I’ve read quite a bit of Lehane’s work recently. Some I’ve liked more than others, but there hasn’t been a book I’ve hated. This one is no exception, although I did find myself expecting more of it than I got.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved this book. It’s five stars for me, no question. I think I just loved the movie so much that this book had impossible standards to live up to when I already knew the twist. Teaches me to watch the film before I read the book.
Despite that I enjoyed the journey even when I knew the destination. I felt the book delved a little deeper into the great friendship that develops between Teddy and Chuck. That was one of my favourite parts, along with the wonderfully winding journey Lehane leads you on to through this book. For anyone that hasn’t seen the movie though, it will be the twist that takes center stage. I remember being blown away by it.
Before I go any further, here’s the blurb:
The year is 1954. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new -partner, Chuck Aule, have come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient. Multiple-murderess Rachel Solando is loose somewhere on this barren island, despite having been kept in a locked cell under constant surveillance. As a killer hurricane bears relentlessly down on them, a strange case takes on even darker, more sinister shades–with hints of radical experimentation, horrifying surgeries, and lethal countermoves made in the cause of a covert shadow war. No one is going to escape Shutter Island unscathed, because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is remotely what it seems.
We’ve got an isolated island, creepy mental hospital setting, a big mystery that gets even bigger, secret codes, and a hurricane. Awesome, right? All of this takes place in the cold war which adds an extra layer of suspicion over everything. This book isn’t confusing to understand, but you need to wait around until the end to get it. Things get very confusing before they get clarified, but as always Lehane leaves clues, so if you’re watching closely you might see some things that point you toward where the book is going.
For more reviews on this book go to: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21686.Shutter_Island?from_search=true
samaustinwriter 
This is my favorite Dennis Lehane novel; I actually dreamed of its ending before I finished reading the book! Thanks for sharing.
I’d be hard pressed to decide on a favourite Dennis Lehane novel. For me I think it would come down to either this one or ‘Gone Baby Gone.’ Another one I watched the move for first, but that one I liked the book a little better. The movie was still good though. Glad to meet another Dennis Lehane fan. I love the twists and turns his books take, and the emotions are so visceral.