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A review by archaicrobin
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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....
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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, and Grief