Monday morning…11:00am…Application submitted….$25.00 fee paid….now I wait to hear if I’m accepted…..by December 9th!

Fingers crossed!!!!!!

Ya hace algunos años que me había alejado en mis lecturas, de la novela negra, pero tuvo su momento, y los clásicos, Hammett, Chandler, M. Cain, Jim Thompson, Sciascia, Simenon, o Patricia Highsmith, me hicieron disfrutar con las historias que sus creativas mentes habían concebido.

He observado con escepticismo el giro que las editoriales han dado para alejar a los devoradores de bestsellers, de la literatura que se ha estado consumiendo estos últimos años (que marcó “El código Da Vinci”), conduciéndolos hacia la novela negra (con la trilogía de Stieg Larsson a la cabeza). Y seguía sin intención inmediata de volver a introducirme en el género (no me gusta que me dirijan en la elección de lo que leo), pero, visto el retraso con el que se iba a estrenar una película que ha despertado en mí gran interés, si que me planteé comprar un libro que pertenece a la novela negra. Me refiero a “Shutter Island”, de Dennis Lehane, que Martin Scorsese ha llevado al cine, y que se estrenará en Estados Unidos el 19 de febrero próximo.

Con “Shutter Island” me ha ocurrido exactamente lo mismo que con “The road”, llevada al cine por John Hillcoat, sobre la novela de Cormac McCarthy, y pendiente todavía de estreno. En ambos casos, tener que esperar su llegada a la pantalla, me ha “obligado” a leer antes la novela.

Pero en realidad, no es de “Shutter Island”, ni de “The road” de las que voy a hablar en este post, como ya habréis podido imaginar por su encabezamiento, pero como una cosa lleva a la otra…

Como llevar en mente comprar “Shutter Island”, me llevó a comprar antes “Mystic River”.

Y fue casual.

Aunque conocía la noticia de que una editorial había lanzado una nueva colección de libros de bolsillo dedicados a la novela policíaca para la venta en kioscos, no me había despertado ni el interés de conocer los títulos que la componían. Pero hace unas semanas, recargando la tarjeta del bus en uno de esos kioscos, reparé en la entrega que se había puesto a la venta aquellos días. Era “Mystic River”, la novela de Lehane en la que se basó Clint Eastwood en 2003, para realizar una de sus mejores películas.

El recuerdo de la magistral película de Eastwood, mi decisión de leer “Shutter Island”, y, todo hay que decirlo, su asequible precio (4,95€), me decidió a comprarla.

Estaba acabando por entonces “Nocturna”, la novela de Guillermo del Toro y Chuck Hogan (si esto fuera un foro literario, le dedicaría un capítulo aparte, y no muy favorable -pero podéis pinchar en el título y leer una reseña que coincide plenamente con lo que yo diría de ella), y a los pocos días, pasando por alto otros libros que esperaban su turno de ser leídos, comencé su lectura. Aunque, confieso, con ciertas reservas, porque en ningún momento pensé que la novela pudiera ser tan plena como la película. Y me equivoqué.

Sin quitarle ningún mérito a Eastwood, que supo aprovechar al máximo el magnífico material que contiene la novela, el libro sirve en bandeja para su adaptación al cine, una coherente e interesante historia, bien redactada, con unos personajes que derrochan autenticidad y un dominio de los diálogos que la convierte en notable.

Son precisamente los diálogos (y en la novela hay muchos), uno de valores que más he apreciado en esa pequeña joya que es “Mystic River”, y los que al igual que yo, seáis aficionados a la lectura, sabéis a lo que me refiero, pues cuantas veces, un libro que te ha contado una buena historia, te ha dejado un mal sabor de boca porque en la de los personajes han aparecido frases que piensas nadie hubiera dicho de esa forma en la vida real.

