When Elin is invited to a luxury Swiss ski resort to celebrate the engagement of her brother, whom she hasn’t seen in years she is apprehensive but as she is on extended leave from work as a detective she really doesn’t have an excuse not to go. She was also childhood best friends with Laure; the woman her brother is planning to marry. However, Elin witnesses Laure having a row late on their first evening and by the next morning Laure is missing...

This book has so many layers and mysteries - just when you think you have a handle in it, everything changes. Hugely atmospheric and totally enthralling. A great read.

I really enjoyed reading this atmospheric thriller. I loved the isolated setting of the snow bound hotel. With a killer on the loose and no way for the Swiss police to reach them this lent the story a wonderful Agatha Christie feeling. Brilliant! I did find myself often frustrated with the main character, Elin. She repeatedly made poor choices, putting herself at unnecessary risk. Just tell someone where you are going when searching for the deranged killer! That aside, I enjoyed the varied cast with their complex and intriguing back stories.
I constantly changed my mind as to who I thought was responsible and was surprised when the culprit was revealed. I hope there will be a sequel and from how it ended there just may be!

What a great read this is and how tense! Although the basic premise is not particularly original--a remote hotel cut off in a blizzard, captive guests and staff and nefarious deeds--it is written in an original and fascinating way. An English cop with lots of issues, and not currently working, is given the job of working out what is happening and why. Very enjoyable, with many breathtaking twists and revelations!

If you're looking for a nice atmospheric thriller, you're looking at the right book. Spring is just around the corner, but many of us might still crave the desolateness of winter. I certainly do, when it comes to books (in terms of real life, I'm ready to welcome summer with open arms).

The Sanatorium takes place in a hotel in Switzerland. Elin's brother Isaac is hosting his engagement party here. Even though they haven't spoken for a long time, she decides to attend because her and her brother have unfinished business. She's still struggling with the questions she had regarding their younger brother's death years ago.

It all goes downhill from there. A big storm forces the funiculars to close, and the hotel is closed off from the outside. When people start disappearing, Elin can't ignore her duty as a former police officer in the UK and she decides to investigate.

This novel is incredibly grim. It gave me real slasher vibes, rather than thriller vibes which I actually enjoyed. I really couldn't have guessed the conclusion, even though I tried (and failed) many times. The plot twists were rather good. Unfortunately, we follow the story through the eyes of Elin who isn't the most stable of narrators.

It's actually the part I didn't really enjoy about the novel. Elin has a lot of demons to fight while also chasing the killer on the loose. The setting and main plot is suspenseful enough, I didn't really need Elin's interior doubts and insecurities. This is a personal preference though.

I really enjoyed this read and I was completely enthralled by it. The ending left me with a few question marks though, I'm not sure I'm all to happy about that, but at least I'm still thinking about the book after putting it down.

Elin Warner and her boyfriend accept an invite from her brother to celebrate his engagement at a superior hotel in the Swiss Alps that in a previous life was a Sanatorium for people with TB.
Should be a happy time but people start to disappear and then are found dead. Trapped by a snow storm Elin tries to use her skills as a detective to discover what’s happening.
Action packed novel where you are not sure who can be responsible. Read to discover the truth.

Le Sommet, the new name for the sanatorium is half hidden in the surrounding forest & in the shadow of mountain peaks. Enter Elin Warner, & her boyfriend Will who reach Le Sommet to celebrate the engagement of Elin’s brother, Isaac & Elin’s childhood friend, Laure. Elin is on leave from her job in the English police force after a traumatic case & the trip is supposed to be relaxing & happy but with family dynamics in play & with Laure going missing, nothing goes to plan.

The first few paragraphs of The Sanatorium introduce a strong feeling of being unsettled & the reader knows immediately something isn’t quite right. I was immediately hooked because in my mind, this seemed like the opening of an episode of Ghost Adventures. This connection is quickly ended & the reader slowly finds themselves both confused & slightly annoyed with the cast of characters, while still enjoying the writing style & not wanting to put the book away at night for sleep. Queue some interesting dreams.

