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Amazon.co.uk Review
The Hypnotist gleaned much praise in its native Sweden, and newspapers and TV made a considerable effort to discover the identity of the pseudonymous author of this striking crime novel. The result of the search was dramatic: after a nocturnal ‘raid’ it was revealed that ‘Lars Kepler’ was, in fact, a husband and wife team – a duo of literary writers, hitherto uncelebrated. But Alexandra and Alexander Ahndoril have enjoyed life since being ‘outed’, though it meant that the success of the new book forced the pair’s individual literary efforts to go on hold (the male half of the duo's novel about the great Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman was in line for a major literary prize).
Of course, as with almost every new Scandinavian crime novel, hopeful comparisons have already been drawn with Stieg Larsson, but an acquaintance with The Hypnotist demonstrates that this book is a very different kettle of fish. The members of a whole family have been brutally killed. There is one witness, the teenage son of the slaughtered family. But he appears to have been shocked into mute non-communication by the killings and can offer no leads. Kepler’s protagonist Inspector Joona Linna decides to ask ex-hypnotist Erik Bark to attempt to uncover the secrets of the boy's closed-off world. Linna and Bark discover that the traumatised youth holds the key to a shocking truth about the murders.
The Hypnotist is a challenging, lengthy, but always rewarding novel, addressing some incendiary issues. But it is most crucially concerned with the ties of family both which potentially carry both positive and destructive elements. These serious issues are addressed in the context of a crime novel which sports a steady, inexorable building of tension and dread -- and in this area the Kepler duo know exactly what they’re doing. The couple have said they are more influenced by film than they are by other novelists, and this is a very cinematic novel. Joona Linna, too, is a strong central character. Prepare to be hypnotised by The Hypnotist. --Barry Forshaw
Review
‘The thriller that’s taking Europe by storm…ferocious, visceral storytelling that wraps you in a cloak of darkness. It’s stunning.’
DAILY MAIL
‘All the hallmarks of a classic…Tense, clever and multilayered…this is crime writing at its most devilishly involving.’
MARIE CLAIRE
‘If the post-Stieg Larsson boom was ebbing, Kepler promises to revitalise the genre by bringing a sulphurous whiff of Hannibal Lecter to this case…it’s a pulse-pounding debut that is already a native smash.’
FINANCIAL TIMES
‘A genuine chiller…commanding and deeply scarifying stuff.’ THE INDEPENDENT
‘A rollercoaster ride of a thriller full of striking twists.’
MAIL ON SUNDAY
‘Riddled with irresistible, nail-biting suspense, this first-class Scandinavian thriller is one of the best I’ve ever read.’ AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WEEKLY
‘An horrific and original read.’
THE SUN
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
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'The Hypnotist' is a highly entertaining, gripping thriller, full of twists, turns and blind alleys, keeping you guessing right to the end. The writing is very accessible and brings the story to life in a very visual way - it's easy to imagine what the film of the book would be like.
The story is about a hypnotist, Erik Maria Bark, who hasn't practised his craft for over 10 years. He is called in to help with a case of a boy found badly injured but alive in his family home, after the rest of his family has been brutally murdered. Erik is pressurised into hypnotising the boy to see if he can remember anything which will help the police to find the killer. This foray back into practising hypnosis sets off a chain of events which involves the rest of his family and which forces him to re-examine his past and the reasons why he had to stop being a hypnotist.
I was worried that the book would wildly dramatise hypnosis as a magical, black art. It does misrepresent it to some degree, but I forced myself to accept this as a literary device so if you're like me and find the hypnotism angle off-putting, try to look at it that way!
I was frustrated with some aspects of the novel - for example there are aspects of the story that are not properly resolved and, to me, it felt as though the authors lost interest with the first part of the story and were keen to move on to the next! In parts it felt disjointed - at the beginning we get chapters devoted to different characters' take on the same time period, but this device isn't employed further into the book and I found that a bit odd. Lars Kepler is actually a pseudonym for a literary couple - Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril and I wonder if the joint-authorship was in any way responsible for the occasional disjointedness.
In spite of that, this is a great read and, apparently, will be the first in a series of books featuring Detective Inspector Joona Linna ... I very much look forward to the second.
The story is about a hypnotist, Erik Maria Bark, who hasn't practised his craft for over 10 years. He is called in to help with a case of a boy found badly injured but alive in his family home, after the rest of his family has been brutally murdered. Erik is pressurised into hypnotising the boy to see if he can remember anything which will help the police to find the killer. This foray back into practising hypnosis sets off a chain of events which involves the rest of his family and which forces him to re-examine his past and the reasons why he had to stop being a hypnotist.
I was worried that the book would wildly dramatise hypnosis as a magical, black art. It does misrepresent it to some degree, but I forced myself to accept this as a literary device so if you're like me and find the hypnotism angle off-putting, try to look at it that way!
