Alyssa Devine’s The Hypnotist is a young adult novel that combines the murder mystery genre with hypnotism and the idea of past-life regression. The story centers on Tom Lassiter and Amanda Wilcox, two high school students in Lafayette, Louisiana, who are both in the school orchestra and are both high achievers. Because Tom’s father is a politically connected oil executive, his parents are always traveling to one country or another and Tom doesn’t have much of a family life. He basically adopts Amanda’s family as his own and drives her to school every day. Tom’s hobby is hypnotism, which is usually harmless, but when he hypnotizes Amanda, she begins to remember past lives – including that of a girl who was murdered in the town in 1989. She remembers details about the still-unsolved murder – like the fact that she was apparently killed by a policeman with a specific badge number. Tom and Amanda’s grandfather begin to investigate the incident – even though someone attacks the grandfather and warns him to back off.

Although Alyssa Devine’s The Hypnotist is designed for young readers, it will interest many adults too, for it has all the ingredients of a good murder mystery. The high school setting is realistic and almost certainly typical of many small-town high schools today. The dialogue is easy to understand, the plot is well-developed, and Devine does a good job of showing how the relationship between Tom and Amanda, which starts off as a friendship, slowly evolves into something more (although it’s never really spelled out). Last but not least, the book is designed as a "special edition for readers with dyslexia," basically meaning that it is printed with a large, easy-to-read font – something that will benefit non-dyslexic readers who wear glasses as well.

For Tom and Amanda, their senior year seems to be going just the way they could have hoped. That is, until Tom decides to practice his hypnotism tricks on Amanda. That’s when things start to get strange. Uncovering a murder that took place in their town over 25 years ago was not something Tom expected to learn when he asked Amanda about her past lives, but it’s only the beginning of the adventures that these two will have as they make their way through their senior year. But are there still people out there that want these secrets to stay buried for good? It’s a small town after all and no one really knows what could be happening behind all those closed doors. The Hypnotist by Alyssa Devine is about to find out some secrets and he’s not going to stay quiet about what he sees.

The characters in this story were interesting and they seemed like normal 18-year-old kids. They just happened to be thrown into a strange situation that they aren’t too sure how to handle. The Hypnotist by Alyssa Devine is about what can happen when you try tampering with things you don’t quite understand and definitely what can happen if you decide to investigate a murder. If you like mysteries and you’re into crime, then this is a book you’ll enjoy. It has great characters, a great plot, and it all seems to flow together very well. I’m really glad I gave it a chance.

Last but not least, this book has been formatted specifically to help those who have dyslexia. It's actually an entirely different style of font to make the entire book easier to read so anyone can enjoy it. It's tough enough just getting through a normal day with dyslexia, trying to read a book can be nearly impossible. But this unique font allows anyone to enjoy this wonderful book. I hope other authors will adopt it as well.

The Hypnotist by Alyssa Devine is a tale of murder and mystery. Amanda Wilcox is good friends with Tom Lassiter, who just happens to be a hypnotist. Amanda doesn’t believe in all that, but allows him to hypnotize her anyway. Tom thinks she is just playing games with him when she reaches into her mind and brings out memories of people she has been in previous lives. One afternoon, they go on a drive out and find themselves at a psychic reading. Amanda meets with Madam Zu-Zu, who tells her some disturbing things. Following the visit, Amanda starts to have nightmares that she is being strangled and again allows Tom to hypnotize her. What follows is the story of a couple of mysterious disappearances that happened 25 years earlier. With the help of her grandfather, Amanda and Tom set out to discover what happened to the women and find evidence that an ex-policeman was involved in the disappearances, along with an employee of the local funeral home. They get too close to the truth and find their lives are being threatened by someone who could have been involved all those years ago. Will they escape with their lives? Will the culprits be brought to justice?

The Hypnotist by Alyssa Devine was an enthralling story. I must mention that this edition was especially for those with dyslexia and I found it incredibly easy to read. It’s good that an author has taken the time to think about those who may not be able to read normal print very well, and I applaud Ms. Devine for that. The storyline was good, the characters very likeable and I found it to be a mixture of cold case murder mystery and thriller. There is also a dash of romance and a splash of the paranormal in there as well, making it an excellent all-rounder. It is very well written in that it keeps you reading until the very end to find out what happens. Although this is written for the Young Adult audience, I believe that any reader, no matter what their age, will enjoy it.

When Amanda agreed to have her friend Tom hypnotize her, she did it just so she could disprove his reincarnation theories. Tom, who had an interest in hypnosis from the tender age of ten, had always used it just to mess with other kids. The two had no idea of the dark secrets that lay in Amanda's prior lives and the madness they were about to unleash from the past. Tom's sessions with Amanda started with some exciting facts of a life lived during the Civil War, but he did not know whether the hypnosis was really working or if his friend was faking it. After an accidental visit with a psychic, Amanda started experiencing horrific nightmares when, in her sleep, her past life crossed into the present. Desperate to find the truth and hopefully put an end to Amanda's nightmares, they embark on an investigation to find out what really happened to the woman supposedly murdered over twenty years ago, but who now lives as Amanda. Their search for the truth and justice will put their own lives in danger at the hands of the very suspects they seek.

The Hypnotist by Alyssa Devine is an exciting YA story. The story touches on the rather controversial subjects of hypnosis and reincarnation, and Alyssa Devine's writing will almost make you a believer. Without focusing so much on the facts of the subject, she managed to make it feel as if reincarnation is an everyday thing; making the theme of the story feel so natural and so very believable. The Hypnotist is a YA story with a twist that combines the usual teenage high school theme and drama with a deeper theme. Alyssa Devine made it feel like a 17-year-old hypnotist is the most natural thing in the world. With all the darkness that lay in the past lives lived by Amanda, you would have expected a stiff story, but The Hypnotist is written in such a way that it is an easy and exciting story. It was a thrilling read from start to end. I will forever be touched by Alyssa Devine's thoughtful act of producing a Special Edition for Readers with Dyslexia; this truly touched my heart.