As the story progresses it becomes more & more unbelievable. Elin takes over a murder investigation but under the direction of the Swiss authorities. The characters who make up the Swiss authorities don’t leave much of an impression on the reader even though they should be, for me, far more involved with the story. We are told numerous times that because of a massive avalanche they can’t come to the hotel & very little direction is given to Elin who is very much out of her jurisdiction. To be honest, some of the decisions Elin makes are quite Nancy Drew. If readers are also want mansplaining & whining from the male characters, this could be the book they’re looking for. 

The Sanatorium also feels too long while also being short on substance. As I write this review, it occurs to me that were this to be made into a film, the entire set up becomes far more plausible. This is especially true of the ending, which, by the time we get there, the reader isn’t necessarily bored, but underwhelmed by the reveal & the reasons & the logic. I know from looking at other reviews the resolution hasn’t left all of us satisfied.

Reader discretion is advised as the story goes into some dark places.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I was quite taken in by the story at places and at some, the main character annoyed me. Erin is a detective but then has so many issues and is taking a break but still behaves quite recklessly and not very professionally. She had no regard for her own safety. Also her boyfriend comes across as a saint! But I did read it as it does have some great parts in the story and the story line is quite good.

"It's the building, she thinks, absorbing the vast white structure. The more she looks, the more she senses a tension. An anomaly...something's at odds with that clinical feel...carved balustrades and balconies, the beautiful stretch of wooden veranda...This is the anomaly, she thinks, the tension she's picked up on. This juxtaposition...it's chilling. Institution butting up against beauty."

A tuberculosis sanitorium has been converted by well-known business man Lucas Caron, whose sister Cecile manages the hotel, into a luxurious but sparse, hotel in an isolated spot in the Swiss Alps. Police detective Elin Warner, on a sabbatical from work, is visiting with architect boyfriend Will, but also seeing estranged brother, Isaac, convinced he was involved in their younger brother, Sam's, death. A member of staff goes missing and then an avalanche cuts them off from the town below. With a limited number of suspects, Elin finds herself helping the Swiss police investigate remotely. After Isaac's girlfriend Laure disappears, it looks someone in the hotel is not as they seem. When it turns out Laure is the only person who could have warned Elin how the hotel's past is coming back to haunt it, panic sets in.

Told from likeable but troubled Elin's perspective, she is determined to discover the truth behind the macabre killings. The exposed and isolated setting, the blizzards and the building, with its untouched archives of historic medical equipment and files, creates a tense atmosphere. There are a limited number of potential suspects because the sanitorium's chilling past gives a number of people motives. Deftly plotted to move along at pace, the context is revealed as Elin discovers more about the building and eventually more about how Sam died. I wish there had been more historical elements to the plot, but this is a chilling debut, perfect for fans of atmospheric psychological thrillers and snowbound murder mysteries.

I found the characters unlikeable and unrealistic, and the setting, while atmospheric, didn't make sense to me. It appeared to really only be a plot device so that the 'locked room mystery' could remain in a locked room. Hard pass. I managed to struggle through until about 25% but decided that I couldn't bring myself to read any further.
I won't be posting about this one.