Cuando hablamos, sobre todo la gente corriente (que somos los más), no preparamos las frases para que suenen bien, ni introducimos palabras de adorno en ellas. Todo es espontáneo, y salen de nuestra mente comentarios, preguntas o contestaciones que no suelen tener una segunda oportunidad de ser rectificadas como cuando escribimos. Y ese es el fallo de muchos escritores. Por mejorar la forma, abandonan el realismo, lo natural de los diálogos. Y Lehane lo domina. Jimmy Markum, Dave Boyle, Sean Devine (los protagonistas), y todos los personajes que aparecen en la novela e interactúan con ellos, se expresan como lo haríamos cualquiera de nosotros en sus circunstancias.

“Mystic River”, la novela, no es tan sólo una buena historia del género negro o policiaco. Su profundidad en el tratamiento de sus personajes, de sus sentimientos y reacciones, la convierten en algo más.

Si habéis leído este post desde su principio, sabéis que este libro ha sido mi primer contacto con Dennis Lehane, pero… ahora estoy por la mitad de “Shutter Island”.

No voy a hablar de ella hasta que no vea la película de Scorsese, aunque sí quiero comentar una opinión compartida con una amiga tan aficionada y veterana en la lectura como yo. Es nuestra opinión, y discutible, pero nos hemos confirmado con el tiempo, en la idea de que en la producción literaria de un autor (hablamos de los buenos), siempre hay una novela que sobresale sobre las otras. Un libro “redondo”, al que prácticamente no puedes encontrar ningún defecto. En el resto de sus escritos, anteriores o posteriores, volverás a encontrar muchos de los valores de esa gran obra, pero nunca la igualan, y menos, la superan. Creo que “Mystic River” es la obra “redonda” de Lehane.

LA PELÍCULA DE CLINT EASTWOOD

No es mucho lo que puede añadir mi opinión personal a un film aclamado en su momento como uno de los mejores realizados por Eastwood, nominado a seis Oscar en la edición de 2003, y ganador de dos (Mejor Actor, Sean Penn y Mejor Actor de Reparto, Tim Robbins), pero quiero alabar su trabajo.

La película arranca, como en la novela, una tarde de verano, en la que Jimmy Markum, Dave Boyle y Sean Devine, tres niños de once años, juegan en las calles del barrio obrero East Buckingham, situado a las orillas del río Mystic. Una pelea por un desacuerdo entre ellos, ocasiona que un hombre que se identifica como policía, salga de un coche, y obligue a Dave a acompañarle, ante la mirada impotente de sus amigos. Dave aparece unos días más tarde. Ha conseguido escapar del hombre y de su compañero, pero todo el mundo sabe que ha sido víctima de abusos sexuales. La mala conciencia de Jimmy y Sean, que no hicieron nada para evitar que Dave subiera al coche, hace también que su amistad acabe diluyéndose. Veinticinco años más tarde, la vida de cada uno de ellos, ha seguido un rumbo diferente: Jimmy (Sean Penn), que se inició en la delincuencia y pasó un tiempo en la cárcel, se casó muy joven, tuvo una hija a los 17 años y está casado en segundas nupcias, porque su primera mujer murió tempranamente de cáncer, regenta ahora un pequeño supermercado en el mismo barrio que le vio nacer. Sean (Kevin Bacon), en cambio, es policía y abandonó el barrio al casarse, pero su mujer le ha dejado. Dave (Tim Robbins) no ha dejado el barrio, se ha casado y tiene un hijo, pero aunque aparentemente es un hombre normal, lo ocurrido en el pasado continúa atormentándole. Un día, la hija Jimmy de 19 años, desaparece, y su cuerpo sin vida es encontrado a las pocas horas en un parque. Esto motiva que las vidas de los tres vuelvan a cruzarse, pues Sean, junto a su compañero Whitey (Laurence Fishburne) es el encargado de investigar el asesinato, en el cual llega a relacionarse a Dave por una serie de circunstancias que lo convierten en sospechoso. Jimmy, por su parte, inicia una investigación paralela a la de la policía, porque quiere vengar la muerte de su hija…

Muy poco altera Eastwood, el desarrollo de la novela, y a los principales personajes en su película (Whitey, que es un hombre blanco en el libro, y su personaje está más elaborado, sería una de esas mínimas alteraciones), y pone con magistral acierto, escenario y rostros, para contar la trama, en la que los diálogos, tanto exteriores como interiores, al igual que en la novela de Lehane, son los protagonistas.

