Shutter Island

Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Read, But...
Review: First of all, let me warn you; several people who have written reviews for this book have spoiled the surprise ending in their reviews, an amazingly unpardonable act in my opinion. Do not read the review by Robert Hazelwood if you intend to read this book and don't want the ending spoiled.

Now, on to the book itself. Shutter Island was as well-written as all the other Dennis Lehane books. The premise is interesting; a pair of US Marshals are sent to an island which houses a facility for the criminally insane in order to track down one of the escaped prisoners during a hurricane. The book has witty, well-drawn characters, a gloomy setting, and plenty of ingredients for a real hair-raising thriller. There are several very creepy scenes and the whole feel of the book is bleak and moody, almost like a haunted house story. The surprise ending was, I thought, well-done and made the book very unique compared to many other bestsellers.

The book did, however, have its flaws. There are some important people and events who are mentioned early in the book but are very quickly glossed over, then when they appear later on you have no idea who they are because Lehane fails to remind us. The book also suffered from its pacing; it's a short book by today's standards, only 360 pages, and I felt that it should have either been far longer, with more detailed explanations and more creepy scenes which took advantage of the scary setting of the novel, or it should have been much shorter---this book could easily have been a novella, actually, running no more than about 100 pages.

All in all, though, Shutter Island was an enjoyable book which will give you the shivers while you're reading it and haunt you for several days after you're finished. This would be a perfect book for a plane trip or a day at the beach.