Reviews

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

laurareane's review

1.0

The ending was messy and I didn’t like it. So many plot holes and unanswered questions

nataliamar's review against another edition

Esse livro é horroroso. Que perda de tempo gigantesca! Férias + esse livro fez com que eu voltasse a passar horas no Instagram ao invés de LER porque eu não tinha vontade nenhuma. Sério, não leiam.

bertiebotts's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious

4.0

alatinaandherbooks's review

3.0

Really slow for a while then picks up and BAM BAM BAM the story was good but I feel like there was a lot of useless information. Like the constant talk about Sam then in the end it wasn't even that important of a part to the story

mimikins34's review

2.0

I was hoping for more of a horror angle, it was definitely just a murder mystery. The main character and her relationships seemed a little over dramatic. Once things started getting revealed, the twists of the “whodunnit” kept me going. Unfortunately I feel like wrapped up too neatly at the end, like a Scooby Doo mystery, with the villain recounting the entirety of their motive and how they got away with it.

ctiner7's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

lizl20's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

calyxconcision's review

2.0

I've enjoyed a few too many good books in March, that I've to end the month with one I'll consider okay. Usually, I do love a good gothic horror-thriller story, but this one was a little lacklustre. It's not a bad story, but its execution is too fast, has too many things going on at once, and reads more like shock value than an actual story. It was hard to absorb it all and remember what just happened. The motive felt hamfisted, and the twist - the killers - not very shocking. One of them was barely part of the story, which confused me. The characters were pretty two-dimensional as well. Isaac and Laure have the same amount of chemistry as germs and hand sanitiser. Elin and Isaac barely spend any time together, despite Elin having gone up to Le Sommet to confront her brother, which is another twist that feels like shock value and hamfisted.

The things I did like about it were: Elin and Will. I did like them together. I liked the story overall. It's an interesting story, and it could have been done really well. A claustrophobic feeling in the Swiss Alps, trapped with a murderer, and the authorities not able to get to the potential victims because of the frequent avalanches. Sadly, I didn't get that claustrophobic feeling. It's not a bad book, but not a very good one, either.

linzthebookworm's review against another edition

2.0

I found myself disappointed in The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse. I'm not sure if it's because I got it in my head that there'd be ghosts at the Sanatorium or if it was the story in general. I found Elin and crew emotionless, and I don't think she did any real sleuthing. I felt like she was making accusations to see what would stick. The motive for the crime did not feel like it fit the story at all. It could have been integrated well into the story, but it just seemed brushed over as an "Oh... by the way." It felt more like it was pushing an agenda vs. telling the Sanatorium's history and why it mattered in context with the crimes in the story.

For my full review, check out: https://linzthebookworm.blogspot.com/2023/05/book-review-sanatorium-by-sarah-pearse.html

sofiaec's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0