An unsolved murder, an isolated, creepy sanatorium setting and a young criminologist's attempt to let the ghosts of the past finally rest.

In a huge nod to Agatha Christie, with Death at the Sanatorium, it seems that Ragnar Jónasson has set out to deliver a book that is reminiscent of the Golden Age of Crime with modern touches to keep it relevant to today and overall he does deliver on that mission.

There are multiple points of view, multiple timelines that flash back and forward to build the story and a number of intriguing twists that all combine to give us a satisfactory crime novel that for most readers will prove to be intriguing, extremely readable and generally well plotted.

I loved the premise of this book and I hoped for a creepy, dark and suspenseful read. For me, the desire to hark back to the classic age of crime meant that it didn't quite deliver at those levels and I think hampered the atmosphere as it couldn't go as dark mystery/thriller as it possibly should have.  For a relatively short novel it also felt quite long as there was a feeling of repetition of story elements. For me the most intriguing elements were the opening few chapters and last few as that's where the most potential for a truly interesting story lay.

Fans of Agatha Christie and crime novels of that era will really appreciate the nods and affectionate references back to the masters of crime as well as the pacing, plot points and character development, but for me sadly it fell a little flat as I wished for a darker, grittier and creepier story than what was delivered.
 
 2.5* rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for a digital review copy of "Death at the Sanatorium" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.