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March 2022 Moderator Recommends Poll Winner - The Sanatorium
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The sequel to this book comes out in July - The Retreat
. If you've finished The Sanatorium, you can read a preview of the new book here --> https://reesesbookclub.com/app/xmP7dw...I really liked The Sanatorium and I'm excited for the sequel. I had so many questions at the end of the book!!
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. If you've finished The Sanatorium, you can read a preview of the new book h..."I'm also looking forward to the sequel :)
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Vikki wrote: "Has anyone read this book in March? Feel free to share your thoughts :)"I didn't read it in March, I read it last year, last February. I really enjoyed the book. It was spooky in parts. And it was very interesting discussing with others that ending!!! I'm dying to find out who was watching Elin.
Check out this awesome book trailer for The Sanatorium
The video is available for your viewing pleasure at https://vimeo.com/483034531
I have a few interesting interviews feom the author, if you're interested I'll post them....
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Sarah Pearse: The Books that Influenced My Writingsarahpearseauthor - From Tessa Hadley to Agatha Christie...
Thrilled to share on @deadgoodbooks some of my favourite books and some that influenced the writing of The Sanatorium ...
Read article here: https://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/sarah...
https://www.instagram.com/p/CInMm9-gfQe/
Behind the Book sarahpearseauthor - 🏨 BOOK INSPO 🏨
I’ve had a few readers ask about the inspiration for Le Sommet, the hotel in my novel that has been converted from an old, abandoned (and creepy!) sanatorium - and this building in Crans Montana in Valais in the Swiss Alps is part of it! 🌲 (Anyone notice any similarities with the trees around my hotel in the book?!) 🌲
🏥 The clinic opened in 1903 as a sanatorium for treating tuberculosis patients, primarily from Geneva. I’ve managed to find online some photographs and a postcard of the original building (scroll to see it!) - fascinating to see what has changed and what has stayed the same! 🏥
🏔 This particular spot was chosen as it was near the high mountain - for the fresh, clean air at altitude, and is sheltered from the wind and also gets plenty of sunshine ☀️ - all things that were believed to help the patients rehabilitate. Wonderful to see it still there, treating patients, although for different reasons now!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLjBKhIAdaZ/
sarahpearseauthor -🕵🏻♀️ SO enjoyed chatting with @crimebythebook just now - we covered so many things, from locked-room mysteries to our shared love of Jo Nesbo and much, much, more besides! (Plus a cheeky hint about Book 2!) Go and check it out on her page now! 🕵🏻♀️https://www.instagram.com/p/CMIIqEOgXyG/
Watch interview here:
crimebythebook - IG Live Author Chat with @sarahpearseauthor! 🔎 I absolutely loved chatting with Sarah Pearse about her debut THE SANATORIUM!! This chilling locked room mystery takes readers to a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps, where something dark & sinister is afoot. 👀 In our chat, Sarah & I discuss the inspiration and research behind her book, bond over our mutual love of Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole series, talk locked room mysteries and Agatha Christie, and lots more! 🕵🏻♀️
Huge thanks to Sarah for taking the time to chat with me today!! 🖤
#authorinterview #sarahpearse #thesanatorium #readcrimefiction #reesesbookclub #lockedroommystery #crimebooks #bookstagram #booksofinsta @reesesbookclub
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMIEtl-njmy/
Behind the Booksarahpearseauthor - Where it all began (well, where Elin began...) This was one of the first images I pulled out from a newspaper and used when I was scrapbooking her character for THE SANATORIUM ... she’s a bit battered and torn (she has survived a pin 📌 board, sellotape and a lot more besides) but very precious to me and it is strange to think what has happened since then!
Does this image resemble the Elin you have in your mind? (No offence taken if it doesn’t, I think everyone builds their own pictures in their mind and that is the wonderful alchemy of reading as a medium!)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMOs5xCAOvL/
21 Questions with Sarah PearseWhich writer do you most admire and why?
One author I routinely read and re-read is Tessa Hadley, both her short stories and her novels. She has such a beautifully lyrical writing style and her descriptions of the natural world are second to none. It is prose to savour and I love the compelling, realistic characters she creates.
What was the first book you remember loving as a child?
Dogger & Other Stories by Shirley Hughes where Dave loses his favourite soft toy, Dogger. I too had a favourite soft toy that I couldn’t bear to be parted from so I very clearly remember the idea of losing Dogger as pretty traumatic!
What was your favourite book when you were a teenager?
