The Sanatorium

By Sarah Pearse
Psychological Thriller

My Review

Detective Elin Warner, on extended leave from work in the UK, is invited to her brother's engagement party at a plush hotel in the Swiss Alps. Estranged for many years, Elin reluctantly accepts, hoping it will help heal the rift. Shortly after arriving with boyfriend Will, Elin feels unsettled and apprehensive. The hotel, which was once a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients, has a very creepy atmosphere. 

In the midst of a storm raging outside, Elin's brother's fiancée goes missing. The guests grow increasingly anxious and fearful. The roads are treacherous and impassable, leaving the hotel cut off from the outside world. The guests are trapped. . .

Oooh I love books with a wintery setting and The Sanatorium was certainly one of those! The hotel's sinister atmosphere had me on the edge of my seat. It was a tense and chilling read. 

However, I thought the pacing dragged a little. Too much emphasis was placed on Elin's past and it became repetitive. Overall it was a good read, with a nod towards those old Agatha Christie whodunit novels. Very entertaining indeed.

Book Source: Purchased copy

My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Paperback: 448 pages

Publisher: Corgi (30th Dec 2021)

ISBN-13: ‎978-0552177313

The Blurb

A beautiful, eerie hotel in the Swiss Alps, recently converted from an abandoned sanatorium, is the last place Detective Elin Warner wants to be. But her estranged brother has invited her there for his engagement party, and she feels she has no choice but to accept.

Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge. And things only get worse when they wake the next morning to find her brother's fiancée is missing. With access to the hotel cut off, the guests begin to panic.

But this is only the first disappearance. Everyone's in danger - and anyone could be next . . .

The Author, Sarah Pearse

Sarah Pearse lives by the sea in South Devon with her husband and two daughters. She studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick and worked in Brand PR for a variety of household brands. After moving to Switzerland in her twenties, she spent every spare moment exploring the mountains in the Swiss Alpine town of Crans Montana, the dramatic setting that inspired her novel.

Sarah has always been drawn to the dark and creepy - remote spaces and abandoned places - so when she read an article in a local Swiss magazine about the history of sanatoriums in the area, she knew she'd found the spark of the idea for her debut novel, The Sanatorium. Her short fiction has been published in a wide variety of magazines and has been shortlisted for several prizes.

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