This review can also be found at BOOKISH 
 When I picked up this book, I expected a cracking thriller full of twists and unpredictable, blood-chilling events. The premise sounded so fascinating - a girl who stabbed her boyfriend to death, and has no recollection of how or why it happened, is haunted by an evil presence while staying at a secluded boarding school - and I was so sure that this one was going to creep the living soul out of me! Unfortunately, I can't say that I was right. While the book kicks-off with with some downright terrifying scenes and a decent amount of creepy, the latter part of it veers into a very confusing, borderline-ridiculous melodrama. Not at all what I expected. 
 Mallory has blood on her hands. She stabbed her boyfriend in her own kitchen and then ran off, leaving him to bleed out on the floor. Her memory of that night is very hazy, she doesn't know the how and why herself. And she's not the only one with doubts. Her own parents don't seem to trust/believe her, they hide the kitchen knives from her and lock the doors of their bedroom at night. When the murder charges are dropped thanks to self-defence proven, Mallory is sent away to a boarding school far away from her home town to forget about the nightmare and recover. That, as it turns out, is not meant to happen. As her hallucinations intensify, she starts hearing weird sounds and voices and is waking up with bruises on her arms, Mallory starts wondering if the things she's experiencing are the result of mental sickness (hysteria), or if someone (or something) is after her. 
 I know, right? How could you possibly resists this premise? It sounds so intense and atmospheric! However, if you pick it up expecting an eerie, heart-pounding thriller with a hint of paranormal - you'll probably end up bitterly disappointed and frustrated. This is more of a psychological drama, and one that is rather short on scares and thrills. As the book's tone moves from vaguely supernatural murder mystery to sappy, over-dramatic and often totally confusing teen love story, illogicality overpowers the exciting ambiguities it has established. 
 There are two plot threads - two dead bodies - in this book, the second being a cocky, manipulative and aggressive guy Mallory meets at the boarding school, whose body is discovered on the floor in her room about halfway through the book. Again, Mallory doesn't know what happened and how the guy ended up in her room - which was locked from the insight - with his wrists slashed with the knife she kept for protection in her drawer. Explanations to both of the mysteries, while original and a bit surprising - failed to impress me. They seemed rather silly and improbable, and they were totally unrelated to each other. I hoped for an ending that would knock my socks off, but that didn't happened. This book started off so great and I just couldn't believe how thoroughly anticlimactic the ending was. It didn't even feel like anything was resolved, the big reveals were so weak and disappointing. The story felt rushed in trying to wrap everything up in the last two-three chapters, with enough loose ends left over to annoy even the most patient and forgiving reader. 
 Some plot developments were extremely iffy. I don't understand why Mallory was sent away to the boarding school in the first place. Seems to me that if your child's life is in danger, you'd simply pack your bags and leave the town with her, not send her to a creepy, secluded place with no cell reception. The murder charges against Mallory were too easily dropped, too. There was hardly any investigation to try and figure out why she stabbed the guy, not to mention that there was practically no reason to believe that he was a threat to her life. Sure, he was drunk, but he never threatened or hurt her before, and other than punching one guy, he didn't seem to have any history of violence either. It is said that he seemed threatening, but if I'd go around stabbing everyone who "seems" a tiny bit dangerous, I'd ran out of kitchen knives in no time. She killed him, cause he broke into her house intoxicated, repeating "Mallory, wait" and "listen" - am I the only one who thinks this is just plain ridiculous? Not to mention that, as it later turns out, he didn't even break into her house at all, he knocked on the door and she let him in. And the final scenes involving Colleen? Totally unnecessary. 
 Mallory herself was definitely not my type of heroine. First of all, I did not feel any sympathy for her. I can't bring myself to root for a girl who tries to make out with a guy at his father's funeral and then runs off offended when he refuses to do that. Most of the time, I did not approve of her behavior and attitude toward sothers (especially boys). And I didn't like how she chose to deal with all the threatening situations in her life (popping sleeping pills or running away). Like I said, not my type of heroine. 
 In the end, despite it's titillating premise, Hysteria ultimately fails to deliver the chills and thrills expected of a good psychological thriller. It's not necessarily a bad book, just not exactly the book it seems to be at a first glance. As a contemporary drama with a splash of mystery this book works quite well, but don't expect to come out of it scared out of your wits.