“The Sanatorium” - Sarah Pearse

This novel has all the elements of a fantastic gothic thriller: macabre history, complicated family drama, a remote setting oozing the “things are not quite as they appear” vibe, and a slew of melodramatic characters. In short, the works.

That said, this one fell flat. It was hard to rally behind Elin, the protagonist. She’s basically a bumbling detective making one ill-advised decision after another. She also whines often about everyone withholding information from her. If she’s a detective, why isn’t she detecting?

Despite the wickedly tense atmosphere, the resolution was a letdown. The last time I felt this way was when I read Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol”. The big reveal did not provide a compelling motivation for the events that transpired, and plot holes were left unfilled. I felt robbed of the “aha” moment when you realize the author foreshadowed events with clever clues hidden along the way.

Bottom line: this was a quick read, with plenty of potential, but ultimately it left me disappointed. The epilogue is a seemingly disjointed set up for a sequel. I’m not sure I’ll be picking it up.