THE HYPNOTIST

It’s official: There’s no one left in Scandinavia not writing a thriller/horror novel. This entry in the Stieg Larsson sweepstakes should go off at very, very good odds. It’s taut, it’s interesting, and it has about twice as many amoral and murderous lunatics as its competitors. What’s not to like? The hypnotist is a psychiatrist who has pledged never to use hypnosis again and then does so in order to save a life. Why he took that pledge, and what psychos will come out of the woodwork when he breaks it, plays out like a three-ring circus, camera-ready at that. Mark Bramhall’s Scandinavian voices and accents ring so true you forget he’s acting, and the all-important pace he creates is utterly compelling, controlled, and irresistible. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2011]