What a book! A 2021 highlight and very deserving of 5 stars.
I was completely hooked from the very beginning and did not want to put this book down.
Full of twists, shocks and jaw dropping moments I was literally on the edge of my seat, heart hammering at the danger, suspense and gruesome discoveries that litter The Sanatorium.
Set in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, architect Daniel Lemaitre and property developing friend Lucas Caron are turning the old hospital for TB patients into a 5 star hotel Le Sommet.
The opening is atmospheric and the ending as brilliantly sinister as the start. The sense of isolation brought about being so high in the mountains, a terrible snowstorm and an avalanche all create an Alpine environment cut off from help, where anything can happen, and it does!
Suspicion is rife and I wanted to check over my shoulder, not trusting anyone and hoping against hope that reluctant detective Elin Warner, on a break from her job and in the hotel to celebrate the engagement of her brother, can be the one to prevent anyone else from going missing and meeting an unfortunate end. Her brother's fiance Laure is the one who is missing but not everyone is telling the truth and Elin is left to try and piece together whatever evidence she can find. I felt such huge empathy for Elin, raw and hurting from a police job that went horribly wrong and which has changed the way she deals with life. Fighting panic and anxiety, her relationship with boyfriend Will seems constantly on a knife edge. I was so scared at times, for Elin's emotional well-being and the physical threats everyone in the hotel faces, that I could barely breathe! The description of panic is so well written that I could feel the sweat beading my own brow and the overwhelming sense of impending catastrophe.
Yet, in spite of all this, Elin is incredibly brave and continues to put herself in grave danger., which only increases as connections are slowly made.
Spine-tinglingly good, I cannot rave about this book enough! Thank you to Pigeonhole, Netgalley, the publisher and author Sarah Pearse for the opportunity to read this gothic thriller ahead of publication. What a way to start a new year!

A potentially spine chilling book set in atmospheric chilling countryside in an hotel with a gruesome history dating due to its earlier life as a sanatorium. Elin , a detective on extended leave from her job is at the hotel to celebrate her estranged brother’s engagement when a series of murders take place. She becomes the detective and unearths past histories and addresses her own fears on her not exactly careful investigation. Of apparently heinous crimes in the past and present.

This was a slow burner with a very interesting premise, however fell a little flat for me in places.

The plot itself would have been so much better had there been so more atmosphere building. I didn’t really feeling any suspense or nervous anticipation about things happening because there were only very minor bits of build up.

Also, Elin was just not a main character I could connect with and frankly, just found myself wondering why she continued to do things when others had warned her off.

Overall, it wasn’t “bad” in my opinion but it wasn’t “great” either. I just felt a bit so-so about it.

Spooky, chilling, and down right terrifying at parts! The first couple of pages had me too scared to read in the dark, ha! But this was an excellent novel, very exciting with a brilliant twist!

I chose to read and review an eARC of The Sanatorium but that has in no way influenced my review.

The Sanatorium was impossible to resist! That intriguing title, the striking, atmospheric cover, the enticing blurb. It screamed my name so I had to read it. This is the second book I've read set in the Alps in the space of a month but it gave me a whole different set of chills.

Detective Elin Warner and her boyfriend are staying at an isolated boutique hotel in the Swiss Alps. The hotel itself has an unnerving history, having started its life as a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. Her estranged brother has surprisingly invited Elin to his engagement party. He's marrying a childhood friend of hers, the glamorous Laure. Elin is happy to leave the UK for a while as, following her last case, something happened which made her doubt her future in the police force. But on arrival, nervous Elin is instantly put on edge even more by the imposing setting. The pressing snow storm doesn't help her feel any safer. The relationship between Elin and her brother, Isaac, is tense and a missed dinner invitation causes more upset. But the following morning, Isaac reports Laure missing. The snow storm and the risk of avalanches cuts off all access to the hotel as the search for Laure continues. They're on their own. Elin needs to step up and take control of the situation. Which, despite feeling hesitant, she feels ready to do. Until they discover the body...

Poor Elin. From the start of The Sanatorium she's on the edge and that doesn't really change very much as the story progresses. She's a troubled woman who carries the tragic death of her brother at the age of 8 in her heart and her mind. The real reason for her decision to reconnect with her estranged other brother becomes very clear to the reader. She wants the truth and the only person who can give it to her is Isaac. Her grief has moulded and shaped her into the woman she is today. Elin is an interesting character who at times I really liked and admired, at other times I wanted to sit her down and ask her what the fluff she was doing!

The mystery aspect of The Sanatorium was interesting and it kept me turning the pages. I think the time has come to admit that perhaps I've read too many crime books as I could guess a couple of plot points which, disappointingly, turned out to be accurate. There weren't any big surprises for me in this novel but that's my own personal experience and I wouldn't let that put you off.

