{"id":7,"date":"2021-04-03T07:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-03T07:45:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2021-05-02T16:00:58","modified_gmt":"2021-05-02T16:00:58","slug":"the-sanatorium-by-sarah-pearse-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=7","title":{"rendered":"The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse Book Review!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hi Readers! We are in another long weekend now, yayy!! I already finished \u2018The Sanatorium\u2019 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?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2018The Sanatorium\u2019 and since it was a thriller, I was sure I would be able to finish it quickly. Also, this book was a Reese\u2019s Book Club<\/span><\/b> pick for February.  <\/span>I have a love-hate relationship with Reese\u2019s book recommendations<\/span><\/b>, but even so the premise of the book was too good to miss. Let\u2019s get into it, shall we?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You won\u2019t want to leave. . . until you can\u2019t.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An imposing, isolated getaway spot high up in the Swiss Alps is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But Elin\u2019s taken time off from her job as a detective, so when her estranged brother, Isaac, and his fianc\u00e9e, Laure, invite her to celebrate their engagement at the hotel, Elin really has no reason not to accept.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge’there\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elin is under pressure to find Laure, but no one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she\u2019s the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they are all in…<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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~~OVERALL THOUGHTS~~<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~THE SETTING~~<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span><\/b> 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\u2019t know!) Even though the journey of reaching to the hotel & of being entirely on your own were something I\u2019d hate in real life, but it made perfect sense in the novel. Gave it more of an edge. Also, I loved the book cover<\/span><\/b>! I know we aren\u2019t 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\u2019t read in this manner before.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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~~WRITING STYLE~~<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know this is Sarah Pearse\u2019s debut novel<\/span><\/b>, 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 \u2018The Woman in the Window<\/a>\u2019 by A.J. Finn or \u2018The Thursday Murder Club<\/a>\u2019 by Richard Osman or \u2018Pretty Things<\/a>\u2019 by Janelle Brown. I can\u2019t put a finger on it, but the reading experience was not as pleasurable for me<\/span><\/b> as it was while reading all these other thrillers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~HOLLOW CHARACTERS~~<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was never able to form a bond with any of these characters<\/span><\/b>. 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<\/span><\/b>. 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.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s thoughts were too robotic with a bad delivery<\/span><\/b>. Because of these ineffective conversations, the characters don\u2019t really come out alive on the page.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~PREDICTABILITY & ENDING~~<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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! <\/span><\/b>Though the killer was unpredictable, the back story made zero sense. I think because of this the ending was not at all satisfactory.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Well, that\u2019s 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<\/span><\/b>!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until next time,<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Readers! We are in another long weekend now, yayy!! I already finished \u2018The Sanatorium\u2019 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","category-books","category-mindscape-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/The-2BSanatorium01.jpeg?fit=360%2C640&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=8","url_meta":{"origin":7,"position":0},"title":"March Reads!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"April 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! Back again today for a quick post about my March Reads! March is my birthday month & I enjoy it a bit too much. Last year I read 8 books in March, but this year, I only read 2! I was in a book slump earlier in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":638,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=638","url_meta":{"origin":7,"position":1},"title":"Books Read in April 2021!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"May 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi\u00a0Readers! How was your April? I remember writing the last post where I was boasting about how I read 7 books in half a month. Turns out I finished only one other book after that. So, here we are!\u00a08 BOOKS in APRIL!\u00a0And this time, I read all these on\u00a0e-book!\u00a0Check them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "books"","block_context":{"text":"books","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/AprilReads21.jpeg?fit=865%2C1154&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/AprilReads21.jpeg?fit=865%2C1154&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/AprilReads21.jpeg?fit=865%2C1154&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/AprilReads21.jpeg?fit=865%2C1154&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1660,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=1660","url_meta":{"origin":7,"position":2},"title":"Top 12 Posts of 2021 \u2013 Year in Review (Part 4)","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"December 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! I truly hope you enjoyed my year in review posts - Goals, Books, Movies & Series. To be honest, I do put in a lot of effort in it, not only because it is fun & also helps me track my progress, but also to make it at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/posts-graph.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/posts-graph.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/posts-graph.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/posts-graph.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/posts-graph.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=6","url_meta":{"origin":7,"position":3},"title":"The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner Book Review!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"April 4, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Hi Readers! Yesterday I finished The Lost Apothecary, in a single day again. I sure am proud of myself. I hadn't decided which book to read so had a few options to choose from. But then I remembered how much I was intrigued about this book after reading its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/The-2BLost-2BApothecary01.jpeg?fit=360%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3151,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=3151","url_meta":{"origin":7,"position":4},"title":"Top 12 Books of 2023 \u2013 Year in Review (Part 1)","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"December 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! Welcome to the first of the three year-end review posts of 2023! We begin with books, of course. My reading in 2023 was quite erratic because I had set no reading goal. I thought doing that would give me the freedom to read whatever I wanted; be it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/PSX_20231213_100005-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/PSX_20231213_100005-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/PSX_20231213_100005-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/PSX_20231213_100005-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/PSX_20231213_100005-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2858,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2858","url_meta":{"origin":7,"position":5},"title":"2023 Mid-Year Reading Recap + Favourite Books!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"July 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! Half a year has passed us by. As usual, it feels like time has moved slowly but passed quickly. I have had a hell of a year so far, with way too many ups and downs than are expected in a mere six months. Life has changed for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PSX_20230626_122357-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PSX_20230626_122357-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PSX_20230626_122357-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PSX_20230626_122357-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PSX_20230626_122357-01-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":910,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7\/revisions\/910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}