Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Sanatorium

I have been wanting to read The Sanatorium since it came out and was so excited to finally crack into it!

Elin is a police officer with plenty of trauma in her past that she isn’t really dealing with. When her distant brother (both physically and emotionally) Isaac invites her to celebrate his engagement at a remote luxury resort in the Swiss Alps, Elin and her significant other agree to join the celebration. But Elin has an ulterior motive, she plans to confront her brother about something in their past that haunts her. As the trip progresses the reader is introduced to the dark history of the former Sanatorium now luxury hotel and people begin to go missing, and show up dead.....

I really enjoyed this thriller. I loved the setting of an old repurposed Sanatorium out in the middle of nowhere. The threat of avalanches, and storms makes the murder and mystery going on inside the hotel even more intense! The characters weren’t necessarily lovable or strong, but you like them enough to get pulled in. The writing is also so addicting! I read this entire book in about 2 days because the chapters are short and the writing is so enjoyable.

My only problem with this novel is the ending. It didn’t really make sense to me, it wasn’t very believable, and it was honestly a disappointment. The novel builds up the tension and mystery which gets you hyped for a crazy twist ending but once the killer is revealed it’s more like “oh, that’s it? Ok”. It was a little juvenile to be honest, and really read like the end of a particularly long Scooby Doo episode. Thankfully the ending wasn’t so terrible it ruined the entire book but it did knock my rating down from a 5 star to a 4 star. I think if you like thrillers and intriguing settings this one is definitely worth it! Just be prepared for a lame ending....

Content Warnings

kizzy's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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tabby2920's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is another suspenseful mystery that thinks outside the box. The blurb makes you think you're reading something else and then you find yourself being warped into another story. A lot of people complained about being too long but I like descriptive mysteries because it was just so atmospheric and made me feel I was really there. There are a lot of twists and red herrings that will make readers second guess what is going on and who is really the culprit. With every turned page (or for every next chapter of the audiobook) I found myself more invested and involved into finding out what was going on which I always find to be a positive aspect in a mystery. It does have an unlikable character but I always love reading unlikeable characters when it's in a very well-written book. What I found interesting about the book was the ending. The issue-oriented conclusion of the book really threw me a curve ball and I never thought something would work that way but it did. Only complaint? The epilogue. I'm unsure if the author is setting up for a sequel or just wanted to set the readers for another twist but it just felt a little confusing in the book.

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