chain reaction

Author : Lars Kepler
Title : The Hypnotist
Published : 12/05/2012
Pages : 624
Genre : Psychological thriller
Publisher : HarperCollins

 

     A traumatised witness Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm. Detective Inspector Joona Linna is faced with a boy who witnessed the gruesome murder of his family. He’s suffered more than one hundred knife wounds and is comatose with shock. A disgraced detective Linna’s running out of time. The police do not want him on the case. The killer’s on the run and there are seemingly no clues. Desperate for information, Linna enlists specialist Dr Erik Maria Bark, a hypnotist who vowed never to practise again. A devastating case as the hypnosis begins, a long and terrifying chain of events unfurls with reverberations far beyond Linna’s case.

 

     This was not my first time with the Lars Kepler books, but it wasn't until recently that I realized that I h never read the first in the series. I am a big fan of this writing duo there books all have a great plot and can keep my attention. In the first instalment, Detective Joona takes on the case of a slaughtered family. While I have read crime books that have used hypnotism as a key part of the plot, I'm always intrigued as to how helpful it truly is in solving cases. Is there in fact not to much room for error with leading the subject in a susceptible state.   

     I was curious to see how our detective became the man he did in later stories. And with this book, I was given the opportunity to find that out. As it turned out he has been bullhead from the start. While he does care about the cases he is given he will stop at nothing to solve the crime. I do Like the character he is tuff and resourceful. And on occasion will push right up to the line of what is right and wrong to get where he needs to go. A large portion of this book is devoted to The Hypnotist for which the book is named. Dr. Erik Maria Bark is a man with a troubled past his actions lead him to a very bad place. This was a man who swore never to go back to hypnotizing people. He made for an interesting bedfellow for our detective. The two spark off each other as they both have strong personalities. But in the cases of the doctor, he is dragged kicking and screaming into the case. It was only when his family comes into danger does he full engage. I did feel sorry for his wife Simone This is women trying to do her best with an unfaithful husband and a child with an illness that could kill him. As you would think she is very over protective of her son. But it does come from a place where she deeply cares for him and does want to seem harm befall him.

     As I have come to expect the characters Kepler gave me were complex and deep. They gave me enough information to make them feel real and the bond I felt where just as complex. There where times when I was disappointed with some of the choices these people made but that was only from a moral standpoint. They fitted with who these people were and didn't seem out of place.  This is one of the highlights of Kepler's writing they give us intriguing charters. Even with such long story's, they feel no need to add cardboard characters just to fill in some point. I was given the right amount of information for each one to make them relevant.

 

     The storytelling was on par with that of the later novels. I was a little apprehensive at first with people I had come to love in the late novel would the forward knowledge of who they become ruin this book. But I had nothing to worry about. While there is clearly plot development as the books go on at there hearts they were still recognizable to me.  As for the plot, it was a great insight into the other side of therapy.  A dark and obsessive story of people not given the proper care they so desperately needed. The perpetrator in the murder of the family is reviled quiet quickly which surprised me at first, but as I continued I realized that it was more about the motives behind this gruesome slaying that was at the heart of the story. It is also a book about how actions have consequences and just sometimes they can be deadly for anyone caught in the vortex.

     All of Kepler's books are long reads in the case of this book 624 pages but their style is one that means that I never felt like it was dragging. Each chapter only added more depth to these people. Some of the events that took place were very disturbing and I think in part this is down to the involvement of children. But the cases were sufficiently fascinating to hold my attention. There where times when I felt genuine concern for the out comes of certain people and with only a few acceptations I wasn't sure how it would ended for some of them. The only downside I found was this was slightly less procedural than the later installments. It is part of why I enjoy those books so much but then there is a solid story here and made a great addition to the Scandinavian noir that's out there. 

     This is a fine starting off point for the series and I enjoyed it just as much as the others. If like me you like dark and disturbing books this will be right up your alley.