The Hypnotist
A novel
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4.1 • 401 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • The first of the Killer Instinct series featuring Detective Joona Linna: a triple murder, the one surviving witness—a boy with no memory of what happened—and the hypnotist hired to help uncover the truth.
“Full of surprises and more than enough twists to keep those pages turning well into the night.” —NPR
The police are desperate for information on the triple homicide. Detective Joona Linna enlists the help of hypnotist Erik Maria Bark. But when Bark unlocks the secrets in the boy’s memory, he triggers a terrifying chain of events that will put all their lives in jeopardy.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The search for a merciless killer puts a doctor’s family in the line of fire in this intense psychological thriller that launches a much-loved series. After a career-threatening incident, psychologist Erik Maria Bark vowed never to hypnotize another patient. But when a family is brutally murdered, Detective Inspector Joona Linna convinces him that hypnotizing the only survivor might be the last chance to uncover the truth. However, when Erik’s own son is kidnapped, he must determine who has taken him: a deranged figure from his past or the vicious serial killer his hypnotism revealed. From the opening scene, we were hooked. Author Lars Kepler’s novel is a deep dive into the minds of killers and those who hunt them, and his pacing is blistering, taking us on a thrill ride that doesn’t let up until the final bloody confrontation. With its unforgettable characters and intense twists, this international smash hit will be in your mind for a long time.
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.
Customer Reviews
Love this series!
I’m addicted to this series of books. Great characters. I love how Joona always has to be right. He tends to rub it in!
My 1st Lars Kepler read…
was beyond my expectations! I’ve read some of his contemporaries and found Jo Nesbo and Henning Mankell to be true artists in the thriller category as well. I’m sure I will read every book Lars has written. The Hypnotist was a masterpiece!
Excellent Swedish noir thriller
This is a book that is difficult to put down. Just as you think you know what is going on, there is another twist. Highly recommended.