I adored the setting. I love isolated, claustrophobic settings in novels and this one is done particularly well. The snowy mountains feel as though they're pressing in on the hotel and the unpredictability of the avalanches was really wonderful. Picturing the icy scenes in my mind gave me goosebumps! Marvellous stuff.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. I would recommend The Sanatorium to anyone who enjoys a locked-room mystery with a bit of an icy twist. The plot moves at a steady pace and keeps the reader turning the pages. There was something about the ending which didn't quite work for me. I can't really go into any detail as I would be revealing too much and that wouldn't be fair but I did enjoy reading The Sanatorium and I would gladly read more from this author. It's a chilling, atmospheric mystery which I was happy to lose myself in. Recommended.

I chose to read and review an eARC of The Sanatorium. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

i started off liking this book very much, the way it flowed and the characterisation, but then i started to get annoyed with the main character how she kept putting herself in danger, always agreeing that yes she would take care and then carry on regardless for her own safety

but the ending has me hooked...so i would read another of this authors books...

I really enjoyed this book. A hotel, which was once a sanatorium gets snowed in. One old corpse is discovered then more murders happen. Elin, a UK police officer tries to solve the murders. Along with most of the main characters they all have a lot of flaws and emotional baggage. There's lots of twists and red herrings, but the plot moves at a good pace. There are times when Erin doesn't behave as a normal person would, but it's good light-weight read. I almost read it in one sitting.

An old deserted sanatorium in the Swiss Alps had been under re-development to be re-designed into a luxurious hotel. It offered the perfect place to be pampered whether you were on your own or within a larger party. But someone is already waiting there no matter how long it takes. They have waited a long time already.


Elin had received an invitation from her estranged brother Isaac to celebrate his engagement to Laure. The hotel had kept some original features, with the antique equipment from the past becoming part of the present-day decor. It is the creepiness of it all that the owners hope will fill the rooms with guests.

The weather takes a turn for the worse, cutting them all off from the town below. Then someone goes missing and Elin, on sick leave from the police force, begins to do a little questioning the guests and investigating past events. Isaac and Elin have issues from their childhood which are at bursting point.


The story was fuelled with tension, but it unfolds very slowly drip-feeding you what happened in the past. It isn’t for the faint-hearted. It certainly played with my mind long after I finished the book. I enjoyed this story because every action had a reason it all made sense in a macabre way. The truth can be covered up, in so many different ways. Brilliant ending.

I wish to thank Net Galley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

This is a brilliantly atmospheric and decidedly creepy thriller set in a remote and snow bound hotel in the Swiss Alps. An old, disused tuberculosis sanatorium has been developed into the very exclusive Le Sommet and, from the outset, the description creates an unsettling and menacing building with its displays of old medical equipment.

Elin, a UK police officer, suffering a crisis of confidence after an incident at work, and her boyfriend, Will, arrive at the hotel to celebrate her bother Isaac's engagement to Laure, who is the assistant manager. Immediately, Elin feels a sense of intimidation. Laure goes missing and another body is discovered; with the hotel cut-off from the outside world, Elin starts an investigation, and the body count begins to rise.

The characters are well drawn and they all seem to have motives and secrets. The atmosphere is really claustrophobic and the depiction of the weather, the snow and the storm heightens the tension. There is a fast moving plot with quite a few twists. The sub-plot regarding the relationship between Elin and her brother adds an interesting second layer to the novel. I found this a hard book to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Randon House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I have to say I don’t give 1 stars lightly. I’m well aware that at the other end of this review is an author who spent a lot of time and energy on creating this story, and I do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings Writing a book is torturous, and I have nothing but respect for anyone who finds themselves with their name on a front cover but, this book should not be published without a serious overhaul. (I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review – and you always get honesty with me!)

The idea of a thriller set in a remote location in the middle of the Swiss Alps really appealed. There was so much opportunity for creating an atmospheric setting, and I have to say the author did a brilliant job; I could clearly imagine myself there, and how claustrophobic all that white open space would actually feel. However, that is the only positive I have to offer with regards to this book.

Elin, our main character, a detective on leave after a traumatic work incident, is heading to the now luxury spa (previously a sanatorium) to attend the lavish engagement celebrations of her brother, Isaac.

