The book of this month is one I have had on my shelf for a very long time — ‘The Sanatorium’ by Sarah Pearse. When this book was released in 2021, it got rave reviews and it’s not hard to see why. Detective Elin Warner and her boyfriend, Will go on a trip to Le Sommet to celebrate her brother’s engagement. Le Sommet, once a sanatorium, is a newly refurbished hotel with snowy peaks overlooking it.
With beautiful scenery, this seems like the perfect trip, but struggles from her past keep threatening to break the surface and when a body is found, Elin soon finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. When roads are blocked by the storm, Elin soon realises she is on her own with this one and must overcome her own demons to ensure that the person responsible doesn’t increase the body count.
This is the first book in the Elin Warner series and when you first meet the character, she doesn’t seem like a strong character as she is battling personal issues. Sarah writes in a way where you will be a little hesitant when it comes to liking or disliking the character, but you also get to witness the growth of Elin throughout the story. At the beginning, you meet a character questioning every decision she makes and you see her confidence grow and that self-doubt disappear.
I like it when an author gives us this sort of introduction to a character as it showcases the flaws from the beginning and you learn to like the character the more the novel progresses.
Sarah does an excellent job keeping the reader on edge throughout the story. There are plenty of thrilling moments and you are constantly asking questions such as; who will the next victim be? Who is responsible? Why are they doing this? What is going to happen next? That has always been what I love about thrillers, the guessing game and the illusion that as you read, you are following in the characters footsteps, almost like being the Watson to their Sherlock and trying to figure out the case before the author wants you to know.
There is a second novel in the series called The Retreat which I am also looking forward to reading at some point in the future as it will be interesting to see what is next for the character.
Book Club Updates
Book Buzz will be a little bit different going forward when the books from Book Club will be the Book Buzz book, and it won’t just be my comments creating the review, there will be comments from everyone involved in book club.
If you wish to join Book Club, let me know and I will add you to the list. The book for this month is The Bee Sting by Paul Murray with the discussion taking place on the 12th April.
