High in the Swiss Alps sits Le Sommet, a just-opened luxury hotel with a minimalist approach that showcases the jaw-dropping views to perfection.  The place should exude a peaceful vibe, but despite extensive remodeling, the building still holds an unsettling feeling left over from its days as a tuberculosis hospital.  Whispers of unease whistle through Le Sommet's newly-painted halls, hinting at its dark past...

The last place Detective Elin Warner wants to be is on a remote mountaintop with her estranged brother, but without a good excuse to skip his engagement party, she really doesn't have a choice.  As the assistant manager of Le Sommet, Elin's sister-in-law is eager to show off the new hotel.  Despite Laure's enthusiasm, Elin feels completely unsettled by Le Sommet, with its strange history and cut-off location.  The onset of a winter storm doesn't help her feelings of claustrophobia and disquiet.  On leave following a traumatizing case, Elin is supposed to be resting.  Le Sommet should offer the perfect refuge for her.  So, why does she feel so discombobulated?

When Laure disappears suddenly, Elin is immediately on alert.  The assistant manager is not answering her phone and the weather has made travel nearly impossible.  Where could Laure possibly be?  When Elin finds the gruesome answer, a startling truth becomes terrifyingly clear: someone in the hotel (or very nearby) is a cold-blooded killer.  While Elin collects clues, another woman disappears.  With no way off the mountain, all the hotel guests are in danger unless Elin can find a murderer—a murderer who just may be her own brother.  Racing against time, she must put all her rusty detecting skills to use before it's too late for her and everyone else. 

Locked-room mysteries set in isolated places are my jam.  Throw in inclement weather and a creepy old building and you've got my attention, 100 percent.  The Sanatorium, a debut novel by Sarah Pearse, combines all of these elements to create a compelling novel, the kind I usually devour and love.  Did it fulfill all my thriller-loving dreams?  Well...     

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Sanatorium with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.