Herein lies my first problem: she hasn’t seen Isaac for ten years, they have no real relationship, and she genuinely seems convinced he had something to do with the death of their younger brother Sam, when they were children (an issue the author keeps coming back to, with no real conclusion until the end, where it’s tied up in approximately three sentences then promptly forgotten about).

In fact, we’re led to believe the relationship is so bad between them that when their mother died just six months previously, Isaac remained absent, leaving Elin to get on with it, alone. So, of course, the first thing she would do is hop on a plane and travel to the middle of nowhere to join him in his joy.

Oh no, wait, she’s not going to celebrate, she’s decided now is the perfect time to confront him about the murder of their brother – except, she is too scared to. So, doesn’t. Mainly because she’s suffering from PTSD, severe asthma and panic attacks. Frankly, she strikes me as the sort of person who would probably have sat this particular party out. I would have. I know I wish she had.

Quite quickly Isaac’s fiancé goes missing, there’s a murder and another body is discovered up in the mountains. Due to the weather and the police’s inability to get to the remote location (it’s remote, did I mention that?) the owner of the hotel, who discovers Elin is a British detective, asks her to take on the investigation. Honestly, they’d have been better off calling up the gang at Mystery Incorporated and investing in Scooby snacks, as Elin is, without doubt, the most incompetent investigator I’ve ever heard of.

After the first body is discovered, hands and feet tied, wearing an old-fashioned gas mask, with fingers amputated, Elin comes to the conclusion this was not an accident. You know what gave it away? The fact the body was weighed down by sandbags. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a forensic genius! Thank goodness we have such a brilliant mind on the case. At one point, I genuinely hoped Miss Marple might also be on holiday at the luxurious, yet remotely located, glass covered spa.

Thankfully, Elin seems quite aware of her own incompetence, constantly doubting her abilities, yet inexplicably determined to prove herself capable. She spends half her time knowing she’s missing something (if she could just grab hold of the fully formed thought), runs off on her own head first in to danger (despite this being the reason she’s on leave from the police in the first place), learns nothing from her mistakes, shares all the information she has with everyone (including everyone she ultimately suspects) yet keeps secrets from the Swiss Police who might actually be able to help her and generally makes really ridiculous statements.

After discovering another body herself, having yet again gone off on her own without telling anyone where she is, she is attacked by the murderer. At this point she outlines everything she has deduced so far from her extensive investigation: the murderer is strong. Stronger than her.

No shit, Sherlock.

I could go on, but the point is, Elin is an impossible character to like. She’s a pathetic cliché done very badly, and has no redeeming qualities. I found myself praying she’d be killed, just to give the story a bit of a twist, but alas, no.

It would appear even her boyfriend doesn’t like her; after talking to him about the case and admitting she’s having a tough time, he simply tells her to have a snack and to forget about it, then pats her on the head and goes off to do some of his own work. So, despite the fact bodies are piling up, he treats her like a toddler and then worries about his work emails.

OK then.

Once we finally get the big reveal, the who done-it (after many a false-start), it doesn’t really make any sense. It is so convoluted it needs extensive explanation, and it’s really laborious. Don’t even get me started on the epilogue which is hugely illogical, and serves only to try and lay the path for a sequel.

I beg you, do NOT write that sequel. Please. To quote Annie Wilkes, “it’s a cheat.”

I couldn’t, in good conscience, recommend this book to anyone. How a single person has found enough in this to offer a three-star review (let alone more) is beyond me. If you find yourself reading it, and debating whether to finish or not, my only advice is don’t. I wanted to give up at about 30%, but held firm to the belief it would get better and the ending would be clear and concise. Trust me, you should bail. Bail now.

This is a mystery story set in a swanky new hotel that used to be a Sanatorium, high up in the Swiss Alps. Unfortunately this book didn't really work for me. I wasn't a fan of any of the characters, not even the bad guys, and the story didn't seem to excite me at all. Probably a case of wrong book wrong time. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book, I'm only sorry I can't be more positive on this occasion.