The Sanatorium

A Novel

By: Sarah Pearse

Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden

Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

Reese's Book Club Pick | A New York Times best seller!

“An eerie, atmospheric novel that had me completely on the edge of my seat.” (Reese Witherspoon)

“This spine-tingling, atmospheric thriller has it all…and twists you’ll never see coming.” (Richard Osman, New York Times bestselling author of The Thursday Murder Club)

Sarah Pearse's next book, The Retreat, is forthcoming.

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....

©2021 Sarah Pearse (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

“CHILLING! The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse is an eerie, atmospheric novel that had me completely on the edge of my seat. Let’s set the mood.... You’re in a remote location - at a hotel - and there’s a snowstorm. The winds are howling, the snow is pelting in every direction, there’s a missing person, and a dead body shows up!” (Reese Witherspoon) 

“When guests at a five-star resort in the Alps disappear mid-blizzard, vacation’s over for detective Elin Warner. It’s The Shining but with a full house.” (People) 

“Creepy, deeply claustrophobic, mind-numbing, teasing, twists and turns galore, this book is a towering example of a masterful hand at work. If only Hitchcock were still around to film it.” (David Baldacci) 

Waste of a Credit

Reese Witherspoon claims this book had her on the edge of her seat. I wonder how. This book was flat. Boring. There were no exciting twists, no likeable characters, nothing redeeming at all. Don't waste your time or credit.

Worth a credit

I love a mystery with this type of setting - snowy with murders and stranded guests. The story was quite good, but, as another reviewer has noted, the reveal was underwhelming. I was also confused by the epilogue - the author throwing suspicion on some unknown person who might be involved. Sometimes there are too many red herrings. At any rate, it's a good, atmospheric mystery performed by one of the best, Elizabeth Knowelden.

Worst book I’ve listened to on audible.

I’m not sure why there are so many positive reviews here or why this is a Reese’s pick but I found this book ridiculous and stupid. Save your credits. The main character is an insecure, weak pushover who is apparently hung up on her brother’s death from 15 years ago and thinks her other brother did it. Why didn’t she just ask him, you ask, like maybe once in the past 15 years - yeah I don’t know why either.

I also think this author lacks any understanding of what the job of a detective looks like - just watch Broadchurch if you can’t be bothered to research. This main character as a detective is incredibly naive, unprofessional and lacks any comprehension of basic training and self defense. Oh and apparently all the male characters in this book know this about her as they have to go along with her when she plays detective to keep her safe.

Also, I think the strategy of throwing all possible motives for a murder were thrown in here - more is not always better. Let’s just pick one and go with that storyline. SPOILER ALERT **** So is the murderer a woman’s rights activist? And she’s murdering other women because...she was raped? Head scratcher. Or is she a truth seeker who murders others because they are liars? Ugh. The plot, if you can call it that, is weak, cobbled together and goes on and on, winding an incredibly long and exhaustingly ridiculous path as the author continues to tag motives on the tail end of her story. Just pick a plot and put us out of our misery. In case you weren’t sure I couldn’t even bring myself to finish this book.

What A Waste Of Time AND A Credit.!

I so very much wanted to like this book... it had all of the proper components to make it a hit,.. but it fell short in every single area..crashing bore made worse by being too long, then a lackluster ending.... yawn...

Ruined it

The book is written very well until the end—which comes out of nowhere. The motive for the killings wasn’t even hinted at until you already know the murderer. Great premise and plot, but the ending ruined it. This book isn’t for fans of Agatha Christie who are used to being given the information necessary to solve the mystery as breadcrumbs throughout the book.

Good Story But....

It was good but finding out "who done it" was underwhelming. Worth the listen, the narration was very good eventhough I would've liked a better outcome, Just my opinion.

Wow so thrilling!!

The author described the settings and characters in a way that made me feel like I was in the sanitarium. It was very thrilling and captivating as the story unfolded with many many many twists and turns. many times I would gasp out loud in disbelief about where the story was going (a good thing!) highy recommend if you are into thrillers. You will not be able to put this one down!

the 5-star reviews have me wondering

this was an OK read - for a detective novel there are lots of decisions that do not make sense from a law enforcement perspective, but serve to put the character in dangerous situations and ultimately make the story. The common sense factor is missing and detracts from the overall story, as you wonder, WHY on earth would anyone with a brain do this?
The setting was interesting and overall it was an okay read. I couldn't help but be a little disappointed with the frailty of the main character and her questionable decision making and the rather cliche' weather phenomenon.

Good premise, disappointing execution

I thought the premise was great and I was excited to read this book. Unfortunately, I felt it was a bit slow. There was simply one long lead up to a “big reveal” rather than multiple twists and turns. I guessed the killer about halfway through and wanted to skip ahead most of the time, but stuck with it to avoid missing out on a twist that never came. The worst part was that the motive was a terribly unbelievable motive for multiple murders.

Would’ve binge-listened if I could have

Author kept me intrigued until the end with her slow weave of the full story. A couple details felt like a stretch but overall a very compelling listen!! Would recommend for sure!