Talking Scared

26 - Sarah Pearse and the Hills are Alive with the Sound of Murder


Listen Later

Send us a text

Hands up who wants a holiday! 

Sarah Pearse’s The Sanatorium could be just the thing to purge your lockdown travel desires. It will either transport you to the ice-white peaks of the Swiss Alps, to luxuriate in the views inside your mind. Or, it’ll make you never ever want to stay in a hotel again.

The Sanatorium is Sarah’s debut thriller, a novel that sits uncomfortably (in the best possible way) between crime, mystery and horror – with a hospital-cum-hotel that would rank VERY low on TripAdvisor.

Cleanliness = 5*

Location = 5*

Facilities = 5*

Chance of survival = 1*

Sarah and I discuss the tussle to define a debut novel, we share stories of living in Switzerland and ponder what it is about all that beauty that chills the bone, and we pick apart the comparisons to Stephen King and Agatha Christie.

The Sanatorium is published Feb 2nd in North America by Pamela Dorman and Feb 18th 2021 in the UK, by Bantam Press.

Stick around after the interview to hear all the big news about what’s coming to Talked Scared later this year. I’m excited, I hope you are.

Enjoy! 

Books discussed in this episode include:

  • The Shining (1977), by Stephen King
  • The Little Stranger (2009), by Sarah Waters
  • Thin Air (2016), by Michelle Paver
  • Dark Matter (2010), by Michelle Paver 

    Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to [email protected].

    Thanks to Adrian Flounders for graphic design.

    Support the show

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Talking ScaredBy Neil McRobert

    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9

    4.9

    291 ratings


    More shows like Talking Scared

    View all
    Faculty of Horror by Andrea Subissati and Alexandra West

    Faculty of Horror

    1,071 Listeners

    This Is Horror Podcast by Michael David Wilson and Bob Pastorella

    This Is Horror Podcast

    168 Listeners

    Imaginary Worlds by Eric Molinsky | QCODE

    Imaginary Worlds

    1,992 Listeners

    The Losers' Club: A Stephen King Podcast by Bloody FM

    The Losers' Club: A Stephen King Podcast

    1,255 Listeners

    Reading Glasses by Brea Grant and Mallory O'Meara

    Reading Glasses

    1,783 Listeners

    The Evolution of Horror by Mike Muncer

    The Evolution of Horror

    824 Listeners

    Books in the Freezer - A Horror Fiction Podcast by Stephanie Gagnon

    Books in the Freezer - A Horror Fiction Podcast

    292 Listeners

    BEST MOVIES NEVER MADE by Stephen Scarlata & Josh Miller

    BEST MOVIES NEVER MADE

    297 Listeners

    Radio Rental by Tenderfoot TV & Audacy

    Radio Rental

    32,347 Listeners

    She Wore Black by Agatha Andrews

    She Wore Black

    67 Listeners

    The Year of Underrated Stephen King by Kim C.

    The Year of Underrated Stephen King

    59 Listeners

    The Kingcast by FANGORIA Podcast Network

    The Kingcast

    908 Listeners

    Just King Things by Ranged Touch

    Just King Things

    665 Listeners

    Ruined with Alison Leiby and Halle Kiefer by Ruined with Alison Leiby and Halle Kiefer

    Ruined with Alison Leiby and Halle Kiefer

    1,715 Listeners

    My Victorian Nightmare by Genevieve Manion

    My Victorian Nightmare

    1,087 Listeners