I read this brilliant book almost in one sitting. Fantastic sense of place, loads of tension, believable characters and credible twists and turns. One of my favourite reads this year!

This was a pretty basic thriller. It had no exciting twists and the plot was not that gripping either. I was rather disappointed overall.

Having read and enjoyed Emma's previous book, THE DARK, I was really looking forward to reading this one.

I did enjoy it, the mystery of what's actually going on at the so-called sanctuary kept me interested. However, I didn't find it as enjoyable as THE DARK.

It felt like the first half of the book focused on making Zoey doubt herself and everything that she's believed in. Then the second half actually getting into the mystery of the secrets hiding behind the sanctuary.

I liked the ending though, it was satisfying to find out what happened to everyone.

*This review contains spoilers*

The Sanctuary, Emma Haughton's second adult thriller, opens when Zoey wakes up in a luxurious complex in the middle of the desert, complete with lush gardens and a pond full of goldfish. The last thing Zoey remembers is a drunken night in New York, and she's no idea how she got here. Slowly, she discovers that somebody has paid for her to come to this expensive rehab centre, but the reasons are still a mystery: she doesn't believe she needs to be in rehab, and besides, she doesn't know anybody wealthy enough to pay for it. But when she discovers that one of the other guests departed abruptly before she arrived, she wonders if there's more going on beneath the surface than meets the eye.

Unfortunately, I had much the same issues with The Sanctuary that I had with Haughton's first thriller, The Dark, although I thought it made better use of its atmospheric setting. It's slow-paced, sagging heavily in the middle, and I found Zoey even more unsympathetic than The Dark's unstable doctor protagonist, Kate - although I guess at least Zoey isn't responsible for anybody else's health! But she's startlingly bad at facing up to what a mess her life is in her early thirties, and yet still very quick to point out that she isn't quite as privileged as her fellow guests. And while I expected the mystery of Zoey's dispatch to the Sanctuary and the dark goings-on there to knot neatly together, it turns out, very disappointingly, that there's no connection at all. The thriller also hops tiresomely between suspects at the end until it seems like Zoey's been *totally convinced* that almost all the cast are responsible in their turn.

The strong evocation of the setting makes The Sanctuary a readable thriller, but don't expect any clever twists.

Possible spoilers

I felt for a long time, not much happened.
It possibly took scene setting to new heights.
Not in a bad way, it was nice getting to know everyone and their problems, but I was just waiting for something to happen.
When it does, it's followed by a whole lot of other somethings, and I found myself enjoying the faster paced bits far more.
There might have been some eye rolling by the end from me, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book.

Tremendous…
Waking in a white walled desert oasis is the last thing that Zoey expected. Where on earth is she and how on earth did she get there? The Sanctuary is certainly idyllic and, as Zoey is about to find out, more than a little menacing. Nothing makes any sense. Things are about to get way, way worse. A veritable rollercoaster ride of suspense with a cast of wholly credible and believable characters and a tension fuelled, compelling and completely immersive plot. A one sit read of frantic proportions that this reader was unable to put down for one minute. Tremendous.