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The Sanatorium
- Narrated by: Gemma Whelan
- Series: Detective Elin Warner Series, Book 1
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Horror
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
An instant Sunday Times best seller
An instant New York Times best seller
A Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick
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....
Pre-order The Retreat, the addictive new thriller from the global best-selling author of The Sanatorium. Coming July 2022.
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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Performance
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- 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!
18 people found this helpful
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- 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.
17 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 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.
11 people found this helpful
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- 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.
11 people found this helpful
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- 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.
9 people found this helpful
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- 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.
9 people found this helpful
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- 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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- Alfie31
- 25-02-21
Disappointing
Could have been good, but turns out to be nothing more than a basic who done it. Slow and tedious throughout with a very average ending . Great narrator very talented and easy to listen to just a shame about the material she was performing.
6 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-03-21
Nonsensical, yet predictable
Had no substance and too many plot holes. Can I have my 12 hours back?
5 people found this helpful
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- 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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- 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.
2 people found this helpful
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- 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.
1 person found this helpful
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- Vic Farrell
- 21-02-22
Seriously?
She started writing a crime novel with no idea where it was going to lead.. lots of back filling later and…. A long tedious explanation about why the people were murdered… I still have no idea why “Lorhgh” was murdered. Perhaps it was due to the ridiculous pronunciation of her name.
Phew… what let down.