Title: The Hypnotist
Author: M.J. Rose
Publisher: Mira
Publication Date: May 1, 2010
Hardcover: 416 pages
ISBN: 978-0778326755
Genre: Fiction, Paranormal, Thriller
An FBI agent, tormented by a death he wasn’t able to prevent, a crime he’s never been able to solve and a love he’s never forgotten, discovers that his true conflict resides not in his past, but in a…Past Life.
Haunted by a twenty-year old murder of a beautiful young painter, Lucian Glass keeps his demons at bay through his fascinating work as a Special Agent with the FBI’s Art Crime Team. Currently investigating a crazed art collector who has begun destroying prized masterworks, Glass is thrust into a bizarre hostage negotiation that takes him undercover at the Phoenix Foundation—dedicated to the science of past life study—where, in order to maintain his cover, he agrees to submit to the treatment of a hypnotist.
Under hypnosis, Glass travels from ancient Greece to 19th century Persia, while the case takes him from New York to Paris and the movie capital of world. These journeys will change his very understanding of reality, lead him to question his own sanity and land him at the center of perhaps the most audacious art heist in history: the theft of a 1,500 year old sculpture from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
International bestselling author M. J. Rose’s The Hynpotist is her most mesmerizing novel yet. An adventure, a love story, a clash of cultures, a spiritual quest, it is above all a thrilling capstone to her unique Reincarnation novels, The Reincarnationist and The Memorist.
My Review:
The Hypnotist is the third book in M.J. Rose’s Reincarnationist series and the first one I have read. The previous two novels are The Reincarnationist and The Memorist, which inspired the television series, Past Life, which I have never seen, and a rather round about way of me stating that while the genre was not for me, the writing is absolutely brilliant. The Hypnotist opens with the death of Lucian Glass, which occurred twenty years ago, but now Lucian is an F.B.I. agent and part of the Art Crime Division who will travel through time and space, his past lives via hypnosis. Meanwhile, in Manhattan the Iran and America cultural exchange is not going quite as planned. The Metropolitan Museum of Art happens to have the statue of Hypos and claims it was bequeathed to them and they have the proper documentation of the lineage of this piece of art. Iran wants Hypos returned, first using legal channels through Vartan Reza and then devolving to Farid Taghinia and Samimi being ordered to recover Hypos. Rose writes extremely well and her characters are quite well developed and her plot lines and twists are solid, well placed, suspenseful and strong. The history of Hypos and the plans to steal a gigantic statue from Metropolitan Museum of Art intrigued me; unfortunately the paranormal aspects of this story were lost on me. I believe that had I an interest in this genre I would have truly enjoyed The Hypnotist. However, even the strength of M.J. Rose’s writing could not change my opinion of paranormal fiction, hypnosis and reincarnation. The Hypnotist is a strong book, and even though I have not read the previous two, guessing based on the strength of this novel, I would hazard to guess that if one was interested in a mystery/thriller steeped in the paranormal then this would be a series to read.
M.J. Rose is the internationally bestselling author of ten previous novels and coauthor of two nonfiction books on marketing. Her work has appeared in many anthologies including Oprah’s Live Your Best Life and Thriller. The creator of the first marketing company for authors, Authorbuzz.com, Rose is also a founding member and on the board of directors of International Thriller Writers. She lives in Connecticut with composer and musician Doug Scofield and their spoiled dog, Winka.
M.J. Rose’s THE HYPNOTIST VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR AUGUST/SEPTEMBER ‘10 officially began on August 2nd and will end on September 30th. You can visit M.J.’s blog stops at. www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of August and September to find out more about this great book and talented author!
I received a complimentary copy of The Hypnotist by M.J. Rose from Pump Up Your Book Promotion as part of the tour. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.
It says a lot that you can admire the writing in a genre you don’t enjoy.
I did enjoy her writing style, just not the genre, it sounds odd I simply do not know how else to explain it.