Published in December of 2020, Sarah Pearse’s The Sanatorium is a psychological thriller set in a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps. Pearse hasn’t quite got it right here, but like a grizzled detective might say: maybe she’s onto something. In the prologue, Daniel Lemaitre, the hotel architect, is accosted by a masked assailant while leaving the unfinished hotel site. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Sarah Pearsegrew up in Devon, England, and studied English literature and creative writing at the University of Warwick before completing a postgraduate diploma in broadcast journalism.

Don't miss The Retreat, the addictive new thriller from the global bestselling author of The Sanatorium. The winds are howling, the snow is pelting in every direction, there’s a missing person, and a dead body shows up!When guests at a five-star resort in the Alps disappear mid-blizzard, vacation’s over for detective Elin Warner. Shocked by Laure’s murder, Elin begins to examine the body for clues, but she is also attacked by a masked assailant, just like the one who killed Daniel Lemaitre and Adele. Either way, it’s crying out for a screen adaptation and provides a welcome, if unsettling, distraction from current events.

Elin’s suspicions land on Laure when CCTV proves that she is still alive and hiding somewhere in the hotel. If you were one of the millions who made the streaming adaptation of his “ The Stranger” such a lockdown hit last year there’s plenty for you to enjoy here, even if an awful lot of it seems familiar. The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse is an eerie, atmospheric novel that had me completely on the edge of my seat. There are echoes of Hitchcock and du Maurier, but Pearse has her own distinctive, emotional voice—one to be admired. 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.She texts Isaac, asking him to come rescue her from the archive room, and when he does, she tells him that Lucas is the killer. This spine-tingling, atmospheric thriller has it all: an eerie Alpine setting, sharp prose, and twists you’ll never see coming. The enforced mixing of the super-rich with the middle and lower classes is straight out of any number of Christie books.

Creepy, deeply claustrophobic, mind-numbing, teasing, twists and turns galore, this book is a towering example of a masterful hand at work.Vividly set against the backdrop of the Swiss Alps, it had me on the edge of my seat from the first page. Pearse lives in Devon, the writing home of Agatha Christie, so she can be forgiven for taking a little influence from her. Cecile expresses disbelief, but as soon as she leaves, Elin smells chlorine on the mask, alerting her to who the real killer is. After the whole ordeal, the Carons are both arrested, and Elin’s relationships with Isaac and Will are strengthened.