Shutter Island

Rating:
Summary: Worth your time!
Review: This is an unusual story, and well worth your time. LeHane is a master of building suspense, and keeping the reader hooked. That's all you can ask of someone in this genre. Seeing reviews which state that the author wrote this for himself are nonsense. This is a terrific read that will stay with you for a long, long time.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning on several levels.
Review: If you have a taste for really good books, and a willingness to trust a very fine author, than you have to give yourself the pleasure of reading Dennis Lehane's compelling suspense/mystery SHUTTER ISLAND. The book starts with a seemingly can't miss set of circumstances: U.S. Marshall Terry Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule set out by Ferry Boat for Shuttter Island, an isolated psychiatric prison/hospital for the criminally insane. Their official objective is to find a patient who has seemingly escaped into thin air. But Daniels, a man tormented by a violent and sad past, has other reasons for accepting the assignment. He is in search for the person potentiaaly reponsible for his wife's death. And also hopes to find evidence of unethical psychiatric surgical practices for a U. S. Senator. The island and it's cast of character's - from the creepy but somewhat kind Dr. Crawley, to the mysterious and unavailable prison warden - are classic Gothic Horror. But from the time they arrive on the island nothing is quite as it seems. When a hurricane strikes the island all hell brakes loose and just as magically the missing patient is found. I wont give any more away. But it is safe to say that at this point the story takes more twists and turns than a modern roller coaster. Lehane carries the story along with beautiful prose and flexes his lierary muscle, as the story corkscrews it's way to an amazing but equaling shocking ending. This is by no means a feel good book, nor is it a "light" read as some might think. But if you are willing to put yourself in the hands of the author you will be richly rewarded. I can't think of a single book to really compare it to. It has faint similarities to William Wharton's cult classic BIRDY. And as I read the book I couldn't help but think of Doris Lessing's THE FIFTH CHILD for mood and distinctive language. The great thing about this book is the ending is highly ambitious but Lehane pulls it off beautifully. I feel fortunate that this is the fisrt Lehane book for me. Because I don't bring any preconceived hopes for the book that longtime fans of his detective series seem to have. I don't have any base of reference to be disapointed in comparison. This is a terrific book on many levels. It's so cliched,, but I literally stayed up all night reading this book from cover to cover. There never seemed a good place to put the book down. If you are looking for a good read that has more to it than preformulated fluff, Thin SHUTTER ISLAND is a nust read.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Page Turner!
Review: This is the first book I've read by Dennis Lehane but I'm sure it won't be the last. On "Shutter Island" Lehane has his two investigators, Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule investigating the disapperance of a patient at a mental hospital on Shutter Island. However, prudence forbids me to go any further with the plot because I wouldn't want to give any of it away. Suffice it to say, it kept me spellbound as few books have done recently. I was always wanting to pick it up to see what's going to happen to the investigators or their situations. The amazing ending threw me for a loop as I never saw it coming. As for those people who say its too dark or depressing--hey, not everything is moonlight and canoes. That's life. If you can't handle it, don't critize the writer for writing it. Go buy a comic book instead. But if you want a good story, with a really good ending, buy "Shutter Island."

Rating:
Summary: Dark and eerie
Review: While Dennis Lehane's gorgeous MacKenzie/Gennaro series sparkles with humor and wit, both "Mystic River" and especially now "Shutter Island" are heavy on the darker side.

Dennis Lehane's latest novel is full of darkness, madness and a menacing atmosphere... the setting quite cleverly transports the reader in a Frankenstein-like atmosphere: a raging hurricane, old barracks walls, a desolate island, mysterious doctors and lunatic asylum inmates. Amongst that the troubled investigator plus his sidekick, wading through dread and horror.

Without wanting to give away too much, the shocking surprise ending is a clever twist, even though it does become foreseeable in the last fifty pages or so. Basically this is quite a brilliant book, except that I found the character development too shallow and one-dimensional. It could have been so much better had Mr. Lehane invested in one or two hundred more pages, to thicken the plot and give the novel more depth. Some of the side stories actually go nowhere or remain unexplained, at least that was my own shallow feeling after finishing the final pages - which was definitely not the case with "Mystic Rivers".

Not bad, but with Dennis Lehane's proven writing skills it could've been even a lot better - that's why I'm only giving it three stars.

Rating:
Summary: Not his best by a long shot
Review: It's hard to figure out why Lehane has strayed from his Kenzie-Gennaro series -- some really fine reads there and engaging characters. Mystic River was a departure and much more of a main stream kind of novel with a lot of depth of character. Shutter Island just does not engage. I didn't care about Teddy Daniels, the main character, enough to care what happened to him. The novel has so many twists and turns, there's no focus. By the time I got to the end, it was more a relief than a surprise.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: As I read this book, I kept checking to see if I had the wrong author. I do think it would be a great movie but one I figured out half way through. Maybe he is just tired but had to fulfill a book deal because this book does not stand up to the standards established in previous books. I really missed his complex characterizations. This book was like a good wax museum; pleasant to look at but not real. Maybe Lehane wants to make a lot of money on a movie deal. Can't say that I blame him. Think Russell Crowe for the lead.

Rating:
Summary: Caveat emptor
Review: This is not so much a review as a warning. SHUTTER ISLAND is not a crime story or a mystery story. It is a gothic horror story. As such, it is designed to inculcate a different response in the reader than those other literary forms. As a gothic horror story it is exceptionally well done. Top of the line. If you are expecting something else, however, you will be very disappointed by the ending, as several of the Amazon reviewers have been. This is a departure for Lehane. If you're up for gothic horror, go for it. If you expect a traditional crime or mystery story, brace yourself for the possibility of significant disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Yet another reason why I call Lehane a favorite. . .
Review: As you can tell from the various customer reviews found on this site, Shutter Island drudges up some mixed reactions. People either seem to love it or hate it. Personally, I'm in the former category.

Shutter Island is definitely a departure for Lehane, but I'm glad he did it. This book is a twisty/creepy plunge into a high-security psychiatric ward, and the atmosphere is so thick you can reach out and pinch it. The main character, Teddy Daniels, is engaging and well-developed, as is his partner, Chuck Aule, and my attachment to these characters made the suspense really grab hold. And most importantly, this is one of the best endings I've come across in a long time and not one soon forgotten. Very clever and wonderfully portrayed.

Really, my only gripe with the novel is that there were a few spots that dragged. Not many, but enough for me to take notice.

All in all, another gem from Lehane and one that shouldn't be passed up. A quick warning: it isn't a very optimistic book, so if that bothers you, you might want to skip this one. But if you enjoy twisty plots, a dark, foreboding atmosphere and an ending that'll knock you on your rear, then give it a shot.

Rating:
Summary: Buy this book now!
Review: If you are reading something else when Shutter Island arrives, put it up. You can come back to it later when you are done reading Shutter Island. This book is that good!

Rating:
Summary: A Very Clever Conceit - Think "Identity"
Review: This book is clever, and finally, almost too clever for its own good. For those who've seen a recent film called "Identity" (with John Cusack), it's a close kin. Lehane's book is better than the film. Somehow, one thinks that the writer of "Mystic River" and "Drink Before Water" might be slumming.