Shutter Island

Rating:
Summary: Could have been 5 stars if written by anyone else
Review: ... because I have come to expect special things from Lehane.

Don't get me wrong. This is a very entertaining book. It reads like gangbusters and you will finish this within a couple of days (OK, the book is disappointingly short). It has all the Lehane signatures - characters carrying their demomns, cackling dialog and the relentless pace. Unfortunately, this speed is also the problem for this book because it does not leave room for the development of tragic dimensions of Mystic River, and my favorite among Kenzie-Gennaro series, Gone Baby Gone.

So the book must rely on the plot twist. It is well executed, but, alas, it does not surprise because ... we have seen all this before. I can name a few recent ones on top of my head - "A Beautiful Mind", "Story of Pi" and even "Sixth Sense". At this day and age of conspiracy overdose, the last thing we need is another "nothing is real" story. Of course, not many stories can ever be truly original, but if the main point of the story is a trickery, it better work, otherwise it rings harrow.

Lehane should be applauded for breaking out of the mold and trying something different, instead of turning into a book factory capitalizing on his popular characters of Kenzie and Gennaro. But sometimems, I cannot help but missing them for what Lehane does best - writing great stories with the characters that we really care about.

Rating:
Summary: Full of "sparrows' ghosts" flapping their wings.
Review: U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels and his partner, Chuck Aule, arrive on Shutter Island, a secure facility for the criminally insane in Boston Harbor, to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Rachel Solando from her locked and guarded room. While looking for Rachel, a woman who has murdered her three children, Teddy also plans to investigate rumors that the hospital is performing radical brain surgery as part of its experimental treatments. He has a secret personal motive for this trip, however--to find the arsonist who started the fire in which his own wife died, a man believed to be incarcerated on the island. As Teddy and Chuck begin their investigations, with a total lack of co-operation from the hospital staff, the worst hurricane in thirty years bears down on the island. If the power fails and the generators don't kick in, the electric locks and electrified fences will no longer protect Teddy, Chuck, and the staff from the hospital's murderous inhabitants.

In the hands of a lesser author, this might be the setup for a melodramatic and gore-filled pot-boiler, but Lehane artfully creates and maintains a tension-filled atmosphere, full of foreboding, without giving in to the easy temptations of sensationalism as his plot becomes more and more complex. At one point, Teddy describes his fear, as a "sparrow's ghost, pass[ing] through the center of his chest and flapping its wings," a unique metaphor which epitomizes Lehane's vibrant prose and makes it a lot of fun to read. The hospital's orderlies have "deadened faces, as if they hadn't been fed enough as babies," and Teddy, in trying to grasp a partial memory from the past, likens it to a "melody he was trying to remember while the radio played a completely different tune."

Lehane's characters, Teddy and Chuck, are simultaneously tough and vulnerable, able to attract the sympathy of readers because they are so normal, in contrast to the devious hospital staff and the murderous patients. Dialogue is snappy. Revelations come slowly, and are constantly thrown into doubt by later revelations, which raise the suspense. As the tension grows, the "sparrows' ghosts" begin flapping their wings faster and faster. This is a well-written can't-put-it-downer, with a story full of unexpected twists and turns, deceitful characters, life-threatening danger, and a blockbuster ending that will satisfy anyone looking for a novel that is out of the ordinary. Mary Whipple

Rating:
Summary: Lehane stubs his toes here
Review: I have read all of Lehane's books. This one is a stinker. It gives an appearance of being convoluted and twists simply for the thrill of it - and not done well. Most of it is beyond being plausible and you get the impression the writer is just filling in the space.
A bit outlandish and not very good. Skip this one.

Rating:
Summary: Not His Best
Review: I'm a big Dennis Lehane fan, but found this this book to be very confusing. I started skimming the first half of the book. None of the characters really grabbed my attention. The second half of the book was suspenseful with some really good twists. The book had redeemed itself in my eyes until the last two pages where there seemed to be yet another twist which took me days to figure out. If you are a true Lehane fan, I would recommend the book, but if you are starting out with this author, read one of his other (much better) books. True Lehane fans don't expect too much.

Rating:
Summary: Give this book more than 5 stars
Review: This is my first Lehane book and I was more than pleased. A very taut, well written story, Shutter Island gets your attention from the first page and doesn't let up. I was really surprised by the ending which was quite an unexpected turn of events. Enough said; knowing the ending will spoil this great story. I particularly like Mr. Lehane's style. It is very direct, void of superflous narrative and descriptive details. He tells just what needs to be told and no more. Character development is excellent and the plot moves right along with no impediments. I plan to enjoy more of this author's books.

Rating:
Summary: Two Times The Charm
Review: Stupefaction is the best word to describe my reaction to the out of left field ending of this work of taut prose. The book is as good if not better than Lehane's others. Better, I think, because of the whiplash frenzy you'll get rereading pages for clues missed when you're done. This is the first book in a long while that you'll have to read again immediately because you can't belive you missed that nugget, the key that unlocks genius of Shutter Island.

Rating:
Summary: Another Excellent Book by Lehane
Review: This book is equally as entertaining as Mystic River. It has a great ending and is as much a page turner as Mystic River. Great book!

Rating:
Summary: Lehane succeeds in a predictable genre
Review: Following Mystic River is certainly a difficult task and Lehane chose to write a completetly different type of novel for his follow-up. Shutter Island is a phsycological thriller set over four days and with a minimum amount of characters. Where Mystic River had a ride, rambling scope, Shutter Island focuses on US Marshall Teddy Daniels and his investigation of the mental health facility at shutter island.

I know if I had spent more time reading each and every word Lehane wrote, I might have figured out the ending, but Shutter Island is too quick of a read to spend too much time on. Still, looking back, I can see how well Lehane devised the story and all of the action leads to the ending we get.

Lehane hopefully has a long career ahead of him. I like is mugshot in the back of the hardcover. It looks to me like Lehane knows that he has it made writing books for a living and getting paid to do what he enjoys.

This is a good book and I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: dissatisfied
Review: I loved the authors other works and looked forward to another. This story I read until the middle and then threw the book out.

Rating:
Summary: Lehane's weakest novel
Review: This is easily Lehanes' weakest novel, and I've read them all. I'm not one who needs Angie and Patrick to return, so that's not my beef. I missed the maturity, character development, humor, hard hitting, well developed issues, plotting and incredible dialogue of Mystic River.
This book develops Teddy's character thoroughly, but no one else. The rest of the cast is cardboard.
The plot is implausible time and time again, the writing mundane and too concise. Particularly in the first half.
The social or interpersonal issues raised are not of the scope of Mystic or covered with any degree of similar depth.
I saw Lehane speak at a bookstore in California, and he was attentive, articulate, funny and very impressive. I hope the money hasn't affected his writing motivation, because it appears he churned this one out without much thought or depth.
Bring back the best mystery writer of this century, Dennis. Take your time and do it right, as you can.