Shutter Island

The scene is set at the start of this book with a prologue, a journal entry from one of the main characters, Dr Sheehan. It’s as if I’m reading his mind, or he is talking to me, the reader, and so we hit the ground running instantly–because when someone is talking to you, you listen.

The author took the time to paint vivid images in my head, but the story wasn’t slow. He was scene-setting, and it drew me right in. The twists were clever, the dialogue was natural, and it is understandable why Hollywood snapped up the rights to… show more.

Islands in fiction are often remote and isolated, their inhabitants cut off from any outside help and having to rely upon only themselves for survival or escape. A U.S. Marshal goes to an island to investigate the disappearance of a murderous patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, in another terrifyingly clever book chock full of twists and turns. I’m drawn to stories that are gothic and hugely atmospheric and mysterious, and this book has all of that and more. Lehane described it as “a hybrid of the works of the Brontë sisters and Invasion of the Body Snatchers… show more.

A combination of mystery and atmospheric thriller. Under the threat of an approaching hurricane, two U.S. Marshals arrive on Shutter Island, a hospital for the criminally insane, hoping to solve a murder. To say, “Nothing is as it seems” is a gross understatement. If you haven’t seen the movie, I suggest reading the book first. Anyone can give you chills on film, but it takes a master to do it on the printed page.

Dennis Lehane is another author who inspired me to become a writer (specifically, a crime-fiction author), and this book is one of his best. Two U.S. marshals are sent to investigate the disappearance of a woman from a hospital for the criminally insane on the titular island. A storm is bearing down, complicating the investigation, and in the grand thriller tradition, nothing is as it seems…

Shutter Island is one of those complex, pulpy thrillers where all the twists are genuinely earned. It’s a master class in how to flip the audience’s expectations, even experienced thriller fans who think they… show more.

This was a huge influence for me in writing my book, as it was one of the first books with a major twist in it which means you immediately want to go back and reread the entire book! It’s one of those books where the twist is incredible and, on second reading, almost feels inevitable even though you had no clue about it the first time. Another tense psychological thriller that I’d definitely recommend.

The action opens in 1954 with Teddy Daniels, one of two US marshals heading for a criminally insane facility on the remote Shutter Island. Their assignment? To search for a female inmate who has escaped. But the hunters become the hunted when they appear to stumble onto secret mind-altering experiments being conducted on the inmates. When Teddy is caught trying to leave the island, the doctor in charge reveals what is really going on. It’s a mind-blowing twist that had me turning back the pages to see how Lehane had pulled it off.

Where do you site a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane, with a reputation for controversial research and experimental techniques? A far-flung island, of course. US marshal Teddy Daniels has barely landed on Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of Rachel Solando, a beautiful, enigmatic murderer, before he starts to question everything he is being told. Is someone trying to drive him insane? As a killer hurricane traps Teddy on the island, we start to share his fears. Who is lying to us? Quite possibly, everyone, Teddy included. I adore unreliable narrators and this is gothic psychological horror writing at… show more.

One of the most famous questions that confront certain works of fiction is: “knowing what happens (or: having seen the movie,) should I still read it?” The human mind works in funny ways: sometimes you’re in the middle of a book or movie, and you well-know the outcome, but for a brief moment, you’re convinced the events will unfold in another way. You know the ending, but you’re curious about the events that led to it, so you go in to retrace the steps—and then you forget and start to hope for a… show more.