A single-location thriller set in an isolated getaway spot high up in the Swiss Alps, Sarah Pearse' debut
The Sanatorium has it all — an unsettling, Gothic undertone, a rotating cast of shifty characters, and most importantly, an atmospheric backdrop featuring a former abandoned sanatorium that has since been remodeled into a five-star minimalist hotel called Le Sommet. What it ultimately delivers is a dull, lacklustre mystery that's too contrived to thrill. From the outset, it's slickly assembled, but soon cracks begin to appear, and the cracks fast turn into chasms as Elin Warner, who has taken time off from her job as a detective, sets out to investigate the disappearance of her brother's fiancée. Reminiscent of Agatha Christie's classic
And Then There Were None, Pearse, to her credit, vividly portrays the frigid landscape of Le Sommet, making it effective in small bursts, but the story quickly comes apart at the seams as it makes way for an outrageous ending. The logic that knots these plots together is inane in a way that almost beggars description. Curiosity might keep you reading but boredom will drive you away.
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