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Shutter Island

by Dennis Lehane (Goodreads Author)

3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 · rating details · 54,837 ratings · 4,699 reviews

Summer, 1954. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels has come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Along with his partner, Chuck Aule, he sets out to find an escaped murderess named Rachel Solando, as a hurricane bears down upon them.
But nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems. And neither is Teddy Daniels. Is he there to find a missing pat...more

Paperback, 414 pages

Published 2004 by Bantam Books (first published 2003)

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Nov 06, 2011 Lou rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adapted-to-screen

An isolated island, a raging hurricane, a locked room, secret codes, a mental hospital, and rumors of mysterious medical experiments frame the story. Written in a very different style compared to Lehane's previous novels Mystic river and Gone baby gone. The plot is not the simplest of plots, i was scratching my head intrigued because the story flips through past present and surreal. It is a disorienting, complex story grounded in the reality of the times...cold war USA in 1954. From pondering o...more

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May 18, 2010 Annalisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: language and violence

Shelves: guy-lit, mystery-thriller, psychology

I'm not even sure what to say about this book without giving anything away. US Marshal Teddy Daniels shows up at rocky island that's an asylum for the criminally insane to track a patient that disappeared from a locked cell. While on the island, he gets the sense that the doctors are hiding something and sets out to obtain evidence that they are experimenting illegally on patients. As Daniels uncovers secrets, you become more confused about what is actually happening at the hospital.

I'm vague to...more I'm not even sure what to say about this book without giving anything away. US Marshal Teddy Daniels shows up at rocky island that's an asylum for the criminally insane to track a patient that disappeared from a locked cell. While on the island, he gets the sense that the doctors are hiding something and sets out to obtain evidence that they are experimenting illegally on patients. As Daniels uncovers secrets, you become more confused about what is actually happening at the hospital.

I'm vague to avoid spoilers, but none of this will make sense unless you've read the book (or seen the movie):

My favorite part of the book was the what added the psychological thriller: an insane person will claim he or she is not insane. Ergo, if you claim you are sane, you are insane. All the witnesses were unreliable, but we have to trust what the protagonist sees and believes until he figures out the next clue. Throw in conspiracy theories, and you never know what to trust. I loved the story shift and the foreshadowing and that even though he couldn't figure out why, Daniels could tell he couldn't trust these people. There were some brilliant moments, like the scene with Noyce that could be misconstrued one way or the other, depending on which story option you believe.

My least favorite parts:
-The gratuitous language and sexual content, especially the scene with his wife. Was that necessary? It didn't add anything to the story and it actually made me reluctant to pick it up for a few days.
-I sometimes had a hard time with the plot concept that a whole staff would encourage paranoia in a violent patient. How is crazy making a curing technique? Take the conversation with Trey about the fence, which is the only moment in the book where no one is playing games, but why? It's the one scene that keeps me from believing the second option.

I still think the concept of the book was brilliant. Even though I was bound and determined to figure out that twist, I didn't. Lehane leaves the ending somewhat open, but it's clear which option we're supposed to believe. I don't know though, some drugs, the power of suggestion, a plausible story, I'm not discounting either one. That's kind of the point of the story, the uncertainty of reality for the insane. Creepy or sad, what do you choose to believe?(less)

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Jan 21, 2008 Robert Beveridge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: finished, cle-pub-lib

Dan Brown, The DaVinci Code (Dubleday, 2003)
Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island (Morrow, 2003)
William M. Valtos, The Authenticator (Hampton Roads, 2000)

Rarely, when I read, do three books come together so very well for one review. But such is the case here with The DaVinci Code, The Authenticator, and Shutter Island.

Imagine, if you will, a kind of number line of style, with the very best writers at the rightmost extreme and the very worst at the left. On the right are those authors who pay great atten...more Dan Brown, The DaVinci Code (Dubleday, 2003)
Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island (Morrow, 2003)
William M. Valtos, The Authenticator (Hampton Roads, 2000)

Rarely, when I read, do three books come together so very well for one review. But such is the case here with The DaVinci Code, The Authenticator, and Shutter Island.

