Lars Kepler | THE HYPNOTIST

Plot (via Goodreads):

In the frigid clime of Tumba, Sweden, a gruesome triple homicide attracts the interest of Detective Inspector Joona Linna, who demands to investigate the murders. The killer is still at large, and there’s only one surviving witness—the boy whose family was killed before his eyes. Whoever committed the crimes wanted this boy to die: he’s suffered more than one hundred knife wounds and lapsed into a state of shock. Desperate for information, Linna sees only one option: hypnotism. He enlists Dr. Erik Maria Bark to mesmerize the boy, hoping to discover the killer through his eyes.

It’s the sort of work that Bark has sworn he would never do again—ethically dubious and psychically scarring. When he breaks his promise and hypnotizes the victim, a long and terrifying chain of events begins to unfurl.

Review:

Lets talk about Lars Kepler. Last year, I had the pleasure of being included in the blog tour for The Sandman by Lars Kepler and it was one thrilling read. I was naturally so shocked that a novel that was that hefty could keep my interest non-stop and fell in love with the writing capabilities of the husband and wife duo known as Lars Kepler. Well, now I've done what seems right - I've started the series right from the beginning in preparation for the upcoming release of the newest addition to this incredible series. At only two books complete, I can honestly say this is the best series I have read thus far.

The Hypnotist starts off twisted. It's dark, gritty, and features some rather graphic details of some pretty heinous crimes. What I enjoyed about this was that Lars Kepler really doesn't hold back. They drag you into the most evil of places and keep you there, exposing the reader to all of the ugly, but doing so in a way that doesn't leave you disgusted or never taking it too far. When this one began, I was immediately hooked (a la The Sandman) and completely engrossed with this story. Introducing myself to Joona Linna as Lars Kepler intended was really fun because I knew that I already loved him as a lead character, but I had to learn for myself how they originally prepared for him to evolve as a character and experiencing it from the beginning was incredible.

As this novel goes back and forth between Joona Linna and Dr. Erik Bark, I actually enjoyed that I wasn't spending this entire story with Joona Linna. Sure, he's very present and his character is brilliantly written, but it was nice to experience the story from Erik Bark's perspective as well and to follow two characters down two different paths experiencing the same story. My personal favorite oddly enough was not Erik or Joona, but Erik's wife Simone. She is ultimately one of the best characters I have ever read. She was brave, unapologetic, and incredibly vulnerable. Let's be honest though, when it comes to Lars Kepler, the only thing that is a little intimidating at first is the amount of characters that are thrown at you throughout a novel that is almost 600 pages - but each one is written so sharp that it's hard to get lost with the names. Joona Linna being in about 50% of the novel was a rather interesting approach because usually when you read crime fiction, the detective is kind of in your face the entire time, but with The Hypnotist, you really get to enjoy the other characters telling the story as well.

The plot to this one was miraculously executed. Just when you think you have an idea as to where it's going to go, you take a turn and something shocking and insane happens that makes sense but also takes you by surprise and then the entire novel goes into a completely different direction. Featuring plenty of brilliant characters, some really twisted and terrifying scenes, and an ending that was shocking and breathtaking, this novel is a testament to how much enjoyment one story could bring a reader. It is violent without being over the top, kept my interest the entire time, and left me in shock at how quickly an almost 600 page novel can fly by. I was ravenous with its pages, devouring the story and anticipating picking it back up every time I had to put the book down even for a minute. I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Rating: 5/5