The Sanatorium
2020 • 400 pages
Ratings55
Average rating3.2
15
Ratings55
Average rating3.2
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 “This spine-tingling, atmospheric thriller has it all… and twists you’ll never see coming.” —Richard Osman, New York Times bestselling author of The Thursday Murder Club Sarah Pearse's next book, The Retreat, is forthcoming. 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. . .
Featured Series
2 primary booksDetective Elin Warner is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2020 with contributions by Sarah Pearse. The next book is scheduled for release on 7/16/2024.
Reviews with the most likes.
I don't actually know if I liked this, but it did make me want to keep reading... There's just so much going on here. The solution was a bit convoluted and too elaborate, almost. There's hardly any way you could figure it out, which I don't like. The idea of the sanatorium was interesting but it just didn't play out as well as I'd hoped. Everything wraps up a bit too easily.... It reads fast though, so at least it has that going for it. (Also didn't appreciate the epilogue that is there just to get you to read the next book, which, eh, I probably won't.)
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very tense and creepy. More so, I think, because of the fact that the place where the story took place was in what had previously been a Sanatorium. It definitely added to the creepy vibes. I'm not sure why anyone would've thought it was a good idea choosing that as a holiday destination.
The writing was good, I thought. It helped create a tense, suspenseful atmosphere.
I did, however, find myself frustrated with the main character, Elin, who despite being a police officer, repeatedly made some poor choices, making me want to give her a good shake.
The ending left some questions unanswered, which does make me wonder if it was done with the possibility of a sequel. If not, I do wonder what the point of it was.
Thank you to Pigeonhole and Sarah Pearse for the opportunity to read this book.
This was okay, but could have been cleaned up a bit. The main character is not very likable, and you wonder how she became a police detective. The sanatorium location wasn't used enough - it could have just as easily been a hotel built on the ruins rather than the actual building. A missed opportunity. I think it's obvious a lot of thought went into this, but it could have been smoothed out more.