Imagine, if you will, a kind of number line of style, with the very best writers at the rightmost extreme and the very worst at the left. On the right are those authors who pay great attention to detail, and while they may miss a continuity trick or two, they always have it together. Their prose is readable, though it may be difficult, but it is always impeccable from a grammatical standpoint. (We'll allow a number of spelling errors for editorial mishaps.) Their characters are always well-drawn, the plot when it exists is interesting, the theme never takes over the storyline and slaps you in the face. William Faulkner and Wendy Walker reside on the right end of the line. So does Kathe Koja. Margaret Laurence roved around, but fell close to it all the time, and hit it with The Diviners. Charles Reznikoff OWNED the right side of the line.

On the left you have sloppy writing, loose ends, lectures in the middles of books, rampant grammatical errors and conscious misspellings (and, usually, a vehement defense of them), plots that disappear and reappear, glacial pacing, and all the rest of the things that make books unreadable mounds of tripe. So as not to step on any toes I'll let you fill in your own list here; I'm sure any reader has happened upon enough of these writers to fill at least a branch library.

Now imagine it has a moving axis. Above the line are those authors who, simply, do their research. Below it are those who either don't research at all or do just enough research to give truth to the phrase "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." Every author can be plotted on the resulting two-dimensional graph.

Dennis Lehane sits somewhere in the right center. There's nothing necessarily factual about anything he writes in Shutter Island, save a seamless fifties-era feel and the geographic locations of certain islands off the coast of Massachusetts. Everything else springs fully-formed from the man's demented mind. And it is a true tribute to any author, I think, to be able to say 'this book was predictable, but I kept reading anyway." Yea, I had the plot twist figured out in the first hundred pages. But Dennis Lehane is such a wonderfully readable author that I couldn't have cared less whether I knew what was happening or not. (Warning, any fan of horror will probably get the ending as soon as, or sooner than, I did.) Lehane flirted with his plot twist, in fact it's rather odd that a person who normally writes mystery novels was so blatant with the clues to what was happening; the characters might as well have come out and said it a few times. Which leads me, of course, to the belief that it was all a conscious act. He was letting the reader in on the big joke, too. It's a beautiful thought.

U. S. Marshals Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule are on their way to the mental facility at Shutter Island in order to solve the classic locked-room mystery. A patient, Rachel Solando, has gone missing through a locked door and four manned checkpoints without a trace. Confounding the problem is Teddy's constant idea that folks aren't being completely forthcoming when he questions them.

This is, quite simply, great noir. And in the tradition of great noir, you know there's going to be a denouement; no one, as it were, gets out of here alive. (No, that's not a spoiler, it's a figure of speech.) And if you've read any horror novels influenced by noir writers like Chandler and Thompson, you know just where this is going. Perhaps it's that safety that allows the reader to keep going, just as romance readers expect the guy to get the girl in the end. The main part of it, though, is Dennis Lehane's wonderful writing style, pure and simple. The man could keep the pages of the phone book turning.

...(continued in the review of The Authenticator) (less)

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Sep 17, 2007 Nathan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: The confused.

Shelves: fiction

Forget Mystic River. Shutter Island is the Dennis Lehane book to read. Set in the mid 1950's on a secluded island that serves as a mental institution for the criminally insane, Shutter Island combines elements of psycho-drama and horror with a good mystery and well-rounded characters. U.S. Marshals Daniels and Aule come to the island to investigate the mysterious escape of a violent patient from the hospital, only to be trapped on the island by the worst hurricane in thirty years. The two Marsha...more

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Apr 27, 2011 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: not-mine-library, mystery, mental-illness

My brother and I were at the hospital, waiting our mom’s knee surgery when I started Shutter Island. Little bro looked at my book and exclaimed, “Crap! The movie was total crap and I figured everything out five minutes into it. Do you want me to tell you the secret?” Of course I didn’t want to know the ending before I got there myself. This story follows U.S.Marshal ~~Chris Monsanto~~ Teddy Daniels as he travels to an island which is home to nothing but a possibly dangerous and experimental penitent...more My brother and I were at the hospital, waiting our mom’s knee surgery when I started Shutter Island. Little bro looked at my book and exclaimed, “Crap! The movie was total crap and I figured everything out five minutes into it. Do you want me to tell you the secret?” Of course I didn’t want to know the ending before I got there myself. This story follows U.S.Marshal ~~Chris Monsanto~~ Teddy Daniels as he travels to an island which is home to nothing but a possibly dangerous and experimental penitentiary for the “criminally insane.” Of course subjects are broached such as paranoia, unreliable narrator, chemical and physical restraints, true mental illness vs. mind games initiated to cause insecurity. Although I never saw the movie, the previews seemed to imply a spooky, paranormal aspect which was sadly missing from the book.