Y se ve su mano al dirigir a los tres actores principales, sacando lo mejor de cada uno de ellos. El comedimiento de Sean Penn (excelente actor, pero que si no es bien dirigido tiene tendencia a los tic y al histrionismo), aún en la escena más desgarradora de la película, sus expresiones, con las que nos cuenta su tortura interior… La aparente apatía del personaje de Tim Robbins, pero que con su mirada y movimientos, nos dice que algo está ocurriendo dentro de su cabeza… Y la corrección de Bacon, en la que yo diría, la mejor de sus interpretaciones…

Si los tres actores principales nos ofrecen magníficas actuaciones, no quedan atrás las de Marcia Gay Harden (que da vida a Celeste Boyle, la esposa de Dave), y Laura Linney (la esposa de Jimmy Markum), personajes secundarios, pero importantes en el desarrollo de la historia.

Magistral es también el tratamiento que ha dado Eastwood a la violencia contenida que subyace a lo largo de todo el film, y que en algunas secuencias llega a sobrecogernos. Arropado todo, por una adecuada banda sonora compuesta por él mismo.

Y mucho más podría extenderme comentando la película, pero no quiero repetir lo que otros ya dijeron cuando se estrenó.

Lo que sí quiero, es recomendar la novela a los que no la hayáis leído, pues sea o no, vuestro género favorito, sé que os satisfará su lectura. Igualmente recomiendo el film. He vuelto a verlo después de leer el libro, y me he confirmado en la idea de que es una gran película.

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Para ver la ficha de la película, pincha aquí

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Swanson 

Patrick Kenzie et Angela Gennaro se retrouvent kidnappés par le milliardaire Trevor Stone afin de résoudre une affaire. Déjà atteint d’un cancer et veuf depuis un accident de voiture, son unique fille a disparu et il en va de même pour le premier enquêteur engagé de la retrouver. Contraint, on retrouve notre duo au coeur d’une enquête qui semble bizarre en tout point.

J’avais laissé Patrick et Angela totalement meurtris de leur dernière enquête (voir note précédente). Là, ils s’offrent une pause dans leurs aventures. Et il en est de même pour leur psychopathe d’ami qu’est Bubba.

Si le livre est largement moins sombre que les deux premiers volumes, on retrouve tout de même les morts qui entourent l’intrigue,  les indices anodins qui se retrouvent tout de même importants ou encore les différents coups que se prennent nos héros.

Mais le ton général est celui de la détente. On se retrouve en Floride où entre deux investigation, Angie bronze et Patrick se met en short et profite d’un restaurant.  L’humour est tellement présent qu’on a l’impression de se retrouver dans une parodie de deux romans précédents. Le même humour présent au tout début de Darkness, take my hand avec certains  dialogues tellement décalés.

L’intrigue en elle-même n’est pas forcément passionnante avec une fin beaucoup trop facile mais on regarde évoluer le duo au fur et à mesure en découvrant des aspects plus légers de leurs personnalités.

Pas grand chose d’autre à dire sur ce roman tellement il est en décalage par rapport aux autres mais cela va changer avec Gone, Baby, Gone.

Nothing like vacation to catch up on some pleasure reading.  That and I’ve finished my books for Narrative&Interp and only have one left to read for London – oh, and there’s my Presidency biography.  So, when packing my bags to come home for Thanksgiving, I threw in a couple of the novels that have been looking pretty in the First Book Box (long story).