Northern Lights, the first in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. The world building and plot, the intricate writing and characters swept me away. I was completely transported – so much so, I remember wanting my own daemon…
Tell us about a book that changed your life’s path
A well-thumbed copy of the The Best British Short Stories 2012, edited by Nicholas Royle. I treated myself to this book and came away so inspired by the short stories inside that it led me to start writing my own. After a messy few first attempts, I entered several competitions and was placed and published in various magazines. It was from there that I started to take my writing seriously.
What’s the strangest job you’ve had outside being an author?
I don’t know if the job itself was strange but the hierarchy certainly was – I had a brief stint working in a Chinese restaurant. It took quite a while for me to be considered experienced enough to be "allowed" to shred the crispy duck at the table…
What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?
Write something you’re passionate about but also think about your audience and why they read. I think some of my early writing was quite self-indulgent… Linked to this is a comment I read about understanding plot and what makes people keep turning the page. Without this fundamental understanding of story, I think it is very easy for a book to meander. No matter how good the writing itself is, if the story isn’t strong enough, many people will struggle to read on.
Tell us about a book you’ve reread many times (and why)
Aside from everything Tessa Hadley, The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. (I’ve also listened to this many times too – the narrator of the audiobook, Simon Vance, is perfect; just how I’d pictured Dr Faraday in my head.) I love everything about Sarah Waters’s writing – each sentence is honed and precise and her characters so well-drawn. The book is multi-layered – you have creepy ghostly going-ons, a brilliant cast of characters and a commentary on society, all in one delicious story!
What’s the one book you feel guiltiest for not reading?
Probably Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. It was on my pile as essential research for The Sanatorium, but I struggled to get more than a quarter through. It’s staring at me now as I write this…
If I didn’t become an author, I would be ______
A ski instructor.
What makes you happiest?
Being outdoors with my family – in the mountains if it’s winter, or in the summer we’ll be found at the beach. I’m always active and I get itchy feet if I can’t get outside.
What’s your most surprising passion or hobby?
I love rockpooling – once the tide is out it is amazing what you can find. I loved it as a kid and have never lost the love of exploring, except now I do it with my husband and daughters too.
What is your ideal writing scenario?
Complete silence with one (or both!) of my two cats beside me, looking out at a lovely view (again, mountains or beach.) The complete silence part was more or less impossible during lockdown so I’m hoping it improves in the coming months…
What was your strangest or most embarrassing author encounter?
I saw Jacqueline Wilson on a platform at Paddington Station once and I put up my hand up to wave as if I actually knew her, before realising I didn’t!
If you could have any writer, living or dead, over for dinner, who would it be, and what would you serve them?
It would have to be Agatha Christie – I would love to hear more about the inspiration for her plots and about the people she met in what is always heralded as the golden age of travel. I think I’d probably serve a bit of a smorgasbord of foods inspired by the exotic locations in her book.
What’s your biggest fear?
Being suffocated. I have major claustrophobia and this manifests in various ways – fear of being trapped in a lift (and running out of air!), being buried in an avalanche… The list goes on and some of these appear in The Sanatorium!
If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
To breathe underwater. I’d love to be able to swim freely and go deep without worrying about scuba gear. Even though I completed a diving course I never really enjoyed it due to my claustrophobia as mentioned in my previous answer! I’d love to spend a few days exploring what’s under the surface.
What’s the best book you’ve read in the past 12 months?
The Kingdom by Jo Nesbo. It follows two brothers, Ray Calum Opgard and Carl Abel Opgard, as Carl plans to build a spa and resort on land the brothers inherited in a rural village deep in the Norwegian mountains. But Carl’s return to the village after living away for many years unearths some long-buried secrets about their family and the close-knit community around them. There’s a simmering darkness to the novel but it isn’t explicit – it builds slowly, page by page, revealing secrets about the characters that begin to shift your perception of the brothers and the book as a whole. A must-read slice of rural noir that I couldn’t put down.
Reading in the bath: yes or no?
Yes – it’s actually one of my favourite places to read as it is one of the only places I can be alone!
Which do you prefer: coffee or tea?
Coffee – all day, every day. Cold, hot. (Although I switch to decaf after lunch!)
What is the best book you’ve ever read?
This is actually an easy choice – A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson. It tells the story of Teddy Todd, the younger brother of Ursula Todd who was the main character in Atkinson’s earlier novel about the Todd family, Life After Life. Teddy was a WWII bomber pilot and the story moves backwards and forward in time, spanning his entire life – as a child right through to when he is a grandfather. So cleverly written and poignant, it makes me cry every time I read it.
