An audio book.
Jan 2015?, Switzerland alps. Architect Daniel is looking at the remote ex-sanatorium that's going to be converted into a posh hotel by developer Lucas. There have been complaints and protests. In the car park he sees a bracelet, sees a figure (wearing a strange sort of gas/medical mask), then is killed.
2018? Elin is on the way to the hotel to celebrate her brother Issac's engagement to Laure, who's now the hotel manager. Her other brother, Sam, is dead (drowned when 8). Her mother's dead. Elin nursed her in her final months. She thinks that Issac neglected his family duties. She's a detective, rather introverted, on compassionate leave for a year - she'll need to return soon if she ever will. She messed up on her first big investigation - the Hayler case - and was nearly drowned by a suspect. Her partner's Will, an architect. He says that since Sam's death she's always been searching in general for answers.
Laure was Elin's first close school-friend. Elin feels guilty about how their friendship ended. She goes missing. Elin goes to Issac's hotel room. He acts strangely. There's washed out blood on the carpet. She discovers that Issac's lying about being a lecturer. He was dismissed a year before because of misconduct. She's always suspected that Issac somehow killed Sam. She learns that Laure has a 2nd phone unknown to Issac, that she'd had an affair with Lucas. She meets Lucas' sister Cecille. A cleaner's body is found in a pool.
An avalanche and strong winds isolate the hotel. She gets permission to run the investigation on behalf of the local police. Watching CCTV she discovers that Laure was the person who tried to attack(?) her in the spa earlier. Laur texts, asking to meet her. She finds Laure dead. On her body is a memory stick with redacted medical records from the 1920s. She learns that there were rumours about bribes needs to get permission to build the hotel. More bracelets are found. All have 5-digit numbers on them.
Luca has found out that Adel's police record isn't faultless, which explains his lack of cooperation. Another death. Margot (6 ft) traps Elin and Will together. She confesses. She says that patients (relatives) were tortured - extreme medical "experiments" (adventurous/rebellious females were admitted by their families to get them out of the way). Dan/Lucas knew but did nothing. She badly wounds Will. For a while nobody cares where she's gone. Then some people follow her through tunnels. Her dead body's found. Cecille tells them that at 16 she was raped by Dan. Lucas knew and did nothing.
Elin asks Issac for the truth, She discovers that she was with Sam when he slipped and died, but froze in shock - she'd suppressed the memory. Will survives. Elin has to rebuild her relationship with Issac (his relationship with Laure seemed odd - does he grieve?). She has to come to terms with Sam's death - her mother, etc always knew. Is she going to return to work? Is she going to marry Will, who she got into so much trouble?
Surely there'd be more communication between the people in the hotel - planning meetings, hierarchies of communication.
Rather too often emotions are converted into physical assaults on the body - "Emotion tied knots in her stomach", "Panic claws at her throat".
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