On the train home, it was a gray day and I was in the mood for something gripping, something twisty, and something I could burn off maybe even by the time I got home.  While that last bit didn’t happen (I’d been up til 3am painting a kitchen, so I was a little tired when I woke up at 9 to get to South Station for my 11am train), I still finished the book within the day – in short, it was exactly what I was looking for.  I’ve been interested in reading this book for a while now.  The (vaguely) Boston setting and the upcoming (though unfortunately delayed) Scorsese/DiCaprio film were big selling points – also, people’ve been saying I should read Dennis Lehane.  So, again, we’ve got a perfect storm combination here.

This is one of those books where I’ll try to avoid spoilers until the last paragraph – its just TOO good of a twist and since the movie is coming soon, I don’t want to spoil the plot for any non-readers.  It starts off “innocently” enough: two Federal Marshals called to an asylum for the criminally insane that’s located out in Boston Harbor.  I think, as a freshman, our Welcome Cruise probably went right past the islands where Ashecliffe was supposedly located.  Anyway, a hurricane is bearing down on the island and when it hits, everything (not surprisingly) goes to shit.  The main character, Teddy Daniels, is perfect for DiCaprio (I’m sorry to keep referencing the movie, but this part really suits him – I pictured him the whole time).  He was likeable and you were rooting for him – especially as shit started to swing against him.

The novel is very atmospheric.  The secrecy that shrouds the island and the plot seems to seep out of the book and surround the reader.  I like books like that.  I found myself having a devil of a time putting this book down, even as my eyes were drooping shut (always the sign of a great read) and the minute I’d wake up again, I’d jump back a page and dive in again.  The novel felt very 1950s and while the hints surrounding the “experiments” on the island have a bit of that early anti-Communist paranoia about them, none of this is very distracting.  To be honest, the novel reminded me most of some of those great Gothic novels of the late 19th/early 20th Century.  Stuff like The Haunting of Hill House or even We Have Always Lived in the Castle.  That sense of creepiness that raises the hackles on the back of your neck for the entire time you are reading it.

Alright, SPOILER ALERT

So the twist.  I didn’t see it coming, to be totally honest.  I mean, I’m pretty good at picking up on things (even if its only a few pages before the reveal).  The fact that Teddy was, in fact, Laeddis (or viceversa?  it was all a little – purposefully – confusing) and that he was a patient… WOW.  It was out of left freaking field.  That the doctors themselves would set up the entire charade in order to try and “cure” him – that, too, was stunning.  Again, that ’50s sensibility just is so alien to us today.  This was a masterful twist and the fact that, at the end of the novel, I had to go back to the prologue in order to figure out for sure who was telling the truth (Teddy or the doctors)… it was quite well done.  Bravo.

To Sum Up: an awesome Gothic mystery, full of interesting characters and mystery.  Read it, read it, read it – it’ll take you maybe a day (because you can’t put it down) and while you might be a little unnerved by the end… it’s well worth it.

Insane men deny that they are insane.

Bob denies he is insane.

Ergo — Bob is insane.

-Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island

Une nuit, la psychiatre Diandra Warren reçoit un appel anonyme et menaçant qu’elle croit lié à l’une de ses patientes. Quand arrive au courrier une photo de son fils Jason sans aucune mention d’expéditeur, elle prend peur et demande de l’aide à Patrick Kenzie et Angela Gennaro. C’est pour les deux détectives le début d’une affaire bouleversante qui va les confronter à l’inacceptable, jusqu’à l’imprévisible dénouement.

Si l’histoire débute par une toute simple enquête de surveillance, on va se retrouver dans un roman noir très sombre.  Le titre, aussi poétique qu’il soit, n’est pas usurpé tant on est plongé dans une ambiance glauque, noire et désenchantée.

Le tueur en série torture ses victimes et ne les laisse pas en un seul morceau. Et, se sachant pourchassé, il décide d’inverser les rôles et commence à s’intéresser aux proches du duo. Ce dernier explore plusieurs pistes qui les font revenir sur leur jeunesse et notamment sur certaines fréquentations qui ont mal tournés.