What inspired you to write your book?
Two things: living in Switzerland in my twenties, and reading an article in a local Swiss magazine about the history of sanatoria in the town of Crans Montana, where my book is set. As soon as I finished the article, I went online to read more. I unearthed so much fascinating information and within just a few hours I knew I’d found the seed of the idea that would become The Sanatorium.
https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/20...
Q&A with Sarah Pearse (The Sanatorium)Simon Mayo's Books Of The YearBooks
The best selling author of The Sanatorium chats to Simon and Matt about some of her favourite books and authors - which include Jo Nesbo, Enid Blyton and Guy Morpuss. Plus there is a lot of chat about Warwick University
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Watch podcast here --> https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...
🥧Eat a Slice of the Book!🥧pieladybooks - “Her body is reacting to something here; something living, breathing, woven into the DNA of the building, as much a part of it as its walls and floors.”
~Sarah Pearse, The Sanatorium✨
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You know that feeling when you start a new book and think, “yup. I’m going to love this.” That is exactly how I felt as soon as I started The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse. And I was right, I absolutely loved it! (Also, the audiobook is PHENOMENAL, by the way)✨
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The Sanatorium is an atmospheric, locked-room mystery/thriller that takes place at an isolated hotel in the Swiss Alps that once was an abandoned sanatorium. As soon as Elin Warner arrives, she can sense in her bones that something is off, and it’s not long before she will come face to face with exactly what that is, and all the secrets this secluded place is hiding.✨
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Let me start by saying that this type of book is 100% my cup of tea. I love a good atmosphere, an isolated sinister old building, a cast of characters all hiding something, and lots of dark secrets buried in the past. I mean, is it any wonder I love Agatha Christie so much?😂 Anyway, I was immediately hooked by the wonderful atmosphere of this old sanatorium-turned-hotel and all the secrets held within.✨
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But as much as I love these types of stories, I do always get a little nervous whenever I start a new locked-room mystery, as it’s really hard to make the story original, believable, and captivating.
Sarah Pearse did an incredible job of weaving together a plot with lots of wonderful layers, twists and turns that keep you guessing, terrifying murders, and an eerie location that makes you want to burrow under the covers at night. It was fresh and familiar all at once and I enjoyed every minute of this wonderful reading experience. The Sanatorium has easily become one of my favorite thrillers of all time, and if you’re a fan of this genre, I highly recommend checking this @reesesbookclub pick out!✨
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#thesanatorium #sarahpearse #reesesbookclub #pieladybooks
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLslgXyghHO/
Dear Reader: A Journey Back to Confidence by: Sarah Pearse --> https://reesesbookclub.com/app/R8x5Ra...
Dear Reader: The Perfect Backdrop for a Chilling Thriller by: Sarah Pearse --> https://reesesbookclub.com/app/i4uVcy...
Turn the Volume Up!!reesesbookclub - This playlist has no chill. 🥶 We bundled up with @sarahpearseauthor for an icy playlist inspired by #TheSanatorium.
Listen at the link in bio! 🎧 #Spotify #ReesesBookClub
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLzk4FXDGop/
Listen to playlist here --> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4au...
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I didn't read it in March, I read it last year, last February. I really enjoyed the book. It was spooky in pa..."
It was one of my favourites from last year, I read it in September
On The Same Page
Books mentioned in this topic
The Sanatorium (other topics)Northern Lights (other topics)
Dogger & Other Stories (other topics)
The Little Stranger (other topics)
The Best British Short Stories 2012 (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Sarah Pearse (other topics)Sarah Pearse (other topics)
Sarah Pearse (other topics)
Tessa Hadley (other topics)
Shirley Hughes (other topics)
More...
The winner of our first poll for the "Moderator Recommendation" monthly read was The Sanatorium, with 33 votes. The read starts on March 1 and runs through March 31. Hope to see you here!
EVERYONE'S IN DANGER. ANYONE COULD BE NEXT.
An imposing, isolated hotel, high up in the Swiss Alps, is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But she's taken time off from her job as a detective, so when she receives an invitation out of the blue to celebrate her estranged brother's recent engagement, she has no choice but to accept.
Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge. Though it's beautiful, something about the hotel, recently converted from an abandoned sanatorium, makes her nervous - as does her brother, Isaac.
And when they wake the following morning to discover his fiancée Laure has vanished without a trace, Elin's unease grows. With the storm cutting off access to and from the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.
But no-one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she's the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they're all in . . .