Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane: Book Review

If you like psychological suspense novels that mess with your mind, you will love Shutter Island. Shutter Island is, by far, my favorite novel by Dennis Lahane. It's a true psychological suspense with an unexpected ending.

By setting this psychological suspense novel on a dark and lonely island, the author does a spectacular job creating a sense of being trapped in a mental prison. Shutter Island takes place on an almost isolated island inhabited only by mental patients, medical personnel and prison guards. Even the reader begins to feel a sense of mental breakdown since there is no normal civilization on the entire island, and the only people the characters can communicate with are the mental patients and their supervisors. Setting the institution on an eerie island hundreds of miles from the rest of society creates the terrifying mood of psychological suspense in Shutter Island. Being physically separated from the rest of the normal world is symbolic of being mentally separated from reality. Knowing that there is no possible way of physical escape gives the readers of Shutter Island a sense that they are locked in a mental prison as well.

The plot of Shutter Island revolves around an investigation into the seemingly impossible disappearance of a woman from a heavily guarded hospital for the criminally insane. The main character Teddy Daniels, accompanied by his partner, travel to the island to investigate the case. As Teddy gets deeper into his investigation, he begins to uncover strange secrets about the place even more astonishing than that of the disappearing inmate.

The characters in Shutter Island are very believable and the setting is perfect for this psychological suspense novel. The characters have very realistic personalities and roles. Shutter Island does not include characters with special powers and there is no fantasy or spirits from other worlds. However, because of the gripping psychological suspense, it seems like you are reading about a haunted mansion. Also, the fact that it takes place in a mental institution makes this psychological suspense novel even more frightening.

The twists and turns can play such havoc with your mind that you may feel as if you are going insane yourself -- a good trait in a psychological suspense novel. The secret codes and rumors of mysterious medical experiments keeps you in suspense throughout the entire novel. The best part of this psychological suspense is that the ending is unguessable. Shutter Island is a psychological suspense novel that will keep you thinking long after you've finished the last page. Shutter Island is a truly magnificent read! I would recommend Shutter Island to anyone who loves psychological suspense.