In the book, The Hypnotist’s Love Story, by Liane Moriarty, Ellen O’Farrell is a professional hypnotherapist who works out of the eccentric beachfront home she inherited from her grandparents. It’s a nice life, except for her tumultuous relationship history. She’s stoic about it, but at this point, Ellen wouldn’t mind a lasting one. When she meets Patrick, she’s optimistic. He’s attractive, single, employed, and best of all, he seems to like her back. Then comes that dreaded moment: He thinks they should have a talk.
Braced for the worst, Ellen is pleasantly surprised. It turns out that Patrick’s ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Ellen thinks, Actually, that’s kind of interesting. She’s dating someone worth stalking. She’s intrigued by the woman’s motives. In fact, she’d even love to meet her.
Ellen doesn’t know it, but she already has.
“A warmly humorous, gently poignant, ultimately comforting tale of frustration and redemption…Moriarty writes with both a frisky wit and a generosity of spirit that’s truly disarming…It will make you feel warm all over.”—USA Today
“Simply exquisite, fascinating (and frequently hilarious)…as much of a page-turner as any thriller.”—Bookreporter
The first Liane Moriarty book I read was What Alice Forgot. It was several years ago when I just happened to pick up a copy of this book at an airport. I had never heard of her, but like always, when I’m at an airport, I just have to buy a new book! I started the book right after take-off, and I did not put it down. What a wonderfully written book. I loved every minute of it. After reading What Alice Forgot, I moved on to several other books of hers. So far, I have enjoyed every one that I’ve read.
I also enjoyed Big Little Lies, which is now a mini-series on HBO! I don’t have HBO, so I am patiently waiting for it to come out on Netflix or DVD so I can watch it. I’m hoping that it is as good as the book was. I’ve also heard rumors that The Hypnotist’s Love Story might also be considered for a movie or mini-series. I think this would make a great mini-series. I can see the characters clearly in my head, and it would be a fun Lifetime type movie! If you want a bit more information on the mini-series of Big Little Lies, you can check it out by clicking this link to the HBO Website.
VERDICT: What a fun read! I sort of wish I had saved this book for my beach trip this summer. It was a perfect beach chair read (poolside would do too). The characters had me interested in their lives very quickly, and the story had just enough romance mixed with some mystery, stalking, lying, and lots of juicy details to keep me turning the page.
In the story, Ellen is a professional hypnotherapist who works out of her home she inherited from her grandparents. All is going well for her, but her relationship history is not so great. Once Ellen meets Patrick, she’s optimistic about where this relationship is going. That is, until the dreaded moment – – he thinks they should have a talk.
Ellen is prepared to be dumped at this point, but it turns out that he just wants to tell her that his ex-girlfriend is stalking him. To Ellen, this is kind of interesting and exciting. Someone is stalking her boyfriend. Ellen doesn’t know it yet, but Patrick’s stalker is someone Ellen knows!
Who Is Liane Moriarty?
I learned quite a bit about Liane when I browsed her website. First of all, I learned that she must have a great sense of humor. Or…maybe someone else wrote the information on her ‘About Liane’ link on her website. I’m sure you’ll agree once you read the information below.
Her first word was ‘glug’. This was faithfully recorded in the baby book kept by her mother. (As the eldest of six children, Liane was the only one to get a baby book so she likes to refer to it often.)
As a child, she loved to read, so much so that school friends would cruelly hide their books when she came to play. She still doesn’t know how to go to sleep at night without first reading a novel for a very long time in a very hot bath.
She can’t remember the first story she ever wrote, but she does remember her first publishing deal. Her father ‘commissioned’ her to write a novel for him and paid her an advance of $1.00. She wrote a three volume epic called, ‘The Mystery of Dead Man’s Island’.
After leaving school, Liane began a career in advertising and marketing. She became quite corporate for a while and wore suits and worried a lot about the size of her office. She eventually left her position as marketing manager of a legal publishing company to run her own (not especially successful) business called The Little Ad Agency.
After that she worked as (a more successful, thankfully) freelance advertising copywriter, writing everything from websites and TV commercials to the back of the Sultana Bran box.
Another interesting thing I learned about Liane is that she has written three children’s books about the ‘Space Brigade’. I had not heard of these books before, but it is said that they appeal to both girls and boys between the ages of 7 and 12. All 3 of the books feature a main character named Nicola Berry, who is described as a feisty young girl and the leader of the Space Brigade. The books are available on the Amazon Website.
What is on your Kindle or bedside table? Anything good? If so, let me know. I’m always looking for my next good poolside novel. And with summer fast approaching, I want to be prepared with a stack of good titles! Enjoy The Hypnotist’s Love Story! Until next time…
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