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A review by pinkelfish
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
1.5
i was really, really hoping i would like this. however, it felt like the whole thing just dragged on.
the characters weren’t likable or even really fleshed out. i didn’t feel like i had any reason to connect to them. elin has this trauma from a case that is barely discussed (she almost drowned i think? like the killer in that case tried to drown her or something when she went after them alone). not to mention everything with her brother sam. nothing felt fleshed out, it all seemed to be surface level.
spoilers ahead!!!
the ending was shocking, to say the least, but in a terrible way. i had a suspicion that it was cecile but her motive…it just didn’t feel right. like it made me truly feel very uncomfortable because her motive just felt like it came out of nowhere? it just left a terrible taste in my mouth and i almost didn’t even care to finish the book, even though i only had 20 pages left.
and the epilogue? you give the most clichéd reason for sam’s death, and what actually happened, just to have the brother be weird and freaky? and somehow he pushed her into the pool, even though the video footage showed it was his fiancee? lol, okay.
i don’t think i’d recommend this to anybody. when the sequel comes out i’ll probably just read a plot summary because i don’t care to waste my time.
the characters weren’t likable or even really fleshed out. i didn’t feel like i had any reason to connect to them. elin has this trauma from a case that is barely discussed (she almost drowned i think? like the killer in that case tried to drown her or something when she went after them alone). not to mention everything with her brother sam. nothing felt fleshed out, it all seemed to be surface level.
spoilers ahead!!!
the ending was shocking, to say the least, but in a terrible way. i had a suspicion that it was cecile but her motive…it just didn’t feel right. like it made me truly feel very uncomfortable because her motive just felt like it came out of nowhere? it just left a terrible taste in my mouth and i almost didn’t even care to finish the book, even though i only had 20 pages left.
and the epilogue? you give the most clichéd reason for sam’s death, and what actually happened, just to have the brother be weird and freaky? and somehow he pushed her into the pool, even though the video footage showed it was his fiancee? lol, okay.
i don’t think i’d recommend this to anybody. when the sequel comes out i’ll probably just read a plot summary because i don’t care to waste my time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gore