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High in the Swiss Alps is a brand-new upscale resort hotel. Le Sommet is the new iteration of a century-old building that has stood in that isolated spot: a sanatorium where patients with tuberculosis were treated.
Elin Warner, on leave from her job as a detective in England, is only there because her estranged brother, Lucas, is having a party to celebrate his engagement to Laure, a childhood friend. It’s nerve-wracking enough to be seeing her brother after several years. But on top of that, the location is difficult to access, and the stark building still carries a sinister feeling.
Soon, things start going off the rails: Laure disappears, a body is found, and a storm shuts off access to the rest of the world.
Elin is still dealing with trauma and panic from a difficult case months before, and her boyfriend is urging her to rest and try to recover mentally. But she feels bound to help find Laure and help investigate the crimes that have occurred/are occurring. As the hours and days go by, the danger ratches up, and the pressure is on Elin.
The Sanatorium is the first book featuring Detective Elin Warner, but I read the second (The Retreat) first. Elin is a character who is facing plenty of mental challenges and old demons, and she feels in many ways to be delicate, close to breaking. And that goes for both books. Though I’ve read these out of order, I don’t think it’s made any difference to the story/stories. What I noticed, though, is how very similar the plots are: both are set in isolated locations, both with sinister histories. Both feature architecture (Elin’s boyfriend is an architect) as a significant part of the story. Both feature perpetrators who have suffered in the past and wreak revenge in the location with the creepy history.
I am sure there will be more books coming, but I probably won’t read any more because these two were so similar and I won’t need a third in the same vein. A gripping story of suspense and thrills but the plot is too much of a rehash.
Rated: Moderate. Profanity includes 1 use of strong language, around 10 instances of moderate profanity, about 4 uses of mild language, and 4 instances of the name of Deity in vain. There are 5 instances of British (bl-) profanity. Sexual content is minimal. A woman talks about being raped in the past. Violence includes several killings, with a moderate amount of blood and gore.
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