It’s hard to review this one without giving away spoilers. Dennis Lehane did an outstanding job of blurring the line between fantasy and reality and causing the reader to feel just as unsettled as Teddy did. Although the book kept up a suspenseful and steady pace (it sort of had to, seeing as it only covered four days) there were many extended dream sequences and past remembrances which hindered, rather than helped the story. Finally, when it got to the actual practices and therapies of the doctors and wardens on the island I was slightly disappointed. Granted, this book took place years ago when mental health treatment was not what it is today. None the less, I can’t help feeling that so much of the psychiatric techniques were more an invention of Lehane’s than based on actual practices. For me that took away from the realness and shock of the it all.

Overall, I’m glad to have read this and am looking forward to finally watching the movie. But I can’t say I will venture into more of Lehane’s works. Without the creepy, suspenseful, paranoia aspect this wasn’t really my sort of story or writing style. It’s nothing I can really put into words, at least not now after only one cup of coffee ;) Even so, I do recommend this book, despite my brother proclaiming the movie total crap.
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Mar 26, 2010 Catherine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Seldom do I get through an entire book in one day. It normally takes me a lot longer to read something but the pages flew by with this book. Like many others I read this in preperation for the film's release which I am very excited about. The only good thing to come out of the pushed back release date is that it gave me more time to read this.

I had heard that there was a twist so once we got to the whole "Who is 67?" stuff I figured that somehow Teddy was in fact 67. That does not mean that the...more

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Mar 01, 2010 Dan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Shutter Island" started off lame. Then it got better. And then it reverted to a convoluted plot recycled from pretty much any psycho-thriller out there. This is the first and likely last Lehane book I've read and I've surmised that he, like Stephen King and John Grisham, simply writes screenplays disguised as novels, probably writing the story while fully aware that it will be purchased by a movie studio within a year of being published. Lots of cliffhanging chapters, laughable dialog, a little...more "Shutter Island" started off lame. Then it got better. And then it reverted to a convoluted plot recycled from pretty much any psycho-thriller out there. This is the first and likely last Lehane book I've read and I've surmised that he, like Stephen King and John Grisham, simply writes screenplays disguised as novels, probably writing the story while fully aware that it will be purchased by a movie studio within a year of being published. Lots of cliffhanging chapters, laughable dialog, a little gratuitous sex thrown in, and at least four instances where a character pleads a variation of "Don't you get it???" in tooooootal desperation.

Two stars, yeah that sounds about right. I'll give it a couple points because I had this compulsion to finish the book. But it wasn't out of enjoyment of reading the prose or an attachment to the characters or even a minorly compelling story. It was just an underlying need to see what happened next. Only a vague hint of what's going on is revealed (though, admittedly, some aspects of the "mystery" are pretty transparent). I've bitched about this before in a review of a book that I can't remember, but reading it was like watching a marathon of "Lost". Although early on you stop caring about the characters or the environment or the story itself entirely, you keep getting teased with little hints that something awesome is going to happen really really soon so you keep watching. And of course that awesomeness never comes and the whole thing becomes a colossal waste of time, which you subconsciously anticipated. And much like "Lost", which concludes each episode with a 30-second preview of all the awesome things that might happen in the next episode, the copy of "Shutter Island" that I read concluded with the opening paragraphs of four other Lehane novels.

Yeah, yeah, I know. "Building suspense" and all (sorry Mandy, much love). I suppose I just don't find this technique suspenseful or exciting or thrilling at all. I just feel ripped off. I guess that means no more exciting suspense thrillers for Danny.

