The Hypnotist
Joona Linna Series: #1
-
-
4.1 • 37 Ratings
-
-
- $12.99
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
A bloodcurdling thriller rife with grit, gore and the complexities of the human condition, The Hypnotist is sure to keep readers spellbound in its clutches.
In the cold climate of Tumba, Sweden, a family is found murdered in their home in a brutal triple homicide. The only survivor and witness is a teenage boy, Josef Ek, who is badly wounded from being stabbed over one hundered times and has gone into shock. The other intended victim, the boy's elder sister, was able to escape the carnage, but it may only be a matter of time before the killer hunts her down. Against the wishes of the National Police, DI Joona Linna decides to investigate the case, but with scarce leads, he seeks the help of an unorthodox source--disgraced psychiatrist and hypnotist Erik Maria Bark--in the hopes of getting more information from Josef. Having sworn never to indulge in such practices again, Bark at first refuses the request on grounds of ethics and the risk of deep psychological damage. But when Erik relents and begins his sessions with Josef, what he discovers makes him want to stay silent.
Filled with a visceral darkness that distinguishes Kepler's writing from his crime fiction peers, The Hypnotist offers a skillful, if highly disturbing, meditation on the nature of evil.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The brutal slaying of gambling addict Anders Ek, his wife, and his younger daughter propels this outstanding thriller debut from the pseudonymous Kepler (a Swedish literary couple), introducing Stockholm detective Joona Linna. Only Ek's 15-year-old son, Josef, left for dead at his parents' house, survives. Realizing that the vicious killer is likely to also target an older daughter no longer living at home, Linna asks Erik Maria Bark, a trauma physician who practiced hypnosis before being banned from using the technique 10 years earlier, to hypnotize the seriously injured Josef in the hospital. When Josef later escapes from the hospital and Bark's teenage son, Benjamin, is kidnapped, the ensuing frantic search raises the ante. Flashbacks to Bark's hypnosis therapy group reveal that one patient became suicidal in the course of revisiting her past. A well-integrated subplot involving a gang of terrifying boys and girls adds to the suspense. Readers will look forward to seeing more of Linna in what one hopes will be a long series.
