Rating: 
Summary: Shutter Island
Review: Have read all of Lehane's stuff - this one was baddd !!!! Surprised his publisher went ahead with the project. Will think more than twice before buying his next one.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good Ending -- Pretty Good Book Overall!
Review: The last 50 pages or so of Shutter Island were very surpising and made the book, overall, worth reading for me and one which I would recommend to you. Up until this point, however, I kept wavering between feeling that I liked the book a lot and that it was just fair. This is because the book kept jumping between sub-plots and time periods. For me, at various times I found the story a little too convoluted. Perhaps it was because I, at times, didn't pay enough attention to some of the subtle clues that Lehane was providing. As such, my advice to you is that once you start this book be prepared to pay careful attention to all the little details or the ending may not be as clear as you'd like it to be. Shutter Island is not a book to read when you want to read only a few pages before falling asleep. To appreciate this rather complex book, it's one that requires your full attention. I've read all of Dennis Lehane's books and consider him to be one of my top 2-3 favorite authors. Shutter Island is worth reading and recommended, but it is not as rich in suspense and character development as Lehane's previous bestseller, Mystic River. That's a book that I would recommend to you without ANY reservations.
Rating:
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: I was drawn to this book by the raves for Mystic River. Now I'm wondering whether I should bother reading that one. Shutter Island reminds me why I don't read thrillers, even by so-called "literary" authors like Lehane. This book is filled with cardboard characters, spouting cliched dialogue in implausible situations. I grew tired of Lehane stringing bits of action together with sentences in which one "and" followed the next to give the reader the impression that something really was happening. The twist at the end left me saying little more than, "Huh?" Unfortunately, I don't care enough about the characters to go back through the book and figure out how it all came together. If you're looking for something to occupy you on a long plane ride, this book will fit the bill, but if you're a serious reader aware of some of the fine contemporary literature that's available today, I'll bet you'll be angry at yourself for getting suckered into wasting a few hours on this novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Review: What a disappointment this book turned out to be. By trying to be too clever by half with a new slant, Lehane has missed the boat badly with this dull offering. Plastic characters, an unexciting hero and a really depressing arena,this book in no way captures any of the magic of Angie and Patrick. Stay with them, Dennis - this one was a bumme. You have lost me until they return.
Rating:
Summary: This guy is some writer!
Review: Awsome work! Each page better than the next! I swear, Mr. Lehane must have discovered the secret of antigravity -- I literally could not put this book down! Or maybe I was just numb from reading it?Anyway, Lehane's mastery of stock characters is dazzling, especially the timeless CWDW (Cop With Dead Wife), vowing revenge on her grave and/or memory. Just when you thought this vein of cookie-cutter motivation and pop-psychology insight was mined out -- well, here's Lehane with another huge load of ore! The man is really something! Raymond Chandler, roll over in that grave!
Rating: 
Summary: A MIND-BOGGLING STORY!
Review: "SHUTTER ISLAND" IS A BOOK THAT GRABS YOU FROM THE VERY FIRST PAGE AND DOESN'T LET GO; A STORY THAT TAKES YOU ON A SUSPENSEFUL AND EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER RIDE; A WONDERFULLY WRITTEN PSYCHOLOGICAL MYSTERY WITH A SHOCKING CONCLUSION.
WHO IS TEDDY DANIELS? WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON AT ASHECLIFFE HOSPITAL, HOME FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE?
WHEN I READ "MYSTIC RIVER", I THOUGHT SUSPENSE NOVELS COULD NOT GET MUCH BETTER....AND THEN CAME, "SHUTTER ISLAND"! THANK YOU, DENNIS LEHANE, FOR TWO INCREDIBLE JOURNEYS.
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.
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