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The Sanatorium
- Narrated by: Gemma Whelan
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thriller & Suspense
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Publisher's Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
At first glance they're magnificent, yet the more she looks, the more she realises how sinister the mountains appear: raw, jagged spikes. It's not hard to imagine, she thinks, looking out; this place somehow consuming someone, swallowing them whole.
An imposing, isolated hotel, high up in the Swiss Alps, is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But she's taken time off from her job as a detective, so when she receives an invitation out of the blue to celebrate her estranged brother's recent engagement she has no choice but to accept.
Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge. Though it's beautiful, something about the hotel, recently converted from an abandoned sanatorium, makes her nervous - as does her brother, Isaac.
And when they wake the following morning to discover his fiancée, Laure, has vanished without a trace, Elin's unease grows. With the storm cutting off access to and from the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.
But no one has realised yet that another woman has gone missing. And she's the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they're all in....
Critic Reviews
"Pearse's The Sanatorium will keep you checking over your shoulder. This spine-tingling, atmospheric thriller has it all: an eerie Alpine setting, sharp prose and twists you'll never see coming. A must-read." (Richard Osman, internationally best-selling author of The Thursday Murder Club)
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What listeners say about The Sanatorium
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 10-07-21
The Sanatorium: Brilliant Premise, Poor and Underw
When I first read the summary of the Sanatorium, I was pretty intrigued. I have always been a lover of locked-in mysteries. The plot of the Sanatorium promised to one hell of a locked-in mystery.
The Sanatorium’s plot mainly revolves around Elin, a London-based police officer under severe PTSD and on leave. Her boyfriend Will and she get invited to Le Sommet, a beautiful resort hidden under the mesmerizingly beautiful Swiss Alps. Elin’s brother Isaac is the one who invites them to this resort to celebrate his engagement with his fiancé Laure.
Right after she gets to Le Sommet, she senses something about the resort is not right. From the resort’s past to the questionable behavior of its staff, Le Sommet is not the straightforward minimalist resort it pretends to be. Soon after, some mishaps occur over there that force Elin, Will, Isaac to get stuck in Le Sommet.
Now, saying anything more than the above will spoil the entire book for you. Before talking about all the things that I hated about this book, let me tell you what I liked.
• The Sanatorium has a beautiful setting. The gorgeous views of the Swiss alps, along with the minimalistic yet beautiful design of the resort, helps you picture the location quite easily.
• There are a lot of twists in the book. (Although most of them are underwhelming). For anyone who loves to read books with a large number of twists, the Sanatorium will not disappoint you.
Sadly the positive aspects of the Sanatorium for me stops at the above two points. Now, the time has come to conjure the negative points about the book. So, here it goes.
• The main character of the book, Elin, is disappointing and exhausting. Creating a detective who is absolutely inept at their job is one of the worse decisions a writer can make for their book. Sadly, Sarah Pearse did that. Elin has zero confidence in herself, constantly wrong, a complete push-over, compromises a lot. She is one of the weakest female characters that I have ever read in any crime novel.
• All the male characters in the Sanatorium are abhorrent. From Will to Elin’s brother, Isaac, they are all condescending and controlling. Other male characters apart from the said two are also quite horrible. You will come to know about them while reading the book.
• Things go downhill for the Sanatorium quite quickly. As soon as you get to chapter five or six, you realize this book will have difficulty regaining your fondness.
• The ending of the Sanatorium is underwhelming and far-fetched.
The Sanatorium could have been a much better book if it concentrated on the resort's history. Instead, it went running to dead ends that mostly had no consequence to the main story. I had a difficult time finishing this book, and that is why I would rate it 4/10.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tulika mattoo
- 18-03-21
Exciting Read
This dark, suspenseful and chilling work is surprisingly Sarah Pearse’s debut novel. The Sanatorium is a crime mystery vividly set against the backdrop of the Swiss Alps, in a wonderfully eerie setting. Its sharp prose builds suspense through a series of twists that are crying out for a screen adaptation just for the sake of those beautiful natural wonders. Loved the beginning of the book. the way things were unfolding quickly led me to hope for a fantastic ending. However, it didn't go down as expected. Towards the end, it felt dragged and predictable. Given that it's Sarah's debut, I would definitely give her another chance with her next book. 3.5 stars from me.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 11-03-21
Good story with nail biting twist.
The story starts slow but picks up midway. Excellent who dunnit story with a disturbing background. Great narration.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nicks
- 04-04-21
not too bad
Great story, good narration, OK writing. But a good thriller that keeps you guessing even if the writing is a bit limited at times.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Abigail Stephenson
- 08-02-21
Wow! Brilliant!
So I saw this being talked about on Reese Witherspoons Instagram and as a crime thriller lover knew I had to try it! And it did not disappoint, with so many twists and turns it was impossible to know the outcome (like many crime thrillers nowadays) loved the story something I’ve not heard before and just loved it! Finished it in two days! Cannot wait for the next book! This was brilliant! 100% recommend!
