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The Sanatorium has one of the most spine-chilling settings I’ve ever encountered: an asylum with a sketchy past that has been repurposed as a luxury hotel. Think The Shining, with a story reminiscent of early Dan Brown.
Traumatised detective Elin Warner arrives at the hotel at the invitation of her estranged brother, to celebrate his engagement.
When his fiance mysteriously disappears, and a sudden storm cuts off all access to the rest of the world, all of Elin’s bad gut feelings are confirmed.
This is a well-paced thriller, with several twists and turns. The only real let-down was the ending: the villain’s reveal was unexpected, but that meant it required a long and cliche reveals-all speech in the penultimate chapter (and the motivation seemed a little flimsy and unearned).
It’s a shame, because otherwise this is an evocative and spooky twist on the locked-door mystery. Pick this one up if you value mood over pay-off.
Read The Sanatorium on audiobook via Libro.fm here. (affiliate link)
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