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  • The Sanatorium

  • By: Sarah Pearse
  • Narrated by: Gemma Whelan
  • Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (798 ratings)
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The Sanatorium cover art

The Sanatorium

By: Sarah Pearse
Narrated by: Gemma Whelan
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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....

Check out The Retreat (July 2022), the addictive new thriller from the global best-selling author of The Sanatorium. 

©2021 Sarah Pearse (P)2021 Penguin Audio

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)

What listeners say about The Sanatorium

Average customer ratings
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  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

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.

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20 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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!

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

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.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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11 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

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.

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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EXCELLENT

Loved this story. Had me hooked. Can't wait to read her next book. Hope it's soon!

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great thriller for winter nights...

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!

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6 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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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.

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6 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Nonsensical, yet predictable

Had no substance and too many plot holes. Can I have my 12 hours back?

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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.

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5 people found this helpful