I found this book quite difficult to get into at first as there was a lot going on and the actual story didn’t seem to start for quite a while, but it more than made up for it once it got going!
A murder mystery full of twists and turns, it kept me guessing. With each clue came a different suspect and it was never someone expected so it was definitely an interesting read and kept me engaged!
The epilogue was also very unexpected - maybe it could lead into a sequel?

This is very face paced, no time to warm up, which I loved.

The atmosphere of the location is detailed perfectly. I was expecting this to be a little more frightening but it is still a great book with an exceptional twist.

This was a good read, with good twists and turns. And certainly an intreeging ending. I enjoyed the characters and thought it was a well written book.

Good read, interesting concept. I hoped this would have a more creepy effect than it did but overall I did enjoy this one.

Full Review to follow on publication day.

You hit the ground running with this thriller, take a breath and enjoy the ride. Elin is a police detective on leave, she and her partner Will have been invited by her estranged brother to attend his engagement party at an exclusive, isolated mountaintop Swiss hotel which used to be a sanatorium for TB patients. When Elin's brother's girlfriend goes missing Elin finds herself having to investigate her disappearance as a storm has hit meaning help cannot get through. As she investigates she finds a dark history which triggers her own anxieties from her own past.

I found myself wanting to shout at Elin throughout the whole of this read, her personal crises are always close to the surface in this novel, you do wonder at moments how she got onto the force and yet somehow even with all of her behaviours you just want to keep reading. A frustrating character yet one you want to spend time with.

I’m a winter girl, I’m at my happiest when the temperature is low and snow is deep on the ground. There is something comforting about a fresh fall of snow but there is also something slightly sinister about it. Footprints unseen suddenly become obvious, bright colours stand out, especially blood red.....

Spending time in a luxury resort high in the Swiss Alps, what could be nicer?, fresh air, good food, your loving partner by your side. Elin knows she is lucky to go to Le Sommet but she is also anxious. As a detective currently on leave, getting away may help her chase away those demons she’s been carrying but the problem is one of those demons is waiting for her in Le Sommet, her brother Isaac and with him is his partner, her childhood friend Laure.

The creepy atmosphere is apparent from the get go, the resort is stark and clinical befitting its history as a TB sanatorium but its history has not been kind, protests about the development and a missing developer sit heavy on its walls. When the first body turns up and the snow falls heavier and heavier, the need to escape the resort is apparent.

An avalanche renders retreat impossible and Elin has to put her detective hat back on to figure out if a murderer is in their midst, whilst trying to stop her past from messing up her future.

The Sanatorium uses the blanket of winter perfectly to enhance the pure menace of the surroundings, the creepiness comes in spades especially the description of the perpetrator and their choice of disguise, totally gives me the heebie jeebies!

I was also impressed with the twists in the story, the majority of the characters have been up to no good so you’ll have a hard time pinning down the guilty party until the end.

I really enjoyed this and for fans of a good murder mystery it should definitely be your cup of tea!

Thanks to NetGalley/Random House UK for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Elin gets an invitation to her estranged brother Isaac's engagement party, she travels to an isolated hotel in the Swiss Alps with her boyfriend Will. Elin quickly feels uneasy with a threatening storm and a creepy hotel that used to be a sanatorium, and being around her brother makes her nervous. The Isaac's fiance Laure vanishes and other strange things start happening. When it seems that a killer could be on the loose and police cannot reach the hotel due to the bad weather, Elin steps up using her experience as a detective.

A thrilling, creepy tale that keeps you guessing until the end. I really enjoyed the story and its twists and turns, and enjoyed getting to know the various characters. Recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

3.5 stars.
I was in love with this until the last 10%. For almost the entire story it was atmospheric, slowly revealing little secrets about the Le Sommet Hotel in the Swiss Alps that was once a sanatorium for the mentally insane. There was mystery and suspense, with former detective Elin Warner helping to solve the disappearances and murders of some of the guests. With a massive snow storm hitting the location, the killer is confined with their prey and I had absolutely no idea who the perpetrator was. At one point I was wondering if there might be a supernatural element at play, a little 'Silent Hill' going on. Sadly, the ending was such a disappointment. The most bizarre justification for murder I've ever read. Completely irrelevant to the entire story, the big reveal was a huge let down for me.
The epilogue suggests a sequel but I'm not sure I'll read it. I found Elin to be quite bland and unrealistic as a detective.

Thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for my review copy.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There are simply not enough superlatives in the English language to describe just how good this book is. Imagine a universe where Agatha Christie and Stephen King collaborated on a book. Then imagine ‘The Shining’ as a Christie-esque, locked-room mystery, combining the genius of their respective authors. Undoubtedly you would get something approaching Sarah Pearse’s eerily masterful novel about murder at a luxury Swiss hotel. ‘The Sanatorium’ is without doubt one of the best reads of 2020 so far. It is both fiendishly clever and highly original - that rare thing in literary discourse today. So, what makes this book so special? As well as Pearse’s impeccable plotting and meticulous research, it has that undefinable quality that makes the reader regret turning the last page. Yes, it is that good. On the one hand it is a suspense thriller about the less than pure motivations of imperfect humans - of which there are many in this book. On the other hand it is about the soul of a place, a building, an echo of its past. The hotel, formerly known as ‘The Sanatorium’, has a history, and it is by no means a pretty one. Formerly home to TB patients, now a Swiss retreat for the wealthy, its stark minimalism belies the secrets it holds. Secrets that refuse to stay buried. Before long the body count begins to mount. Bodies found with curious, old fashioned gas masks adorning the faces of the corpses. Cut off from civilisation during an unparalleled snow storm, it is up to British policewoman, Elin, to figure out the mysteries of the hotel and its present and past inhabitants. A literal page-turner of compelling intensity, this is an addictive read. Eery, atmospheric, combined with some genius plot twists, this is one book you won’t want to put down. Simply brilliant.

If you want a spine tingling, creepy read this is the one for you, I t is a very well described story, the author Sarah has clearly done a lot of research into the Sanatorium. I felt as though I learnt quite a bit as I had never heard of one before let alone what they did there. I found this story had me on edge, I couldn't work out where the story was being lead, the descriptions of the different things in the hotel gave me chills and so did what happened back in the day before it turned into a hotel. A tense and chilling read, the ending left me with goosebumps.

#TheSanatoriam #NetGalley
A good read.
An imposing, isolated hotel, high up in the Swiss Alps, is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But she's taken time off from her job as a detective, so when she receives an invitation out of the blue to celebrate her estranged brother’s recent engagement, she has no choice but to accept.
Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge. Though it’s beautiful, something about the hotel, recently converted from an abandoned sanatorium, makes her nervous – as does her brother, Isaac.
If you loved One by One by Ruth Ware, The Guest House by Abbie Frost then you would love this.
It's main character was so intriguing.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK Transworld Publishers for giving me an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.