At first, I didn’t get into this novel. The story seemed a bit too out there for me to swallow, too reminiscent of an old-timey Vincent Prince horror movie. But then Lehane threw me a plot twist that I completely didn’t expect, and that changed everything. I don’t want to give it away, but Shutter Island ended up being one of the creepiest books I have read in a long time.

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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.

I admit: I’m kind of a snob. I try to avoid writers that are always seen with the “bestselling author” tag affixed to their name. I’ve been ignoring Dennis Lehane for a while now, ever since Mystic River became a runaway hit and an Oscar-winning film, but my curiosity was piqued when I read the back cover of Shutter Island. I picked up a nearly-new paperback edition from the public library’s booksale for $2; I figured it would be an okay use of money that would otherwise get me 1/2 of one latte. And I consumed it as quickly as possible.

I can’t say much about this book without ruining the mystery, but a brief synopsis: it’s 1950. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels arrives on Shutter Island, a psychiatric institution holding violent offenders, with his new partner, Chuck Aule. The two men are there to investigate the disappearance of one of the inmates, Rachel Solando. Of course, this is a mystery, and therefore many of the characters are hiding secrets.

At first, this seemed to me like a decent enough detective story with creepy psychological undertones, but at about page 322, I screamed out loud in terror and excitement. Luckily I was alone in the house, and I devoured the last pages of the book with goosebumps on my arms. I’m not a huge mystery buff, but if you like mysteries I can almost guarantee you will love this. Thanks to Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane is officially off my ignore list.

I liked this book better than Mystic River. I hope someone makes a movie of it. I couldn’t put it down. Great read!