By Sarah Pearse
SPOILER FREE
In a nutshell, without giving any spoilers away, the story centres around a newly built hotel set in the Swiss Alps. It used to be the sanatorium for TB patients and now turned into a fabulous five-star hotel. The trouble is, the moment Elin Warner steps into the hotel, she begins to feel unsettled. There’s something about the hotel that troubles her, and she does not know why. This intensifies as Elin, who suffers from PTSD, is made to confront her own issues.
I am not a fan of short chapters, but Sarah Pearse ends each chapter, with a strong temptation for just one more chapter before bedtime. Sarah is an exceptional storyteller, who uses all the right formulas to create a deliciously creepy and tensed thriller. I can see that the author is a fan of architecture because it is visible in the way she describes the hotel and as a reader you can visualise the hotel. It also makes you want to be there, sitting by the floor to ceiling glass window, with a cup of coffee in hand, admiring the snow-covered mountains. Despite the hotel being creepy and all.
I hear this is her first novel. Well, a brilliant first novel I say.