This book started off with a bang - ten pages in and I was on the edge of my seat. There are so many mysteries interwoven into the plot, not just who killed the teacher and his family. The story takes so many twists and turns that my head was spinning. I'm giving it four stars instead of five because there were a few implausible points in the story. For instance, Linna lets Erik, a civilian, go with him into all kinds of dangerous situations and there is also a retired detective who takes his civilian adult daughter with him on his investigations. I don't know that much about Sweden but I'm pretty sure this would not be allowed ordinarily. Overall, this was a great book. I've heard it compared several times to Stieg Larsson's books but as I haven't read them yet I can't speak to the validity of that comparison. What I do know is that The Hypnotist is a fast-paced, intense mystery that was a lot of fun to read.

In the grand tradition of Steig Larsson, Jo Nesbo and Henning Mankell Lars Kepler is writing tense and terrifying crime thrillers that will stick with you long after you finish. His creation, Inspector Joona Linna, is a match for Blomqvist, Walander and Hole without a shadow of a doubt!

My Review – I have seen Lars Kepler’s books many times, but I’ve only just started reading them for some reason. Book One is The Hypnotist, in which we meet Dr Erik Maria Bark, an expert in trauma care. He used to be the leading expert in trauma hypnosis until something terrible happened ( this is explained in the story!). We are introduced to him in a hospital reluctantly hypnotizing a severely injured boy whose whole family has been brutalized. From the outset, this book is completely gripping. The writing style is sharp and easy to read, and the chapters are quick. The plot is stunningly written, and although in-depth, it’s easy to follow. We also meet Detective Inspector Joona Linna, he wants the injured boy (he has over 100 stab wounds) to be woken up and interviewed so that he may be able to give them a description of the killer. What then follows is a brilliantly written crime fiction thriller that had me absorbed throughout, I just couldn’t put it down OR stop thinking about it! The descriptions of the crime scenes are totally realistic and gruesome (my favourite) and there are some spicy scenes but they were well written and not out of context to the story., I LOVED this book so much, I love Joona Linna especially as he is “always right” ( that’s my middle name Jude “always” Wright!) he’s a loving character and has depth and I can see that his character will be opened up more in the following novels. This is a totally excellent book and a great opener to the series. If you like gritty, realistic, slickly written crime fiction, then I beg you to read The Hypnotist. A word of thanks to the translator Neil Smith, whose excellent translation means nothing is lost in the story in translation. A magnificent 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star read, and I can’t wait to get into the next book.

For the past 4 nights I have found myself looking at the time and noticing it was 2am! From around the 8th page I couldn't put this book down. It may seem a little far fetched in places and it probably is but, the skill of writing is impeccable. So many twists and turns that leave you second guessing until the very end! I don't know how I have never read anything by Lars Kepler before! I cannot wait to get started on the other books in the "Joona Linna" series!

Just can't and don't want to put this book down awesome book so many twists and turns its a nice change to have a good thriller for a change, gave it 4 as there is a few problems like going over the same part in the beginning twice from different perspectives which I think was a bit cheeky from the author and also the fact that the doc was aloud to go on field trips with the detective a few times seems a bit far fetched but edge of your seat reading otherwise and cause of this the other bits are forgivable cause it's so well written