The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse 3,5***

This was one of my most anticipated Spring reads!

Did it live up to my expectations? Yes and no.

To begin with, I just loved the setting! A luxury hotel high up in the Swiss Alps, completely isolated and the most likely place for an avalanche to happen.

I have to admit that the story about the Sanatorium’s history before it became a hotel and the description of the killer’s hideous mask, both managed to give me chills.

The weakest part of this book, for me, was the MC, Elin. She’s a UK detective, currently off the job, who accepts her estranged brother’s invitation to celebrate his recent engagement in a remote hotel in Switzerland. Soon after she arrives, her brother’s fiancé goes missing and the day after, a body is found! And before you know it, an avalanche hits preventing them all from getting any help from the outside world.

From the start, we realise that Elin is carrying her own psychological baggage around, after a tragic event in her youth, so when she is asked to take charge of a horrendous crime scene, she’s not sure she can handle it.

And neither is the reader. 🙄

Her character was annoying, to say the least. Her insecurities and uncertainties are palpable up to a point where it gets tedious to read.

Moreover, I thought the final explanation was a little far fetched.

This is the author’s debut and I think the famous quote ‘Less is More’ could not be more suitable in this case. If Pearse had settled with a less intricate explanation of the killings it might have worked better in my opinion.

That being said, this is by no means a bad book. The story unfolds at a steady pace and never falters. It certainly held my interest to the very end and the author placed enough red herrings to keep you guessing right up to the epilogue!

I will certainly read more by this author in the future!

A 3,5 star for me!