From the moment she arrives, Elin is uneasy.  Estranged from Isaac since the childhood death of their brother Sam, she is already on edge about seeing him and there is something about this lovely, luxurious hotel that has her on edge.

Unable to resolve her issues with her brother, unable to fully commit to Will, unable to decide on next steps for her career, Elin is in a constant state of turmoil.  And then a dead body is discovered and Laure goes missing. 

Gripping, mysterious, and suspenseful Pearse has you feeling like some thing is lurking behind you with every turn of the page.

It did not disappoint.  Thought the hotel isn’t exactly haunted, there is such a built in element of spooky-ghost story that it sucks you right in.  The backdrop of the mountains and the isolation, the horrific history of the sanatorium before it became a hotel, and the endless snow that is constantly falling…I wanted to be there, in spite of all the dead bodies popping up!

It’s a good mystery that isn’t as predictable as you think it will be.  There are enough twists and turns that keep you guessing and reevaluating the characters.  Oddly, the only character that I didn’t like was our “hero”, Elin.  She came off as both weak and victimized and she wasn’t either of those things, but clearly saw herself that way.  She was a trained detective, an athlete, completely independent …I’m not sure why having some baggage made her come off as a shrinking violet but that was the only disappointment in this story.  The other characters were interesting, unexpected, and there were enough plot twists that kept you guessing up until the end…and then it’s not the end.

It was a cozy easy read for a winter weekend.