When a book is co-authored, the form is to have both their names on the cover, one in bigger print if he or she is more popular than the other. The Hypnotist is an exception. Penned in Swedish by a man and a women, only the single pseudonym Lars Kepler is given. The reader isn't told their actual names.
THE HYPNOTIST by Lars Kepler, 601pp, 2011 Blu Dor paperback. Available at Asia Book and leading bookshops, 350 baht
The 601-page, 110-chapter crime thriller, translated into English by Ann Long, clearly has a Swedish readership in mind. It is filled with unpronounceable names of Swedish places which are important to the story. However it is well-plotted and suspenseful, with numerous cliffhangers.
Its editor could have shortened the work, but scriveners writing their first novel tend to feel that they have much to say and don't want any of it omitted. This reviewer trusts that in their subsequent literary efforts, they'll realise that less is more.
Two protagonists: Detective Inspector Joona Linna of the National Police CID and Dr Erik Bark, hypnosis his speciality. The cop is single, a woman police officer doing her best to get him into bed and to the altar. The shrink is wed to Simone. Their young son Benjamin has a blood disorder.
Erik disdains the frivolous use of hypnosis by those ignorant of how to use it as a treatment of psychologically disturbed people. It ought not be used for entertainment purposes. Even his colleagues are at a loss as to what to do after they've hypnotised a subject. They berate him for asserting that he does.
We are given detailed descriptions of how Erik performs his work, the questions he asks and the replies from the subconscious subjects or patients as the case may be.
Lydia talks of abusing her son. Then brought out of it, she denies she did any such thing and insists Erik planted the memory in her mind.
The media get wind of it and blow it up. Erik is forbidden to practise hypnosis again. Immediately thereafter Benjamin, 14, is kidnapped. Linna is involved in another case. A serial killer is at large. Perhaps he took and murdered the boy. Or it could be the gang of children menacing Stockholm.
The serial killer is stabbed to death by his sister. Benjamin wasn't one of his victims. Linna has Erik hypnotise a witness to help his investigation, leading to Lydia, a psychopath. The climax takes the reader to Lapland, a frozen lake. The ice breaks. Can father rescue son before he drowns?
Though overlong, The Hypnotist is an exciting thriller.
THAT MEAN OLD YESTERDAY by Stacey Patton, 321pp, 2008 Pocket Books paperback. Available at Asia Books and leading bookshops, 395 baht
Struggle for survival
The concept of family as one of the laws of nature _ parents nurturing their offspring until they are old enough to fend for themselves _ is universally accepted. But in practice, all too often, it isn't that way. We've all seen, if are not a part of, dysfunctional families.
Its members dislike, not to say hate, one another. They have different motives. irreconcilable attitudes, can't get along without fighting. Love and respect don't exist. Dangerous among themselves, law abiding to authority. In her memoir That Mean Old Yesterday, Stacey Patton describes hers.
More to the point, this book is about her fight for survival. Sent to the New Jersey foster care system for adoption at the age of five she lands with a God-fearing couple, like herself. Until she's 13, it is hell on earth. The woman is a sadist, beating her black and blue for little reason.
Allowed to go to school, Stacey applies herself to her studies. Physical abuse notwithstanding, she gets top marks, They are good enough to get her into Lawrenceville on a scholarship, the only black girl at the prestigious prep school. Her classmates, from wealthy families, tolerate her, none friendly.
Majoring in journalism, Stacey displays an aptitude for basketball. But instead of being praised for her speed and accuracy, the coach chides her for being a hotshot rather than a team player.
Her defence that the other players should move faster on the court rather than her slow down is rejected out of hand.
All the while, Stacey has been trying to locate her real family. She equates finding them with true happiness. So far, she's been identifying herself with the school's coloured help. Stacey has mixed feeling about the white staff. One female teacher is a racist. A male teacher pretends to be liberal, yet proves to be also bigoted.
Stacey's search is successful, connecting with her extended family. But her expectations are dashed. Mum had committed suicide. A relation has Aids. Another is in prison. Her grandparents were murdered.
Taken in hand by an aunt who spends more time in church than at home, Stacey attempts to kill herself. Going to university, supporting herself by writing published stories about slavery and its aftermath, she is happy to leave her dysfunctional family and live by herself. Life is about survival and she made it. Can the future be any worse than her past?