I was frustrated with some aspects of the novel - for example there are aspects of the story that are not properly resolved and, to me, it felt as though the authors lost interest with the first part of the story and were keen to move on to the next! In parts it felt disjointed - at the beginning we get chapters devoted to different characters' take on the same time period, but this device isn't employed further into the book and I found that a bit odd. Lars Kepler is actually a pseudonym for a literary couple - Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril and I wonder if the joint-authorship was in any way responsible for the occasional disjointedness.
In spite of that, this is a great read and, apparently, will be the first in a series of books featuring Detective Inspector Joona Linna ... I very much look forward to the second.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
There is an annoying trend for `literary fiction' writers, aghast at how few books they actually sell, to think they can just stamp out a crime thriller to pay the bills. Alongside this patronising view is the assumption that theirs will be `a cut above' and somehow superior because they are so literary.
This book shows that they are wrong.
The couple writing this may be great at what they do, but they can't write crime. There are at least four major problems with this novel.
Firstly, it is several novels at once. It's okay to segue between different scenarios and times, but please do it with some subtlety and smoothness. Don't, for example, just stuff ninety pages of back story into the book, stopping the momentum of what you've done, and leaving the reader bored.
Secondly, if you insist on writing a genre that is alien to you, at least have regard to the basics of that genre. Don't rely on crude stereotypes and tropes, thinking that your `literary brilliance' will stop it seeming mediocre. Weird evil kids, genius doctor with a secret past, aloof detective loved by all despite his social inadequacies. We've been here before.
Thirdly, have a plot. This has several, to be fair, but doesn't exploit any of them. One is wrapped up halfway (but somehow reappears again later), one is the clunky midsection mentioned above, one is ludicrous and resolved with a ridiculous leap.
Fourthly, get some credible characters. None of these characters leapt off the page, or seemed rounded or written in a controlled and credible way. Oh, and have some idea of pacing - when to ramp up the adrenaline, when to take a break and be more reflective.
This reads like a book written by two totally different people (though Nicci French seems to manage okay). It reads like it was written by people who don't read crime novels, but assume it must be simple to write one. It reads poorly.
This book shows that they are wrong.
The couple writing this may be great at what they do, but they can't write crime. There are at least four major problems with this novel.
Firstly, it is several novels at once. It's okay to segue between different scenarios and times, but please do it with some subtlety and smoothness. Don't, for example, just stuff ninety pages of back story into the book, stopping the momentum of what you've done, and leaving the reader bored.
Secondly, if you insist on writing a genre that is alien to you, at least have regard to the basics of that genre. Don't rely on crude stereotypes and tropes, thinking that your `literary brilliance' will stop it seeming mediocre. Weird evil kids, genius doctor with a secret past, aloof detective loved by all despite his social inadequacies. We've been here before.
Thirdly, have a plot. This has several, to be fair, but doesn't exploit any of them. One is wrapped up halfway (but somehow reappears again later), one is the clunky midsection mentioned above, one is ludicrous and resolved with a ridiculous leap.
Fourthly, get some credible characters. None of these characters leapt off the page, or seemed rounded or written in a controlled and credible way. Oh, and have some idea of pacing - when to ramp up the adrenaline, when to take a break and be more reflective.
This reads like a book written by two totally different people (though Nicci French seems to manage okay). It reads like it was written by people who don't read crime novels, but assume it must be simple to write one. It reads poorly.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
WARNING - POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!
Crime thrillers are the one genre that I read the least often. The last one I read, and really enjoyed, was Jo Nesbo's THE SNOWMAN. I would recommend that book, unfortunately I wouldn't recommend THE HYPNOTIST.
The story begins with a family - the father, mother and young daughter - being murdered violently. Josef Elk, the young boy to the murdered couple survives but is in a critical condition. The police quickly draw upon the skills of Erik Maria Bark, a man who has worked with trauma victims for years, using hypnosis as one of his therapeutic tools. The police are concerned that Josef's elder sister, Evelyn, is at risk, as it seems that the killer was intent on wiping out the whole family. And so they persuade Erik to hypnotise Josef, even though Erik swore ten years previously, never to use hypnosis again.
That short synopsis forms the focus for the first 250 pages or so. The killer's identity is discovered in that time, Evelyn is found and Josef runs away from hospital. Then, the story takes a dramatic turn of direction when Erik's son is kidnapped. Josef and his sister are more or less forgotten, whilst another thread is developed. The problem with this thread - it goes back to Erik's past, ten years ago, to explain why he stopped using hypnosis with his patients - is that, although it explains that reason, it comes across in quite a jarring way. As others have said, it almost feels as though it is a second book, separate from the one that came before. From this moment on, the identity of the kidnapper, rather than the killer of the family, is the focus and in this process, the reader is taken down various paths, until Erik finally discovers who the kidnapper is, and why.
What I didn't like about this book is that, although there were twists and turns to the plot, instead of adding tension and interest, it just made me frustrated. The murders at the beginning of the story are pushed right away from the focus of attention, only for Josef to reappear towards the end of the story, for almost no good reason whatsoever. Also, we never really understand Josef as a character. A short explanation of how he could have turned into such a twisted boy is given, but most of this is discovered by the reader within the first 250 pages, so it left me thinking that Josef and his family were just used as a short distraction by the authors.
