"Hypnotist" by Lars Kepler

Recommended by friend who told me "you would not be able to put it down" and she was absolutely right.

Another "nordic noir" with sadistic twist, strange when one consider these countries are not known for violence (except some isolated outbursts that shock the typically well-behaved nations) and certainly following the footsteps of celebrated Larsson's "Millenium trilogy" - in fact, if not for Larsson who started the ball rolling, I wonder would we ever know about so many talented thriller writers from north of Europe.

"Lars Kepler" is of course a pseudonym shared between husband-and-wife writing team,almost like Anneserge Golon who wrote famous historical saga "Angelique" (it was Anne and Serge Golon) - they use similar approach like Larsson with many suspects and plots thrown around just to neatly connect everything towards the end in a very unexpected way. In centre of the story is a hypnotist who unwillingly helps police though everything is against him, including some very old and forgotten enemies. I won't describe the plot here but it goes on in some very unexpected directions and there is quite unforgettable (and perhaps avoidable) cruelty that had me upset. It was a very good and gripping read. If you like this, you might enjoy Caleb Carr's "Alienist" where psychiatrist helps police to profile mass murderer.