Well, I’ve accidentally stumbled upon the first book in a new detective series. When I look up Sarah Pearse’s debut novel, The Sanitorium, it is listed as the first of the Elin Warner series. I can’t say at this point that I’ll read any more in this series, but overall this was an enjoyable read.
Elin Warner finds herself at a remote resort in the mountains of Switzerland, and is freaking out. Not because the hotel used to be a sanitorium back in the day, but because she is still traumatized by an incident on her last case and even further back, the death of her younger brother, Sam. I’m sure the traumatic work experience will play a larger role down the line, but the only thing that really seems to be following her from that case to right now is a fear of water. Of course, Sam also died by water, so that’s kind of a double whammy. Either way, she reluctantly agreed to come to the hotel with her long-term boyfriend, Will, to see her older brother Isaac and old childhood friend, Laure, celebrate their engagement. Elin’s never told Will that she suspects Isaac had more to do with Sam’s death than evidence warranted, but she doesn’t have to share that right away.
Not much time really passes in this novel. We spend an obscene amount of time in Elin’s mind, constantly recounting her fears, which is kind of annoying after a while. Especially given that the novel is almost 400 pages. Maybe a day after everyone arrives at the hotel, they are being ushered back to town because of an incoming storm and the risk of an avalanche. Almost everyone makes it out, but Laure’s gone missing overnight, so Elin wants to hang back and try to find her. That’s when a mutilated body is found at the bottom of one of the outdoor pools. Elin reluctantly goes back into detective mode, and right now all the evidence is pointing to Laure. There’s some pretty scathing evidence if I do say so myself. From there, more bodies show up in a similar fashion, and Elin has a trio of brushes with the killer. It occurs her eventually that the deaths are linked to the hotel’s past as a sanitorium.
Without giving much else away, I can say that this book had plenty of twists and plenty of suspects. Plus, it has the added element of being a creepy old building, modernly repurposed or not! There was a part of me that initially thought this book was going to have a supernatural element to it, but I can assure you that it doesn’t. That almost made it more fun to read! Elin’s a little prickly, but it’s clear she’s caring, and I imagine she’ll only become more likeable as more novels get released. Overall, this was an entertaining mystery novel, and if you like crime, this should be right up your alley!