15 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jpfreestyler
- 07-02-21
A must read top notch thriller
Wow - The Sanatorium is unputdownable. The description’s are sublime and paint such vivid pictures in my head of the settings and people. I honestly feel I am there sitting in the sanatoriom watching the events unfold. If you love a thriller this one is truly fantastic. So compelling with totally unexpected twists and turns, cleverly written.
I cannot wait to listen and read more from Sarah Pearse. Brilliantly narrated by Gemma Wheaton. This book has a cinematic quality to it and cannot wait to watch this as a film or mini series.
10 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Kirsten
- 27-02-21
Somewhat disappointing
Not as good as I had hoped judging from the blurb. The plot was incoherent in places and the narrative lacked psychological credibility. Furthermore the male characters were nasty and unsympathetic, difficult to imagine the main character to have a relationship with such an unpleasant character and the brother was not much better.
8 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 14-05-21
Elin blinked...
“Elin blinked...” oh please not again. This phrase is irritatingly repeated over and over again as are others. What a disappointment this book is. The premise sounded great but it’s badly done. The story is weak, makes little sense, the characters are awful particularly Elin the lead. She is a terrible detective who seems to have no police training or skills. Loads of plot holes throughout and dialogue is just bad. I just wanted an avalanche and to sweep the entire hotel and it’s contents down the mountain.
7 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Mrs Jane Duncan
- 05-05-21
No moment left undescribed
No room for imagination here, the author describes every single thing. It is exhausting. So many ‘slicks’ and ‘smears’ - which is the fundamental trouble with this sort of approach. You run out of words. I won’t be reading anything else by Sarah Pearse.
6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 25-02-21
EXCELLENT
Loved this story. Had me hooked. Can't wait to read her next book. Hope it's soon!
6 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mrs J L MINNS
- 19-03-21
Tedious
I found the extreme description of nearly every action in this book extremely annoying. From the way the water came out of a bottle to the placing of a bag on the floor. The story was probably twice as long as it needed to be. Whole chapters were used to describe Elin going up the stairs. Sorry , could not finish reading it all.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M
- 28-02-21
Very Good
Ear bending Penguin clanging music as usual at the start and a few sound effects but, after that, an even pleasant voice narrating. Accents a bit dodgy in places but did not detract - German sounded more French! I am assuming the person following Elin on the funicular at the end of the story is Hayler. Who else could it be? I usually don't like my crime thriller detectives to have problems that detract from the chase, hope Elin loses Will who must make her feel very guilty about doing her job and lecturing her, so many detectives these days have emotional blocks or someone as a foil to their ambitions.
4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Christian Schuetterle
- 27-02-21
Great thriller for winter nights...
This was a great thriller for cold winter nights! The author managed to create an intricate story with great twists and turns. Hopefully, this will be the start of a great series!
4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Louise Roberts
- 16-02-21
Several beats pass..
A modern setting which is very well depicted and quite brilliant, a good winter read! Overall a good story but definitely drawn out, quite a bit of repition of the same phrases which started to distract a bit. Characters lacked depth.
4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- elizabeth b.
- 06-02-21
A snowball chance in hell
Long and convoluted story. I’m not sure who killed who nor do I care. Shame.
7 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 06-03-21
9 hours of my life I'll never get back
Oh this sounded so promising. And Reese had it as a bookclub pick. I did not like the narration at all, it was so bland. And the story was just contrived, with some character relationships really lacking in depth and leaving so many questions about how they got to be at the point they were. And the overall plot - just too unbelievable and pointless. I so wanted to like this and I had to bear through it all just to see if there was any point to it at the end. There wasn't. Don't waste a credit or your valuable time on this one.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- mairead
- 02-03-21
Hard work
I really tried with this but it just got worse and worse. Would not recommend; convoluted and without charm.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 29-03-21
Doesn't fulfill its potential
A good story and the narrator has a nice voice but doesn't create distinct characters so it all gets a bit bland.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 23-07-21
Drawn out
This could have been an engaging murder mystery. But there was poor character development and a very slow pace to the entire story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sharon
- 25-05-21
The Sanatorium
Interesting story. Was good up until the part where someone on the funicular turned up and was following her. He obviously has been stalking her for some time, but who is he? Has any one else figured it out?? Maybe her Dad??
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Sue
- 13-05-21
Sadly disappointing
It had the makings of a good story but it lacked suspense and originality. It didn’t have the depth of a good thriller. The protagonist was supposed to be a DS but didn’t act or think like one. I was determined to finish though - wish I hadn’t. The narrator, however, was excellent.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amanda Parker
- 12-05-21
This book is so very confusing
The first half of the book is very confusing throwing characters in without any real introduction! Q3 is gets better with the story unfolding but then unfortunately downhill again with the climax failing to deliver!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kathleen Johnston
- 29-04-21
LOVED IT
Cannot wait for Sarah's next book! I was into this book the whole way through...no boring bits. I could not wait to get in the car after work and listen.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Adilah Y.
- 28-04-21
Predictable, with a meh ending
Great writing, but story is mostly predictable and albeit a little confusing. The narrator did a fantastic job with the characters and accents though. And the ending was pretty meh.