Rating: 
Summary: An Absolute Roller Coaster!
Review: Contrary to at least one of the reviewers, this is not a predictable format (easy to say if you happen to guess correctly!). As much as I loved 'Mystic River', this is a totally different genre from his past works. Nothing (again contrary to some reviewers) will prepare you for the totally literary and "...most aesthetically right resolutions ever written...." [ Publisher's Weekly ]. Lahane truly plays some serious games with his reader, as he does his characters, and it's very difficult to walk away from the pages not knowing where this will lead. As others have said, it's not an easy synopsis to make without giving away things that you shouldn't know... the same things that our protagonist, Teddy Daniels, cannot be aware of as he works through a labyrinthine experience that, as a reader, you will not soon forget. Buy it - Enjoy it! You will not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: I saw the ending coming a mile away
Review: I'm shocked. "Mystic River" was such a good book that I was looking forward to my next Dennis Lehane novel.But "Shutter Island" telegraphs its punches to the nth degree, and I figured out what the conclusion had to be when I was a third of the way through the book. I'm not totally turned off of Lehane's novels, but I sure hope that "Shutter Island" is the only deviation in his repertoire.
Rating:
Summary: Eerie, disturbing, well-written treat
Review: Having read all of Lehane's previous novels I looked forward to Shutter Island with anticipation, and I was not disappointed. This is a very different sort of book than either the Patrick & Angie mysteries or Mystic River. It is just as well-written though, and just as difficult to put down. The story begins as a classic "locked-door" mystery--how did child-murderer Rachel Solando escape from her room in the hospital for the criminally insane on isolated Shutter Island? Marshals Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule arrive to try to answer that question just as a major hurricane is bearing down on the island. The hurricane provides a suitably threatening and violent backdrop for the action. Nothing is as it seems. No one can be trusted. Threats to both mind and body lurk around every corner. Events take on an eerie, hallucinatory quality that is as disturbing as it is irresistable. Yes, the ending is definitely a twist (or twisted?) but it isn't a cheat or a trick. Lehane earns every gasp of shock and shudder of horror. This is a book that will stay with you for a long time...at least until Lehane's next is released. ;o)
Rating:
Summary: not his best work
Review: I am a huge fan of Lehane's novels, having spent the past few months reading his entire body of work. But while his other novels push the edge of crime fiction to the boarders of literature, Stutter Island fell flat half way through the book. Perhaps having read his other novels, I am learning how he thinks, so the "surprise" ending was as obvious as an elephant walking down the street in a tux, drinking lemonade. Parts of the novel are hard to follow, but the worst sin of all is the lack of a single character I could honestly care about. If this is your first Lehane novel, do not give up hope, his other books are great and you will be well rewarded to read them all. Every author stumbles from time to time, and Lehane will return to form and deliver more great works in the future, he has all the talent needed to do so. But Stutter Island is one trip you might want to avoid.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best work
Review: I loved Dennis Lehane's other work. That said, this book left me feeling like I'd wasted my time. Stories that trick the reader all the way through don't do anything for me. Just my opinion. If you really want to read something powerful, try his "Gone, Baby, Gone". It's ending is honest and deeply affecting. By the end of Shutter Island, I was just irritated.
Rating:
Summary: Great Suspense and Incredible Twists
Review: This had to be one of the best suspense novels I have ever read. Maybe even the best book I have ever read. I agree with another reviewer, you need to find someone who has already read this book so you can talk about it after you are finished.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning!
Review: This is a book i will remember for a long,long time.Having read other novels by Lehane i thought i knew roughly what to expect but this was something totally different-the shock ending left me feeling as if i had been physically hit!Read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't get into it
Review: Ok, I loved Mystic River, but this book? I got about a third of the way thru then just gave up. And the first (about) 50 pages - I have NO idea what in the world was going on! Then after that, they kept repeating themselves over and over again. She was barefoot, the windows were barred, they were on an island -- I get it! I use to NEVER give up on a book without trudging through - but these days, I'm starting to do just that more and more. I wish there could be a money-back guarantee - - I'm wasting so much money!
Rating: 
Summary: Plausible Ending?
Review: Since more than a few decriptions have been given, I'll forego that. I think Dennis Lehane is tops in his genre and love reading him. "Shutter Island" was a little disappointing in that I have trouble believing a psychiatric facility would go to such intricate lengths to bring a patient out of their psychosis. But then, this is fiction. Other than that, the read is great. As always, Lehane does not disappoint with his characterizations. He's a wonderful writer and one I will always read.
Rating: 
Summary: Did I Blink?
Review: Caution, SPOILERS. Please, please, please someone write and explain the ending to me. I truly did not get it (and I'm not usually dumb)!! If we are to believe the ending, how is everything else explained? How did he and Chuck get there in the first place? Was that "made up" too? I thought it was very intriguing until the end. I felt duped.
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