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The Sanatorium

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The Sanatorium

By: Sarah Pearse
Narrated by: Gemma Whelan
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

**ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD**
**AN INSTANT
SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER **
** AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER **
** A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK **

'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

'An eerie, atmospheric novel that had me completely on the edge of my seat.' RESSE WITHERSPOON

'At first glance they're magnificent, yet the more she looks, the more she realizes 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 realized 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 . . .

©2021 Sarah Pearse (P)2021 Penguin Audio
Crime Thrillers Mystery Police Procedurals Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Scary Fiction Exciting

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All stars
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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!

Great thriller for winter nights...

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A great book, thrilling story and keeps you guessing until the end. A tale within a tale.

The sanitarium

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Brilliant - Really enjoyed listening to this. Just wish there was a Sandman 2 to download.

Best audio book I've listened to so far

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no wonder Elin was on leave. the amount of times she "got it wrong" would have had another detective fired! I'm surprised at the anomalies in this story. Such a dreadful storm but mobiles still working... a huge fall of snow, but items found easily, on the mountain. LOTS of other issues, to my mind. Only listened to end to find out who, in this convoluted menagerie of characters, did it. But, given the epilogue, I (and she) could be wrong - again!

disappointed

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unfortunately the narrator made each sentence sound like a bullet point.
I really wanted to finish as interestwd in this story but really struggled to follow it and really get into it.
Having ADHD audible has opened up my world or 'stories', just not this 1.

poor narration

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This was an on the edge of your seat story Intriguing and suspense mystery overall

Brilliant

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I am an ac-TOR. Therefore. I. Must. Over. Enunciate. Everything. Every. Consonant. Clearly. And. Robotically. Uttered.
And then sometimes I forget and just talk like a normal person for a bit.

Massively distracting for the listener. And I liked her in Upstart Crow and in Killing Eve, too. She’s terrible at audiobooks. Such a shame.

annoying narrator spoils good story

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TW: graphic content, discussions of rape, abortion, PTSD, infertility and physical and mental medical/institutional abuse. Firstly, WOW, what an incredibly thrilling and page turning read 😱 This is now my new favourite thriller/horror of the year so far and I am speechless it was so great. This book follows Elin and Will, a troubled couple, who travel to see Elin's estranged brother, Isaac, who has recently got engaged to his long-term girlfriend and Elin's childhood friend, Laure. As Elin and Will arrive at the eerily isolated mountain top hotel and former Sanatorium Elin can't help but feel on edge both from her surroundings and the upcoming engagement celebrations. However on the first night a treacherous snow storm cuts them off from the valley below and as it does their little getaway turns into their worst nightmare as Laure vanishes without a trace. And without giving spoilers which is so hard because I just want to scream about how amazing this book is, it is filled with so many twists and turns it will get your heart pounding out of your chest and make your mind go into overdrive and just when you think you've figured out what's going on it drops another bombshell! Honestly this book ticks every single box you could possibly imagine for a creepy gothic thriller/horror and I don't even know what to write for this review because I think everyone needs to read it 😂 The only thing I will say though is a lot of people have dropped stars because of the epilogue but for me that just blew my mind even more after everything that had already happened so iykyk 🙈

An incredibly creepy and enthralling thriller!

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The story started well but quickly become drawn out and confusing, it failed to deliver on the atmospheric possibilities of the setting in a hotel with a dark history, In the middle of a snow storm and cut off from outside help.
The characters lacked depth and the main character was not believable as a police officer.
Overall disappointing !

Disappointing

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I found this book difficult to get into initially, and I frequently had to go back and listen again to sections. However, towards the end I was gripped and couldn't wait to listen each time. Some plot twists were a little predictable but still the characters were well formed and interesting. Highly recommended for anyone who likes crime drama.

Gripping story

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