ridiculous. Towards the end, Elin really got on my nerves and the fact that the motives had to be laid out and explained showed to me that the storytelling just wasn't strong enough. I was also irritated by the amount of information that was purposefully withheld to add tension; it is one of my pet peeves when overdone and just makes the 'twist' flop.

Overall, a good first half but an ending that just didn't work for me.

I enjoyed this story and the characters are described so well. I wasn’t particularly gripped however but certainly it’s tense at times. I’d read another book by Sarah Pearce as I like her writing style.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I loved this one location murder mystery! The writing was beautiful and it was so atmospheric and chilling. I liked how the plot developed and twisted and turned. The drama was done really well and i liked the mix of personal tramua and trying to solve the crime. I wasn't expecting the killer to be who it was and a lot of the final third had me on the edge of my seat as it was so thrilling!

Absolutely loved this book - I guessed IT was everyone at one point or another.
Will probably read it again as I am sure I missed a clue here and there.
Thank you

I don't like giving negative reviews but I don't really know where to start, the synopsis was tantalizing at best and the first few chapters were indeed promising but it seemed to go downhill very fast. I not only had the written version but the audio version, the written version is usually better than the audio so I kept with that as the audio put me to sleep but what spoilt it for me was that Elin Warner a good cop on all accounts with the Met but had PTSD obviously it was to do with her last case and she and her current boyfriend goes to Switzerland to her estranged brothers engagement party, now he's holding it at a newly developed hotel that was once a sanatorium for TB sufferers and was closed down years ago, and it's up a mountain then the usual blizzard and a lot of the guests did manage to get away and then an avalanche so the the party guest still there, had no choice but to remain there as everything was at a standstill and waiting for rescuer's so the party is to still go ahead but there is a murder on the first night, turns out it's a member of staff then Laure disappears and she is Elin's brothers fiancee, Elin does ring the police and she is tasked with trying to find and keep evidence and take statements from the rest of the guest and staff, this is a up and coming detective of a low rank with PTSD, it just seems that it's one disaster after another, It seems the boyfriend was not much help as he was never around accept for preening himself so what sort of person is that by your side I did finish it but with a struggle, it just did not make sense it just makes you think that you would hope no murder enquiry would be dealt with like this god help us all if it did. I would like to thank Netgalley & Random House for an ARC copy and again sorry for the negative result.

I love the setting here and was initially reminded of both old YA horror books like the Point Horror series, and newer crime thrillers like Lucy Foley’s The Hunting Party or The Guest List – a group of different individuals, all with their own problems and secrets trapped in an isolated location and then forced to deal with the fact that one of them must be a murderer.

Unfortunately, after those surface similarities, this book fell sort of the those previous reads in terms of both plot and characters.

The main character, Elin, is difficult to empathise with as – due to her understandable emotional issues and PTSD - she is both manic and detached, and even her inner monologue feels unreliable. In keeping other characters at arm’s length, she inadvertently keeps the reader at a distance too. Similarly, the main relationships in the story seemed to lack chemistry and believability, making it difficult to invest in them.

Considering the high levels of torture and gore, I found the ending twists a little disappointing as the motive/s didn’t feel sufficient or current enough to justify the levels of violence and murder and, again, without being able to buy into the story the ending fell flat right at the climax.

All the right ingredients are here for an excellent crime thriller, but I think those elements just didn’t quite come together for me to create a compelling whole.


Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

3 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

An isolated hotel. A storm. Missing people.

That synopsis had me straight away. I don’t usually gravitate to detective novels but I get the odd one that I really enjoy so I will always give them a go.

The perspective of a detective in this one is not distracting at all. The issue I normally have is the detective will uncover or suggest things too soon and it’s ruined but this didn’t do that.

To me I think it just a personal preference that I didn’t get on with this. To me I think there was too many characters for me to keep up considering it’s an isolated place. Also I will say I did not guess the ending at all but that’s because when it was finally revealed the motives and the actions completely didn’t add up for it to end how it did.

Maybe everything was too convoluted for my liking