The movie looks promising though--Scorsese, DiCaprio, Sir Ben--and after all, this is the same guy who wrote "Mystic River" and "Gone Baby Gone". So apparently a good director can do wonders with a silly story from a mediocre writer.
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Aug 04, 2009 Gemma Hartshorn rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-thrillers

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 06, 2008 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, boston_youre_my_home

I have absolutely no idea what happened in this book. Perhaps that makes it an effective story?

This is not a standard Lehane novel; yes, it's set in Boston, but not the mean streets of Dorchester or Southie. It's set on an island in the early 1950's, and psychological and psychopharmacological studies are taking place. Pretty interesting. I'm curious about the movie that's being filmed in MA.

One thing, though: I don't think audio is the best format for this one because of all the codes. I had...more

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Feb 05, 2008 Bill rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-suspense

The night I finished this, my mind was left reeling from it for a couple of hours and the next day I was unable to get it out of my head.

Shutter Island is a departure from the Kenzie/Gennaro series and
it's one of those novels that will certainly leave you pondering the whole story once you're finished it.
The less you know about the story, the better. Suffice it to say, this is an excellent read and there are very few novels I have read that made my head buzz for hours after.
Don't miss this, re...more

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May 14, 2013 Ms.candy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

رواية مُمتعة كدت أن أجزم أنها لداون براون لولا إنعدام الرمزية فيها هههههههه
#من ناحية الحماس وإنشداد العينان لمعرفة الأحداث بالتأكيد ^^

جميلة هي بغموضها وحبكتها العجيبة، القصة حيث تدخل وتخرج من الماضي إلى الحاضر وكيف تم إستغلال ماضَ الجنرال "أظن أنه جنرالاً ؟ لا أعرف لقد نسيت " ضده في الجزيرة

رواية ممتعه ومُذهلة بنهايتها المثالية \١ ببساطة لم أتوقع نهاية كهذه \١ أُصبت بدهشة عظيمة وكادت عيناي أن تخرجا من محاجرهما ذُهولاً !
حقاً تستحق القراءة لإستعادة نهم القراءة :$

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Sep 02, 2009 Marvin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

Shutter Island isn't as good as Mystic River, which I read just before this. Mystic River is an entire neighborhood of fleshed out characters that propelled its tragic plot. Shutter Island isn't so three dimensional. What it does have going for it is a taut plot full of suspense and mystery. This is a puzzle novel. Not a novel puzzle like The Davinci Code where the puzzle is the thing and everything else is secondary. The puzzles of a first-rate thriller exist not as the primary purpose but to p...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Debra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sai-king-recommends, mystery-thriller

Stephen King recommended author.

Another book that just floored me! Very craftily written and it leaves to thinking at the end... what really DID happen? I read this book in one day; I just couldn't put it down, so stayed up late to finish it. Now I want to see the movie!

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Mar 16, 2009 David Lomasney rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

read it now

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Aug 23, 2008 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

LeHane is one of my favorite authors. This was more than mystery—it’s full of twists and turns and utter surprises. I couldn’t put it down. Amazing story telling.

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Feb 27, 2008 Deb rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Could not put this book down, Lehane had me on edge until the very end.

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Dec 07, 2007 Carla Kloss rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was one of those books that stunned me in the end! A jaw dropper.

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Jun 28, 2009 Brooke rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, mystery

I decided it was about time I read a Lehane novel BEFORE the movie came out and made me think, "Oh, I've already seen the movie, I should read a book where I don't already know the ending instead."

And what an ending it was, although one I saw coming. I think it's because I've read (or maybe watched) similar stories before, and Lehane did a good job setting up some clues.

Highly recommended for anyone who likes atmospheric mysteries. The whole setting is very creepy, and the previews for the movie...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Kelanth, numquam risit ubi dracones vivunt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, maestri-del-thriller

Un buon libro che scende in gola come un bel bicchiere d'acqua fresca in una giornata assolata.

