A Review of Stephen King's Shadow Filled Book Duma Key

Edgar Freemantle is a self made success. He has a thriving construction business, a wife and two daughters. When he is gravely injured in a construction accident, his life is irrevocably changed: he loses a limb, and suffers a brain injury that affects both his memory and speech. He struggles to speak correctly, which is both a source of embarrassment and frustration. He finds even simple phrases hard to convey. Depression and anger start to take over. His wife of many years wants a divorce; his daughters, young women living on their own, feel lost to him. The construction company that he built from the ground up is now being run for him, because he is not in the condition (emotionally or physically) to run it himself.

Edgar's therapist suggests two things that will change his life. First, he needs to put behind him the past, and leave the Twin Cities, where he has spent most of his life. Secondly, he suggests that Edgar do something just for pleasure. In his case, sketching.

Edgar moves to Duma Key, a remote island in the Florida Keys. He rents a house which he affectionately calls Big Pink. Amongst the sunshine, the beach, palm trees and seashells, King finds an unusual but evocative stage for this tale of horror.

Big Pink has it's own history. It has been home to tortured artists before, including Salvador Dali. Not long after his arrival, Edgar becomes immersed in his drawing, producing artwork far beyond anything he's been able to do before. Is this a result of the tragedy and emotional pain the he's endured, or is this a result of something more? Is this something that has been brought on by Big Pink itself?

More unnerving than the possibility that his new found talent may come from a source outside of him, is the fact that there appears to be a prophetic component to the paintings. Almost all of his drawings, down to the ones that are only a view of a horizon and the sail of a phantom ship, have a meaning in reality.

Meanwhile, Edgar decides to explore the island, and meets Wireman. A former lawyer, and now caretaker to elderly heiress Elizabeth Eastlake, the two men become friends. Despite his sunny disposition, Wireman has a tragic past that has lead him to Duma, and he has suffered a similar brain injury. Wireman firmly believes that the island has brought both him and Edgar there for a purpose.

Elizabeth Eastlake is the last living tie to the family that owns the island still in residence there. Soon enough, Edgar and Wireman are drawn into the secrets of her past, which are also those of the island. Ghosts, an ancient ship, and an evil force stretching back from the past all fit into the equation. The book builds slowly, leading to no holds barred horror at the end.

This book will efficiently produce shivers in the sunshine.