Hysteria: An Alexander Gregory Thriller (The Alexander Gregory Thrillers Book 2)

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Book 2 of the series was okay but lacked the character development and storyline depth of the first volume. Without her help, the police are powerless to stop the killer before he strikes again - can Gregory unlock the secrets of her mind, before it's too late? Needless to say it did, with the author using her skill to pull all loose ends together in a very satisfying way. 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! His head and his heart are often in conflict and he really struggles with the split nature of his emotional personality.

That is, until he witnesses the death of a famous actor, live on stage during the opening night of King Lear. Getting an understanding throughout the book of how Dr Alexander uses his profiling skills was very useful and adds to the story. Her eleventh novel, The Infirmary, is a prequel story to the DCI Ryan series and is available as a major Audible Originals audio-drama starring Tom Bateman, Kevin Whately, Bertie Carvel, Hermione Norris and Alun Armstrong. 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.

I enjoyed the first book in this series, but I just couldn’t connect with this new cast of characters and Parisian background.

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. Gregory's internal conflicts and interpersonal relationship challenges directly influenced the storyline, especially how they linked back to Book 1. The characterisation in the story is, as usual, spot on, with a wide variety of different personalities being brought to life before your eyes.Working with the only survivor of the mutilation attacks, our main character treads on difficult waters, and I was completely gripped on the model’s story. In this instance you are presented with the French, and actually – mostly – a translation for the longer sentences is woven into the next piece of text; or the subsequent actions by the characters indicate the meaning.

It made the story very plausible, gave the reader a number of potential suspects to mull over, but left me with a conclusion which was still a complete surprise. I still can’t warm to the man and as there are no other characters that transcend their cardboard descriptions, I doubt I will continue with the series. The Police and Alex work together to try and find her attacker but soon another model is attacked, and this time she is killed. He is still suffering from his demons that we saw in Impostor but there is also some glimmer of hope for him as he gets close to someone that he originally meets by chance but is also found to be caught up in the case. How much the story reflects what really happens behind the scenes in the fashion world I don’t want to guess.Hysteria is well named as it felt like my brain was being put through the wringer whilst I was reading. I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes in book three, and hoping that this series will continue on as Gregory is a character who has a lot to give. He is a very troubled soul - understandably so - and it takes a lot to penetrate that hard protective shell he has built up. As well as the largely controlled and stoic Gregory, you also see the darker side of his existence, and by that I mean the nightmares that plague him. 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.

Dr Alexander Gregory is in Paris with his mentor Professor William Douglas, giving a speech about criminal profiling at the request of La Police Judiciaire, during what happened to be fashion week.Gregory is paired with attractive investigating officer DCI Hope and tensions arise―especially when an old foe resurfaces. Our Non-Fiction Range includes: Academic, Photography, Audio books, Business, Cook Books, Craft Books, Health and Fitness Books, Mind, Body, Spirit (Tarot). Having been blown away by the first book in the Alexander Gregory series, I couldn’t wait to jump into this one. Be sure to read Book 1 first to fully understand and appreciate Dr Alex Gregory and the deep psychological issues troubling him. I have long been a fan of another series by this author concerning DCI Ryan and his team of police detectives, set in the north of England.