Hysteria: An Alexander Gregory Thriller (The Alexander Gregory Thrillers)

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Paris’ Fashion Week. The usual frenzy that accompanies it. L.J. Ross depicts a dreamy Paris, with its crows, its wealth, but she doesn’t sell postcard cities. She takes your hand and shows you the other Paris. The everyday not-so-glamorous side of France’s capital. And dead bodies with mutilated faces. The contrasts between the city’s different sides associated by the differences between the French police and the UK system played a part in this story, at times reinforcing the parallels, at times widening the gaps. It was great to catch up with Dr Alexander Gregory again. I do have a bit of a soft spot for him (don’t tell DCI Ryan!), he is a fascinating character. Gregory’s lips twisted into a reluctant smile. He couldn’t deny his interest had been piqued by the case, as well as his compassion. For any person to be rendered mute by such severe trauma was a cause of great sadness, and he yearned to help her—not merely so she could confirm her identity to the police and help to find the person responsible, but before any temporary damage became permanent and she was consigned to a life of silence."

With a bigger dose of romance than the first one, (well, what do you expect in Paris - the city of Love!?), the mystery in this book kept me hooked from start to finish. Even though I had numerous suspects in my mind, I couldn't be sure of any one in particular. When the truth was revealed, I was left open-mouthed. I could never have envisaged what happens in the end. Having been blown away by the first book in the Alexander Gregory series, I couldn’t wait to jump into this one. The author's diversion to Paris as a setting was distracting, especially with French comments that added little to the characters or the storyline. As such, the first half of the book was slower but did contain most of the forensic, criminal profiling, while the last part of the book was more interesting. L.J. Ross is an English author made popular by her bestselling DCI Ryan mystery series of novels. Ross was born in Ponteland, Northumberland and attended the Darras Hall First School, Central Newcastle High and Dame Allans, before she proceeded to Kings College at the University of London to undertake a degree course in law. She wrote her first novel “Holy Island”, the first novel in her DCI Ryan Mysteries in 2015. Set on the historic Holy Island otherwise known as Lindisfarne, “Holy Island” is a gripping novel that introduces Detective Chief Inspector Ryan. Ryan has retreated to Holy Island to recover from a tragic case that had a particularly bad effect on his psyche. A few days into his sabbatical, the tranquility is broken when the body of a young woman is discovered abandoned on the ruins of the nearby monastery buildings.ABOUT LJ ROSS LJ Ross is an international bestselling author, whose books have sold over 8 million copies worldwide. With a passion for writing and reading, a writing career seemed the most plausible way to express her creativity. The idea for the first novel in the series came while she was traveling to Edinburgh with her husband.

In May 2021, Louise was shortlisted for the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association ‘Dagger in the Library’ award, which recognises an author’s entire body of work having been consistently enjoyed by library borrowers around the United Kingdom, and an author’s longstanding support of libraries. The setting of Paris fit well with the modelling story but I've never been to Paris so I'm not familiar with the various arrondissements. It is clear that the author knows the area well, but maybe too well as I couldn't really conjure a vivid picture of the setting in my mind. Not that it bothered me too much, as I was more interested in the storyline than the Parisian sights. Something else to note in relation to the setting, there are a couple of phrases in French that some people might have difficulty with. I grasped most of it but anyone who hasn't studied French will struggle. Don't let it put you off though; just remember, that's what Google Translate is for. That ending!! I totally did not see that coming! Genius writing, once again, by one of my most favourite authors ever. I SO wish I had your talent for storytelling, Louise. The first novel in her Alexander Gregory Thrillers series, Impostor, was shortlisted in the British Book Awards 2020: Crime & Thriller Book of the Year. The audiobook of Impostor, narrated by Hugh Dancy, was also selected as a finalist in the New York Festivals Radio Awards, Best Fiction Audiobook of the Year Category. Struggling to find a killer that is hiding in plain sight, while navigating small town politics and pagan rituals that muddy the waters, romance is blossoming between the two tortured souls, threatening to slow down the investigation. “Sycamore Gap”, the second novel in the DCI Ryan series of novels is an excellent novel about the adventures of the handsome and troubled Detective Chief Inspector Ryan.The author LJ Ross’ work is synonymous with Northumberland and Tyneside, where she sets her DCI Ryan mysteries. Hysteria is the second outing for Dr Alexander Gregory, an elite forensic psychiatrist and criminal profiler and this time she has him heading for Paris.

Having read and loved Imposter I was SO excited to read Hysteria and I don’t know how LJ Ross does it, but each book is as awesome as, if not better, than the last! What was really interesting, was not only to see Alex in work mode but we get to see more of how events from the previous book have affected him. This being said, I would highly recommend reading that one before this one. There is no wonder he is fighting his own demons and it adds a little something to the story, making it darker and deeper. This series differs in that the storyline isn’t just written as a straight forward police procedural, but also through Alex’s perspective—so we are privy to the profiler/pyscologist insights into the impact on the victim and the lasting effects of trauma. The story also encompasses relevant issues concerning women in the working environment where men are in positions of power. Judging by revelations over the last few years and beyond, it’s an entirely plausible scenario. LJ Ross is an internationally bestselling author, whose books have sold over 7 million copies worldwide.

NEWS & EVENTS

Dr Gregory is proving to be more fascinating with each book. His expertise, although essential, never cuts him from the world and his peers. He finds himself spiraling with everyone else in a mysterious and somehow tragic investigation.

Eva Bisset’s life was a world away from the glitz and glamour of those involved in the world of fashion. Eva’s father had run a successful restaurant, and since his death her husband had taken over. Eva was never sure what kind of mood he would be in and if she would be sporting more bruises. Overall, I don't regret reading this second installment but felt the author missed an opportunity by not including more substance and engaging storyline depth to this book. I needed to learn more about the primary character to motivate my interest in the next installment. Whenever I recommend books, one author springs to mind time and time again: LJ Ross. As much as I love the DCI Ryan series, I'm really enjoying the Alexander Gregory books and Hysteria is the second instalment of that series. Don't worry if you haven't read Imposter though; Hysteria works very well as a standalone. While she will always be a northerner at heart, she currently lives with her husband and their son in Bath on the outskirts of London where she spends her days writing her detective mysteries. Ross loved books from a very early age when she would find old books from her mother’s chest that she would staple and illustrate during her middle school years. Even as she has a varied taste in the types of novels that she reads, and will not mind reading the odd women’s fiction or a romance.

ABOUT LJ ROSS

In Hysteria Alex finds himself assisting on a case involving the murder of a fashion model and the attempted murder of another. Set in Paris during fashion week, Alex is called in as a profiler initially, but soon finds himself working with the surviving victim as her psychologist. Her story is absolutely fascinating. I was totally captivated and couldn’t wait to find out where her story might lead. What transpires is so sad, but also heart-warming and quite inspirational. The human mind is so complicated and totally fascinating! (I know I’ve used that word three times already, but I can’t think of a better one.)