La storia scorre apparentemente veloce in prima lettura verso il finale decisamente a sorpresa, e quando intendo finale dico proprio l'ultima paginetta, che vi farà correre indietro per tutto il libro a cercare e a reinterpretare dialoghi, situazioni, azioni per arrivare a capire ciò che effettivamente sia successo e a dubitarne in ogni caso tutte le volte che ci ripenserete e cercherete di focalizzar...more

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Jan 03, 2010 Slayermel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who enjoys a good mystery

Shelves: 2009, 21st-century, american, fiction, made-into-film, male-authors, mystery, suspense, bookcrossing

How to review this book without giving out any spoilers, that's going to be a challenge.
Well let me start by saying that when I finished reading the book, I just kind of sat here dumbfounded for a moment or two and sort of replayed the story through my head, trying to let all the pieces fall into place. In a way I was taken by surprise with the ending, but then after sitting and reflecting on it, I don't think it could have gone any other way. Teddy's character has so many layers you really feel...more

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Sep 13, 2009 Nancy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked up Shutter Island after seeing a movie trailer that made it look intriguing.
Lehane is a story-teller and the book was like a game of Clue. There were many groan-out-loud similes which took the place of good writing as did the macho language used by Daniels and the officials at the hospital. Most of the other patients were the to-be-expected goons.
Teddy Daniels, a US. Marshal, goes to Ashecliffe Hospital on Shutter Island to find the murderer of his wife. There are all the usual trap...more

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Jun 08, 2008 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: male-author, mystery, favorites

Dennis Lehane NEVER ceases to amaze me with the gift he has. He evokes so much emotion from his readers...simply by the way he strings his words together to make sentences and paragraphs. For example, right off the bat in the prologue the reader is painted this incredible picture:

"If time for me really is a series of bookmarks, then I feel as if someone has shaken the book and those yellowed slips of paper, torn matchbook covers and flattened coffee stirrers have fallen to the floor, and the dog...more Dennis Lehane NEVER ceases to amaze me with the gift he has. He evokes so much emotion from his readers...simply by the way he strings his words together to make sentences and paragraphs. For example, right off the bat in the prologue the reader is painted this incredible picture:

"If time for me really is a series of bookmarks, then I feel as if someone has shaken the book and those yellowed slips of paper, torn matchbook covers and flattened coffee stirrers have fallen to the floor, and the dog-eared flaps have been pressed smooth."

Later in the novel, Rachel says, "...the dreams often stringing together and piggybacking off one another until they come to resemble a novel written by Picasso."

A novel written by Picasso? Who can't imagine that? And every person's image is going to be different, but they are all going to be "abstract."

Both of these quotes epitomize the utter chaos of the insane mind. And in a way, the whole book epitomizes that, but when you come to the conclusion, it isn't chaos at all; it's a well-formed, intricately layered plot. Every element works significantly and essentially with every other element.

And if having a phenomenal plot wasn't enough, the character development is outstanding. The range of emotion I felt for Dr. Crawley and Chuck was a range I've rarely experienced with reading. And Teddy will in all likelihood have to be added to my list of favorite characters. I cannot detail much more than that without giving spoilers aways, so I'll leave characterization at that.

Despite my raves about the plot and characters, there was one element that was even better...the perspective. Lehane gave this book the perfect voice. It wouldn't have been as suspenseful any other way.

In Shutter Island, I felt big bear arms wrap around me and pull me in; I could not put this book down. Every time I thought I started to grasp what was going on, a new twist evolved. And it wasn't a twist that made you think, "oh pahleeeaze! can he go any more overboard?" It was a twist that made you think, "Holy Cow! I didn't even see that coming, but it was there!" His twists are so convincing and so amazingly weaved into the fabric of the plot, that you start to be on guard. When the conclusion actually started to play out, I kept waiting for another twist. Isn't that what suspense is supposed to be about?

This novel is nothing short of fabulous! (less)

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Jul 24, 2007 Sirena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books_read_of_note_for_some_reason

I read this book in one day, coming back from Hawaii with the worst flu I've ever had. I'm sure my delirium added to the amount that this book freaked me out, but I literally still get crawling skin when I think about this book. Just reading the names of the characters makes me skin crawl. I felt so sick and freaked out when I finished it that I felt totally out of myself for a few days.
I COULD NOT put this book down. I don't remember ever being this sucked in to a book.
I've wanted to actually...more

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Apr 25, 2010 Lesley-Gail rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was interested in watching the movie, but decided to read the book first. I was supposed to be working that weekend, but decided to start Shutter Island. Big mistake! I read it in one day. It was my first Dennis Lehane novel - I was really impressed with how easy, it was to read - how it flowed. I had my suspicions, but Lehane had me caught up in the conspiracy theory. When all was revealed I was like no - no -no. The ending was sad, but it was a great ride.

