I love books based in Winter-time. Give me a book based in a snow-capped destination with people huddling together in front of a roaring fire, any day over a beach side read! This is what drew me initially to this book, as well as its beautiful evocative cover. The storyline also reminded me of the TV adaptation of Agatha Christies The Labours of Hercules, where the indefatigable Poirot is marooned in an exclusive Alpine Hotel with a killer following an avalanche. So far, so good…

Elin Warner, a policewoman suffering from PTSD, is persuaded to visit the luxury Swiss Hotel located high in the Alps to celebrate her brother Isaac’s engagement. Hotel Le Sommet, once an infamous sanatorium for TB patients, is now an uber cool minimalist 5 star hotel. After a ferocious snow storm, and subsequent avalanche, the hotel is cut off from the world, during which some guests go missing, including Isaac’s fiancée Laure. Elin takes it upon herself to conquer her demons and investigate the disappearances.

While the book certainly delivers on creating the right type of atmospheric setting, high up in the isolated mountains, the plot line is somewhat thin and lacks the complexity that the reader might expect. I grew a bit tired of Elin’s moans and groans, and apathy. Not my type of heroine of the hour. There is an entire cast of hotel guests who could be the murderer and sometimes the authors attempts to throw the reader off the scent were a bit forced and clumsy. When the story reaches its eventual climax, it was more of a fizzle than a pop. I also assume that the rather confusing epilogue is suggestive of a sequel? An enjoyable 3 star read but did not deliver the Wow factor for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley/Random House UK for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars rounded up.

The cover of this book drew me to it; look at that image! It's fabulous! It hints at atmospheric thriller surrounded by impassible mountains. Plus, it's based in an old sanatorium. Double tick.

This would have been a great novel if it didn't try to do too much. Some books try to be too clever an 'out there' and this is one of them. It had so many twists and 'oh, it's not them then?' that I just got confused and very disinterested. I still don't really understand the reasoning behind most of the murders. Then the epilogue: WHAT THE HELL?! I so didn't understand that and what was the point? It didn't add to anything.

Sadly, not one for me, but hope others enjoy this more than I did.

Review

The perfect middle ground between Steven King and Agatha Christie. Le Sommet hotel was created within the building of an old tuberculosis Sanatorium, the brainchild of Architects Daniel and Lucas. The haunted history of the sanatorium, its isolation from the nearest towns and the unusual circumstances around architect Daniels disappearance set the scene for a murder mystery.

Elin Warner is a police officer taking time out after an incident at work - visiting her brother Isaac and his fiancé Laure for their engagement party. Her partner Will is keen for them to use the holiday as a chance to relax. When Laure goes missing, an avalanche blocks the only road to the hotel - leaving Elin to play the role of detective to ensure the safety of the remaining guests and hotel staff.

Despite dealing with her own demons, Elin is on the hunt for a masked murderer (quite literally). The cold expanse of snow, mountains and forest outside of the hotel windows makes it the perfect setting for someone outside to hide and look in through the windows at Elin and her family / friends struggling to make sense of what is happening at The sanatorium.

It’s a really great book, the plot is unpredictable and it’s hard to work out who the ‘murderer’ is. I was left wanting to be a fly on the wall of the hotel lobby, listening to conversations. The hotel setting is just as cold and eery as the front cover makes it look.

The Sanatorium
Sarah Pearse wastes no time in ramping up the tension and is clearly destined to be a master of this genre. And, holy icicles Batman, she doesn’t pull her punches.
Elin and her husband, Will, travel to a remote hotel in the Swiss Alps to meet Elin’s brother Isaac and his fiancée, Laure.
As the weather closes in, the hotel’s secrets begin to emerge; its dark past as a sanatorium, and the secrets and lies that its staff and guests are keeping tightly guarded.
Sarah keeps you guessing as the plot unfolds, and I found myself wrong-footed as often as Elin, as she tried to get to the bottom of the gruesome events that occur almost from the minute she arrives.
The novel is highly atmospheric, and it’s easy to imagine yourself roaming the corridors of the hotel, only steps behind Elin as she conducts her investigations.
An intriguing epilogue suggests there’s more to come - if your nerves can take it!
A great thriller, destined to delight fans of this genre.

This was a chilling read set in an equally chilling location.
It was the idea of a hotel in an old sanatorium that drew me first to this book, and Sarah Pearse did a great job in making the location another character. The story was a slow build, which worked well I thought. The sense of unease creeping in page by page. I think I perhaps enjoyed this more than the fast paced second-half which was more thriller than horror, but still great all the same.
Thanks to Sarah Pearse and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.

The setting of this book was the thing that really drew me in to this novel - a thriller set high in the Swiss Alps, in an old sanatorium turned into a luxury hotel. Throw in a storm and avalanches that cut off the resort from the outside world and you have the perfect recipe for a tense and terrifying murder mystery.

The book centres on Elin Warner, a police officer on extended leave, who arrives at the hotel for her brother's engagement celebrations. She has many personal struggles in her past and is estranged from her brother, Isaac, so is already uncomfortable with the idea of a family reunion when his fiancée, Laure, goes missing. As Elin starts to investigate the disappearance, the hotel gets cut off from police support and Elin finds herself thrown into a much bigger mystery than she first anticipated...

This book is certainly very tense - there were several points where I think I stopped breathing as I waited to find out what happened! The pace of the novel is well managed and kept me reading as I was keen to discover the truth, and there were plenty of twists along the way.

Pearse handles the setting of the old sanatorium very well - there is something very unnerving about a place of past suffering being turned into a luxury hotel and this is conveyed well. Elin never feels comfortable in the building and this puts the reader constantly on edge as she is faced with stark minimalism in the hotel's furnishings, uncompromising weather conditions and eerie reminders of the past.