Charcaterisation was generally poor in this book. I didn't like any of them. The structure, for a thriller, was strange with the focus turning away from a killer to finding the kidnapper. And the twists along the way were more frustrating than well thought out. Overall, it does feel that the two authors were going after separate stories, with thier own agendas making it awkward and disjointed. Plus, they paint a very dark, twisted picture of humanity. All of the characters were either victim or perpetrator, with virtually all of the secondary characters having been abused and many of them then turning into abusers themselves.
I really didn't like this book. Would not recommend it at all. Although I don't read crime thrillers a lot, I know when I come across a poor one. THE HYPNOTIST, unfortunately, is poor.
Crime thrillers are the one genre that I read the least often. The last one I read, and really enjoyed, was Jo Nesbo's THE SNOWMAN. I would recommend that book, unfortunately I wouldn't recommend THE HYPNOTIST.
The story begins with a family - the father, mother and young daughter - being murdered violently. Josef Elk, the young boy to the murdered couple survives but is in a critical condition. The police quickly draw upon the skills of Erik Maria Bark, a man who has worked with trauma victims for years, using hypnosis as one of his therapeutic tools. The police are concerned that Josef's elder sister, Evelyn, is at risk, as it seems that the killer was intent on wiping out the whole family. And so they persuade Erik to hypnotise Josef, even though Erik swore ten years previously, never to use hypnosis again.
That short synopsis forms the focus for the first 250 pages or so. The killer's identity is discovered in that time, Evelyn is found and Josef runs away from hospital. Then, the story takes a dramatic turn of direction when Erik's son is kidnapped. Josef and his sister are more or less forgotten, whilst another thread is developed. The problem with this thread - it goes back to Erik's past, ten years ago, to explain why he stopped using hypnosis with his patients - is that, although it explains that reason, it comes across in quite a jarring way. As others have said, it almost feels as though it is a second book, separate from the one that came before. From this moment on, the identity of the kidnapper, rather than the killer of the family, is the focus and in this process, the reader is taken down various paths, until Erik finally discovers who the kidnapper is, and why.
What I didn't like about this book is that, although there were twists and turns to the plot, instead of adding tension and interest, it just made me frustrated. The murders at the beginning of the story are pushed right away from the focus of attention, only for Josef to reappear towards the end of the story, for almost no good reason whatsoever. Also, we never really understand Josef as a character. A short explanation of how he could have turned into such a twisted boy is given, but most of this is discovered by the reader within the first 250 pages, so it left me thinking that Josef and his family were just used as a short distraction by the authors.
Charcaterisation was generally poor in this book. I didn't like any of them. The structure, for a thriller, was strange with the focus turning away from a killer to finding the kidnapper. And the twists along the way were more frustrating than well thought out. Overall, it does feel that the two authors were going after separate stories, with thier own agendas making it awkward and disjointed. Plus, they paint a very dark, twisted picture of humanity. All of the characters were either victim or perpetrator, with virtually all of the secondary characters having been abused and many of them then turning into abusers themselves.
I really didn't like this book. Would not recommend it at all. Although I don't read crime thrillers a lot, I know when I come across a poor one. THE HYPNOTIST, unfortunately, is poor.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliantly petrifying, petrifyingly brilliant
I read this late in to the night which I didn't want to do because the darkness intensified the psychological suspense factor to the point of terror. Read more
Published 5 days ago by 1984
Deliciously terrifying
Don't read this book after dark, especially if you're alone in the house. It's deeply terrifying, and cleverly written - lots of red herrings to put you off the scent, and punchy... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Kate
Not as good as i hoped
Agreeing with a number of the reviewers, I felt that the story was disjointed and fundamentally flawed. Read more
Published 15 days ago by P. Cranfield
Scandanavian grey
Here is an unusual combination - Joona Linna, the National CID detective, is a well-balanced and attractive figure but The Hypnotist of the title, Erik Maria Bark, is a tormented... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Clive A. H. Still
NOT Stieg Larsson - 2 1/2 stars
To be fair, I thought the book was very well written - although the switch in tenses part way through was unnecessary and distracting. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Terry Weiss
Gripping start, middling end - and TERRIBLE TRANSLATION!!!!
I was utterly gripped by the first half of this book, but gradually found myself wondering whether I could be bothered seeing it through to the end. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Apple-eater
Gripping thriller
This is my first book from a Scandanavian author and I admit I wasn't quite sure what to expect. However, from page one I was hooked, it was fabulous. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Gizmo
A Good Read
I highly recommend this book by Lars Kepler to those people who like a story with many twists and turns. The plot is not too complicated so you don't lose the thread of the story. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Kindler
A little difficult to understand
I am not sure if it is the translation to English, but I found relationships described in the story a bit distracting - things that were not really needed for the tale. Read more
Published 6 months ago by R. Balmer
Confusing
There are too many characters with major hang ups. Nearly everyone who comes into the story is a mental case and possible murderer. Read more
Published 7 months ago by I Like Cheese
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