Cette pensée est l’un des thèmes importants du livre, comment des jeunes issus du même quartier qui se côtoyaient sans forcément être amis, peuvent se retrouver à prendre des chemins complètement différents.  L’une des explications est la même que lors du précédent roman : ce quartier qui condamne certaines personnes sans qu’elles s’en rendent compte. Et que se passe-t-il lorsqu’ils se retrouvent des années plus tard les uns en face des autres.

Le coupable principal de ce roman est l’un des plus fascinants que j’ai lu ou vu (dans la fiction cela va de soi). Car en si peu de temps on découvre sa psychologie : l’homme est fait pour souffrir alors il ne faut pas s’en priver pour le faire.

L’un des autres points positifs de ce livre, c’est que l’auteur ne ménage pas ses héros. Enfermés dans une spirale de violence et de meurtres sanglants, ils n’en sortent pas indemne. Ils se prennent des coups, même le personnage féminin. Ils sont confrontés de manière directe aux évènements avec une menace imminente sur leurs proches. Psychologiquement atteints, ils ne cherchent qu’à se reconstruire et c’est là que le lien qui les unit, cette amitié qui dure depuis toujours, ressort le plus. De même que l’ambiguïté qui émane de cette relation.

Le livre est superbement bien écrit. Tellement qu’une fois passé le début poussif, qui est obligatoire pour tout mettre en place, on ne peut se détacher facilement du roman. De même, l’intrigue avance comme elle peut mais forcément si la première piste aurait été la bonne, le livre n’aurait duré que 20 pages. C’est ce qui amène le seul défaut que j’ai trouvé au livre : ce qui permet de se mettre sur la bonne piste est le fait que le tueur a fait de graves erreurs que personne n’a vu avant. A la première lecture, j’avais trouvé que cela été trop facile mais une relecture du récit m’a indiqué que certains indices étaient présents.

Le livre remplit totalement son rôle d’excellent polard, celui où l’on est pressé de connaître la fin et une fois qu’on a tous les éléments en main, on commence à regretter de ne pas être resté dans l’ignorance.  Il est pour moi, le meilleur roman des enquêtes de Kenzie-Gennaro.

Etant un fervent défenseur de la V.O, il faut tout de même souligner que la collection Rivages/Noirs qui édite les livres en français (et qui me servent pour cette relecture) est vraiment excellent avec un format qui tient bien en main, pas trop gros ou grand et est vraiment agréable à manipuler, surtout dans les transports.

Citation:

Au début, j’ai tué quelqu’un presque par hasard, j’ai ressenti remords, répulsion, dégoût de moi. Et très vite, plus par curiosité qu’autre chose, j’ai tué de nouveau, et cette fois, j’ai éprouvé des sensations, disons, agréables, apaisantes, un peu comme celles procurées par une bière bien fraîche à un alcoolique après une période de sevrage, ou par la première nuit d’amour à des amants séparés depuis longtemps.

I finished reading this a few days ago.  It only took me 5 days which is a new record.

I’m not a follower of Dennis Lehane.  This is actually my first book of his. Previously I’ve only known of his work through the movie adaptations of Mystic River (great drama, but how I hated the ending) and Gone, Baby Gone (Ben Affleck did a superb job directing and his brother acting in it).  So as soon as the trailer for Marty S (fourth go-round with Leo DiCaprio) adaptation of Shutter Island hit, I made a point of reading the book beforehand.  I almost didn’t make it because the movie was supposed to come out this past September and I thought I would run out of time, but as infuriating as it was when it was pushed to February, I was glad I had now the chance to get to it.

Though I’m not going to spoil any plot details here, I have to say that I figure out the story’s secret pretty quickly, in fact, Mr. Lehane sort of gives it away himself on the first 4 pages of the book, which I thought was a sort of unconscious sabotage to his own story.  It isn’t implicit, but if you’re a reader worth your salt, you’ll catch it.  Even the back summary hints at it. Seriously.