The relationships between the characters are also presented well. There is a real tension between Elin and Isaac which is believable, although I personally didn't really like the repeated references to their shared past - while explaining their poor relationship, I thought this detracted a bit from the main narrative.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes tense and chilling mysteries. It is engaging and lively and will definitely keep you reading until you know what happened and - more importantly - why!

I would like to say, that this was very atmospheric and haunting. It definitely captures the cold, unfeeling and snowlike atmosphere of a huge building set underneath or near huge mountains I assume somewhere in Switzerland. I loved the creepy atmosphere of the old Sanatorium (now a hotel) I definitely got some Stephen Kingesque and The Shining sort of unease. What I didn't like about this was the characters and their plot line, I am sorry to say I got incredibly bored with the main characters back story and present plot. It all felt very cliched and just a bit too... what's going to happen to her mind?? and what's around the next corner? it felt slow and sludgy. This book is not for me but I can see this being a good book for people who love these sorts of stories.

This is a great creepy novel, perfect for autumn nights ahead! I loved it. Wonderfully Descriptive and taut as the pages went by! A real page turner.

👩‍✈️Police detective Elin is visiting her estranged brother to try and overcome the tragedy from their childhood which has left her with severe anxiety. Her brother works in a new hotel in the Swiss mountains, a hotel that was once a sanatorium. A storm moves in and suddenly the beautiful hotel begins to exude the dark history it is known locally for, made worse by the fact that people are starting to go missing 😬 But will Elin overcome her past to find out what is happening in time?

4⭐- an eerie, evocative psychological thriller that is a great page turner! As an archivist, I found the whole sanatorium history fascinating and really gave this book the added oomph on the creepy scale. I love the cover as well which gave me serious vibes of The Shining!

Wow! What a read! This is one of them books that you read at night, your crapping yourself yet every 5 minutes you repeat .. just one more chapter!
Sarah is a fabulous writer & a lovely person & I’m glad I was able to review this beautiful book thanks to NetGalley!
The cover is absolutely gorgeous but when it comes to the story behind the cover I found myself screaming, shouting & crying! It’s so fast paced and grips you from the first page. After reading the digital copy I definitely want a physical copy for my bookshelf! A must read!

This book gets right into it with action from the first chapter! The pace does not let up and what could have been a fairly predictable mystery fast becomes a real thriller. I was expecting something good but a bit formulaic - an old sanatorium is not the most original setting for a mystery, after all - but this was full of surprises and twists and turns.

Well I knew this would be a book for me just by looking at that cover.. and the title! Loved how creepy the story was, and found it really quite unputdownable! The writing style appealed to me a lot too, will definitely be on the lookout for more from Sarah Pearse. Thank you for sharing this review copy!

Old sanatorium in Swiss Alps modernized into a grand hotel. Elin's estranged brother invites her to celebrate his engagement with her childhood friend Laure. But there are deep resentments and suspicions between siblings, the death of their younger brother is still lingering in their thoughts.
And above all, people are found dead, with strange masks on their faces...

What a marvellous and thrilling novel! And the atmosphere. I love it!

I would like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book.

I feel very lucky to have had such a run of excellent books lately, this one included. This is Sarah Pearse’s debut novel and it’s an absolute belter. Set in a renovated sanatorium in the Swiss Alps I was hooked from the very first page. It was very atmospheric, a little bit creepy and full of suspense. There were plenty of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and the book easily kept my attention throughout. I feel a little bit gutted that I read it so quickly and wish I’d savoured it a wee bit more. I would definitely recommend this and cannot wait for this authors next offering.

I’ve read an unusually large amount of books set in snow, or in the Alps, of late, and this is just as unsettling. In fact, it’s probably the most unsettling (in a good reading kind of way) of any I’ve read. Elin and her boyfriend arrive in an isolated hotel, site of a former sanatorium. Elin wants to escape real life – and her job – for a while, and try and relax. But the past keeps tapping her on her shoulder when she meets her brother Isaac and his fiancée Laure. When a hotel employee disappears, and access is cut to the hotel, right in the middle of a potential avalanche, Elin has to use all her professional knowledge and resources to track down who is responsible. Some of the scenes are particularly tense and I can see this making an excellent film or series. I didn’t want to finish reading until I’d gotten to the end.

loved this beautifully atmospheric psychological thriller- it is often intensely creepy with an excellent central mystery element and a deeply chilly feel to it.

This is one of those novels you fall into and read in great big chunks, you know the kind, the “just one more chapter” thing that keeps you up into the early hours.

The characters are engaging, the setting is described pitch perfectly, it is unpredictable, edgy and clever. Proving that there is life in the psychological thriller genre and that it can still be done with style and genuine flair, I am more than happy to highly recommend it. If you have a must read of 2021 list pop this on it.

I found this book quite difficult to get into at first as there was a lot going on and the actual story didn’t seem to start for quite a while, but it more than made up for it once it got going!
A murder mystery full of twists and turns, it kept me guessing. With each clue came a different suspect and it was never someone expected so it was definitely an interesting read and kept me engaged!
The epilogue was also very unexpected - maybe it could lead into a sequel?

This is very face paced, no time to warm up, which I loved.

The atmosphere of the location is detailed perfectly. I was expecting this to be a little more frightening but it is still a great book with an exceptional twist.

This was a good read, with good twists and turns. And certainly an intreeging ending. I enjoyed the characters and thought it was a well written book.

Good read, interesting concept. I hoped this would have a more creepy effect than it did but overall I did enjoy this one.

Full Review to follow on publication day.