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Jun 03, 2009 Matthew rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: detectives

Airport fiction is bizarre. Glossy covers of black and neon with the author's name larger than the title - and then you flip through eight or nine pages of superlatives in all capital letters written by raving nutcases employed by our nation's newspapers.

And then FORESHADOWING and CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT and CLIFFHANGERS at the end of each chapter. And then the EARTH SHATTERING CLIMAX and REVEAL, that usually involves the truth about the death of one of the characters.

Some people read this stuff c...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Connie Cortesi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Connie by: Blythe Harris

Shelves: gifted-kindle, 2012-reads

Wow....go out and get this book. At about 60% I was enjoying it, but still not sure what all the hype was about...sure it was ok, but not the best of books...then the real mind games started.....hey!!!!! why are you still here reading this review!!!!!!????????????? Didn't I just tell you to go get the book???????????????? Vamanos!!!! go on and get it....you won't be disappointed!!! thanks Blythe for making me read it.....

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Sep 09, 2012 Liz rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: have-dl

It too long before this novel to starts to go anywhere and when it does, you are a little over caring. Seriously by page 40 they have just arrived on the Island...come on! I didnt care about Teddy on any level and the ending.....somewhat cliched. I found Lehane's writing to be a little clunky and not very smooth. He had a terrible habit of having free flowing speech without indicating which character was saying what. A skilled writer is able to pull this off as the reader always knows who is tal...more

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May 30, 2010 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I read this knowing very little about the story, which I often find is the best way to read a book, without anyone else's plot summary or opinion clouding your judgment. If you aren't familiar with it or just haven't read it yet, but you enjoy any combination of suspense, mystery, and thrillers, stop reading reviews and just READ THE BOOK. It is a fast paced story, easy to get lost in, and hard to put down. Such fun, and one of very few books that I've ever felt the urge to read all over again i...more

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Feb 15, 2008 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was my first book by Dennis Lehane. I'd been wanting to read him for a while and one of the reasons I read Shutter Island first was all the shining reviews about the big twist you'll never see coming.

I hate to be that person, that party pooper saying "I saw it coming from a mile away" but I was expecting a slap in the face and all I got was a wink. I'd been in on it.

I can't give a mystery novel five stars unless it blows me away and since I nearly had it figured out this one didn't do that...more

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Feb 07, 2008 Kriscrowe rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who likes a good mystery

Shelves: highly-recommended

Gloria recommended this book, so I'm going to give it a try. It's already quite intriguing--a mentally ill woman who had killed her children is missing from her room, which was locked from the outside and had only a small window with bars on it. The hospital for the criminally insane is located on a small island, so even escaping from the island would be tricky, Here's an update: if you like mysteries this is a good one. It is by the same author who wrote Mystic River, if that tells you anything...more

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conspiracy or insanity	16	100	Apr 11, 2013 05:24pm
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About Dennis Lehane

Dennis Lehane (born Aug 4th, 1966) is an American author. He has written several novels, including the New York Times bestseller Mystic River, which was later made into an Academy Award winning film, also called Mystic River, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon (Lehane can be briefly seen waving from a car in the parade scene at the end of the film). The...more

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Books by Dennis Lehane

A Drink Before the War (Kenzie & Gennaro, #1)

Darkness, Take My Hand (Kenzie & Gennaro, #2)

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Trivia About Shutter Island

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Quotes from Shutter Island

“He wanted to ask her what sound a heart made when it broke from pleasure, when just the sight of someone filled you the way food, blood, and air never could, when you felt as if you'd been born for only one moment and this, for whatever reason, was it.” — 52 people liked it

“This world can only give me reminders of what I don't have, can never have, didn't have for long enough.” — 32 people liked it

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Shutter Island

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