If you’ve seen the trailer of the movie or know some of the details then you know it concerns two marshals arriving at Shutter Island: a mental institution for the criminally insane, to investigate the missing of one of the patients/inmates.  How this patient managed to escape when technically it all points to it being impossible is the central mystery of the story.  Of course that’s really only half the story.  There’s a hurricane approaching, there are rumors of scientific experiments being done and tested on the patients that violate several laws, and there’s also the ulterior motives that have brought our main character Teddy Daniels to the island.

Except for the fact that he hints at the secret way too early, Mr. Lehane does a very good job of keeping the story moving at a very fast pace yet it flows very smoothly, and he keeps building anticipation and intrigue by two notches every handful of pages until it all comes to a head, though by then the secret is quite obvious and you’re just eager to see how it all ends.

Through out the novel, I couldn’t stop hearing or visualizing in my head Leo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo as the marshals, thanks to the trailer of the movie.  Am I more or less excited to see the film now that I’ve read the book? Definitely more. By the trailer I can tell that some stuff have been altered from the book but it all seems pretty faithful for the most part.

In closing, the novel is fun; it is definitely a good read though nothing life-changing or unforgettable. Just a very good, entertaining thriller.  I would definitely recommend to read the book before the movie for I think it would make the movie work much better.  Grade: B+

It has been a very long time since I’ve finished a book with a twist as shocking as the one Dennis Lehane throws at his readers in Shutter Island.  I’d like to say that I picked up clues on the twist here and there in the novel, but I assure you that there is no time to do so.  You will be so wrapped up in this psychological thriller and so sympathetic to the main character, Teddy Daniels, that any possible clues will go right over your head.  I’m not even positive that a twist is the correct word for this.  Truthfully, I think readers begin to fool themselves right along with Teddy and the shock back to reality is so suprising that you will want to call it a twist so you don’t feel too lead astray by your own mind. 

Shutter Island is set in the mid 1950’s where we find two U.S. Marshals, Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, who have taken an assignment at Ashcliffe Hospital located on a small island off the coast of Massachusetts.  Now I don’t know about you, but any time there is a hospital located on an island it’s pretty easy to guess that it’s not a hospital for happy children and their pet unicorns.  In this case it’s a hospital for the criminally insane and Teddy and Chuck have been given the lucky assignment to investigate the disappearance of one of the patients.  The plot moves along very quickly and soon enough readers are wondering, along with Chuck and Teddy, how exactly a criminally insane patient disappears from their locked cell past a myriad of guards and obstacles.  When we start to get hints of the hospital’s administration using the patients for radical experimental surgery, readers will know that there is an inside job to uncover.  And that uncovering is not going to go smoothly. 

Lehane wrote this book back in 2003 but the past few years have created additional publicity due to Martin Scorsese showing interest in making a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio.  After a few setbacks, the movie is currently slated to debut in February of 2010.  Here is the latest trailer for your viewing pleasure:

Gisteren deden we iets literairs, vandaag doen we dat opnieuw. We houden wel van een goeie mix tussen spannende én kwalitatief goede literatuur dus proberen we om de volgende Scandinavische sensatie in een mum van tijd uit te lezen. Dé literaire thrillersensatie van 2009 was ongetwijfeld de Millenniumtrilogie van Stieg Larsson, die ik las en degelijk bevond. Zelfs het verfilmde deel 1 lokte me richting bioscoop, maar om nu te zeggen dat de gehele reeks een absolute ‘must’ is voor iedereen … nee!

Eigenlijk verwacht ik erg veel van het eerste deel van wat wellicht de allernieuwste sensatie in thrillerland zal worden: ‘De Stockholmtrilogie’ van Jens Lapidus. Lapidus is op dit moment de best verkopende levende auteur als we bepaalde literaire bronnen mogen geloven. Van zijn eerste twee romans uit deze trilogie zijn wereldwijd totnogtoe meer dan één miljoen exemplaren verkocht. En dan te denken dat deel 2, ‘Bloedlink’ (mei 2010) en deel 3, ‘Val dood’ (voorjaar 2011) nog in vertaling moeten verschijnen. Januari 2010 zal de eerste verfilming trouwens al in de Zweedse bioscopen draaien. Maar waarover gaat ‘Snel geld’ nu eigenlijk?

