Review: The Hypnotist by M. J. Rose

Title:  The Hypnotist
Author:  M. J. Rose
Series:  The Reincarnationist Series, Book 3
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Release Date: May 1, 2010
How I Got It:  ebook from Net Galley

Book Summary:
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.

My Thoughts:
When I was approached by Pump Up Your Book Tours to review The Hypnotist, I admit that I was a little skeptical.  While my favorite genre to read is romance, I do appreciate a good mystery and suspense novel every now and then.  So, I stepped out of my little genre box, and into the suspenseful world of M. J. Rose.

The Hypnotist is the third book in the Reincarnationist Series.  At first, I found the book to be a little hard to follow.  It seemed like every chapter introduced me to so many different people that I couldn't connect any dots to tell me what was really happening.  Before I could figure out who each person was and how they related to the plot, the chapter ended and I was left to stew in frustration.

While I knew the action and mystery brewing in the background was leading me to something great, it was still frustrating because my mind couldn't wrap around anything solid yet.

Slowly the plot was introduced, and the book snowballed into a super good read.

I liked The Hypnotist because it reminded me that I have neglected a lot of good mystery and suspense novels.  This book was so chalk full of murders, whodunits, and what ifs that despite my confusion, it kept me reading.

Just when I thought I'd put all the puzzle pieces together, M. J. Rose picked them up and threw them back in my face.  To me, this book read like a good episode of Law and Order.  You think you know what's going on, but you really don't.

What I didn't much care for about this book was that I felt like I was on an art history tour.  I'm all for culture and art enhancement, but too much focus and explanation and I'm liable to tune it out.  I felt like I was being guided by someone that loved art history so much, they got an orgasm just talking about it.  So, if you love art history, you will probably enjoy this book a little more than I did.

My Rating
I give this book 3 1/2 flowers of love because it was a good book.  It took me awhile to really get into it, but I would recommend it.  What I don't recommend is that you read this book as a stand alone.  It had too many "should have been there moments" for me that I felt like I needed to read the other books in the series to get a full understanding of certain situations.

Other books in The Reincarnationist Series
The Reincarnationist
The Memorist


Other reviews for this book:
The Book Vixen
Fiction Vixen
Cajun Book Lady