The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse Book Review!

Posted On April 3, 2021

Hi Readers! We are in another long weekend now, yayy!! I already finished ‘The Sanatorium’ yesterday, that is on Friday. So, I have 2 to 3 more days to read at least 2 more books! I love this high of reading a book a day! Why would anyone do drugs?

Anyway, I had a plan of reading 20 out of 50 books which are published this year. I was drawn in by the Goodreads description of ‘The Sanatorium’ and since it was a thriller, I was sure I would be able to finish it quickly. Also, this book was a Reese’s Book Club pick for February.  I have a love-hate relationship with Reese’s book recommendations, but even so the premise of the book was too good to miss. Let’s get into it, shall we?

 

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~

You won’t want to leave. . . until you can’t.

Half-hidden by forest and overshadowed by threatening peaks, Le Sommet has always been a sinister place. Long plagued by troubling rumors, the former abandoned sanatorium has since been renovated into a five-star minimalist hotel.

An imposing, isolated getaway spot high up in the Swiss Alps is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But Elin’s taken time off from her job as a detective, so when her estranged brother, Isaac, and his fiancée, Laure, invite her to celebrate their engagement at the hotel, Elin really has no reason not to accept.

Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge’there’s something about the hotel that makes her nervous. And when they wake the following morning to discover Laure is missing, Elin must trust her instincts if they hope to find her. With the storm closing off all access to the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.

Elin is under pressure to find Laure, but no one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she’s the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they are all in…

~~OVERALL THOUGHTS~~

~~THE SETTING~~

I think this is the only aspect of the novel that made an impression on me. Being a Mumbaikar, I am sick of 12 months of summer, so a location in the Swiss Alps was entirely welcoming. I loved the setting of the minimalist hotel by the Swiss Alps. I loved how even though the hotel used to be a sanatorium, in my imagination it was this amazing luxurious hotel. (I may just be craving a vacation, I don’t know!) Even though the journey of reaching to the hotel & of being entirely on your own were something I’d hate in real life, but it made perfect sense in the novel. Gave it more of an edge. Also, I loved the book cover! I know we aren’t supposed to judge the books by them, but the cover is the perfect symbolisation of the story. All these aspects were something new & which I hadn’t read in this manner before.

Having said all this, I think the entire premise & setting would have been a lot more favourable for a horror or paranormal genre. It did work for a thriller, but given the whole history of the sanatorium, it would have fared much well in the other genres.

~~WRITING STYLE~~

I know this is Sarah Pearse’s debut novel, and it is a good attempt. But, I did not find the writing style to my taste, especially for a thriller. Some of the thrillers which I have loved had a different style of narrating the story which constantly kept me on the edge of my seat. Be it ‘The Woman in the Window’ by A.J. Finn or ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ by Richard Osman or ‘Pretty Things’ by Janelle Brown. I can’t put a finger on it, but the reading experience was not as pleasurable for me as it was while reading all these other thrillers.

 

~~HOLLOW CHARACTERS~~

I was never able to form a bond with any of these characters. Even in a thriller, the reader has their guesses as to who would be the murderer & who would be innocent. But, in this one, I was always lost because the writing style did not create a lasting impact. It might be because of the amateur Detective who is on leave from her job. Not once did Elin act like a detective. It was mostly hunches & gut feelings, which are part of being a detective, but they are not all of it.

Also, the way Elin questioned others, it was more about other characters than about themselves. This is why, the reader has no chance of guessing the culprit. This really took the fun out of it for me. All the dialogues & Elin’s thoughts were too robotic with a bad delivery. Because of these ineffective conversations, the characters don’t really come out alive on the page.

 

~~PREDICTABILITY & ENDING~~

I must say, I always hate it when I am able to predict the end. But, turns out, I also hate it when the most predictable end is also the most practical end but then it takes a completely different unpredictable and illogical end. Hope you got what I mean?

Given the foundation of this novel, it would have been ideal for the murderer to be related to the patients who were admitted at the sanatorium. Even though predictable, I would have accepted it because at lease it makes sense. But, the main killer has little to no relation to the patients admitted in the sanatorium all these years ago. Even though the killer has mentioned they wanted to take revenge for these women patients, there is no strong motive! Though the killer was unpredictable, the back story made zero sense. I think because of this the ending was not at all satisfactory.

Well, that’s as much as I can talk about the novel. Because of hollow characters with weak dialogue delivery portrayed in an ineffective writing style with a ridiculous ending, my reading experience was not enjoyable. The only thing I liked was the location setting, avalanche, snow & such! I have rated The Sanatorium at 3/5 stars!

 

Until next time,