The Hypnotist

"Like fire. Exactly like fire." These are the first words the boy utters under hypnosis. These are the words that open the doors of the nightmare in this chilling psychological thriller.

When a family is brutally murdered in Stockholm, there is only one surviving witness to the attack: the fifteen-year-old son, Josef Ek. With Josef seriously injured in hospital and in no condition to be questioned, Detective Inspector Joona Linna knows there is only one person who can help find the perpetrator in these extreme circumstances. Erik Maria Bark, a retired hypnotist, is called in to discover what the boy saw.

Following a series of accusations by his patients, Erik is reluctant to return to his craft but he makes an exception for Josef Ek, believing that in doing so he may save the life of Josef's older sister Evelyn. As he breaks his own vow and delves deep into the boy's mind, the shocking discovery he makes is much worse than he could possibly have imagined. And when his own family is threatened, Erik is forced to revisit his own terrifying past to uncover the truth.

About The Author

Lars Kepler is the pseudonym of Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril & Alexander Ahndoril, both critically-acclaimed writers under their own names. Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril's first novel Stjarneborg (Castle of Stars) has been translated in several languages while Alexander Ahndoril's novel The Director, about Ingmar Bergman, was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. They live in Sweden.The Hypnotist is the first in a series featuring Detective Inspector Joona Linna.