The common image of a stalker brings to mind violent ex husband's and obsessed fans but in The Hypnotist's Love Story, Patrick is an ordinary suburban surveyor who for three years has endured the excessive attention of his ex girlfriend, Saskia. Many women can relate to perhaps being overly interested in their ex-partners movements post break up, but usually the concern wanes as they move forward. Moriarty explores what happens when someone is unable to let go of a relationship, how grief for an envisioned future can turn into a obsession that has very little to do with love. Saskia is a fascinating character, her behaviour is plainly wrong yet Moriarty shows how Saskia is as much a victim of her obsession as Patrick and Ellen are. It's surprisingly easy to sympathise with her emotional pain, particularly as her story unfolds through a first person perspective.
As a woman who is still in contact with her ex boyfriends sister, Ellen recognises the impulse to still be privy to the details of an ex-partners life. Assured Saskia isn't violent, Ellen's initial mild concern gives way to an almost professional fascination. Ellen is a hypnotherapist and considers Saskia's obsessive behaviour similar in nature to an addiction or phobia which she successfully treats in her practice. In fact Ellen is more concerned about the spectre of Patrick's deceased wife than his living stalker. While Saskia remains unseen it is understandable that she is more of an abstract concept for Ellen, but once Ellen discovers that Saskia has been masquerading as a client and follows her interstate, I expected her to take the situation more seriously. I don't think anyone I know would be so accepting of Saskia's harassment and I'm not sure Moriarty is completely successful in explaining why Ellen is so ambivalent particularly in the latter half of the novel. I would have preferred Ellen's motivation to connect with Saskia been more clearly defined, even though I recognise that Moriarty's intention is to illustrate the complexity of the relationship that can form between the stalker and their victim.
While the relationship between Ellen, Patrick and Saskia, dominates the story, the author also explores how separations and newly formed relationships affect family and friends. The end of Saskia's relationship with Patrick also ended her association with his son, parents and siblings, an additional blow when she had so little support available, while the decision by Ellen's mother to not inform the father of her pregnancy prevented Ellen from forming a connection with him. There are several lesser themes that Moriarty touches on that weave together to create a well rounded story.

The Hypnotist's Love Story is a complex tale of obsession, grief and love which Moriarty admits was inspired by a real life experience. I found it a compelling and intriguing examination of the intricacies of relationships. There is much more to this story than is neatly summarised in the blurb and Moriarty tells it with consummate skill.