In Stockholm, waar de decadente bovenwereld en de rauwe onderwereld van Zweden nauw met elkaar verbonden zijn, verdwijnt een jonge vrouw spoorloos en kruisen de wegen van drie jonge mannen elkaar. Mrado is een Joegoslavische huurling die de voogdij over zijn dochtertje probeert te krijgen. Jorge is een drugsdealende latino die uit de gevangenis ontsnapt. De ambitieuze student JW ten slotte zoekt koortsachtig manieren om zijn dure levensstijl te kunnen blijven betalen. Alledrie zwichten ze voor de destructieve lokroep van de cocaïnehandel. Net als de verdwenen jonge vrouw dromen ze van een beter leven, maar dan hebben ze wel geld nodig. Veel geld. Snel.

De vergelijking met Stieg Larsson komt niet zo maar aanwaaien. Beide auteurs pakken uit met een trilogie die zich afspeelt in de Zweedse onderwereld. Maar dat zou dan ook de enige link zijn tussen hen. Lapidus (1974) haalt zijn inspiratie eigenlijk uit het dagelijks leven, waarin hij een befaamd strafrechtpleiter is, die nogal wat beruchte Zweedse misdadigers verdedigde. Het criminele wereldje is als het ware zijn tweede biotoop. ‘Snel geld’ bevat 429 pagina’s, is uitgegeven bij A.W. Bruna en kost ca. 19,95 euro. Of het een heuse pageturner is weet ik jullie binnen enkele dagen te vertellen! Voor wie nog op zoek is naar literaire referenties: men noemt Lapidus wel eens ‘De Zweedse James Ellroy‘ en zijn stijl zou ook die van Dennis Lehane benaderen.

Patrick Kenzie et Angela Gennaro sont deux détectives privés de Boston. Le sénateur Mulken les engage pour retrouver une femme de ménage noire, Jenna Angeline, qui a disparu au même moment que certains documents confidentiels…

Premier roman de Dennis Lehane et première apparition du duo Patrick-Angie. Pas vraiment des héros, juste des personnes simples qui se trouvent être confrontés à des évènements qui les dépassent par moment.

L’enquête se voit du point de vue de Patrick Kenzie. Il est l’archétype du héros de roman noir habituel avec son côté mélancolique, torturé, grande gueule à la blague facile mais qui reste violent (un peu à l’image d’un John McLane dans Die Hard). De plus, Patrick doit faire face aux démons de son passé, symbolisés par le fantôme d’un père qu’il haïssait.

Il ne faut pas oublier Angela Gennaro. Considérée comme belle, elle est l’atout charme du duo. Cela l’aide à obtenir certaines informations sans utiliser la violence. Mais elle est confrontée à la dureté de son quotidien marquée par la brutalité d’un mari, Phil, mais dont elle ne peut se défaire.

Les deux héros sont amis depuis l’enfance, on y trouve donc la complicité que cela entraîne avec des dialogues souvent savoureux. Mais cette sincère amitié cache également une relation totalement ambigüe que les deux personnages cachent avec un certain humour.

D’ailleurs, cet humour est important  pour pouvoir plonger dans l’univers assez noir du livre. Les héros l’utilisent sans doute pour fuir la peur qui les parcourt à plusieurs reprises.

Car d’une simple enquête qui semblait anodine, on se retrouve dans une vision noire de la société américaine.

Sur un fond de course au pouvoir, les politiciens sont corrompus et véreux tout en entretenant un certain racisme qui est dans les mœurs de certains quartier de la ville. Ces zones où les pauvres blancs côtoient les démunis noirs. D’ailleurs cela se retrouve dans toute la société avec l’exemple d’un journaliste. Lorsqu’il publie des articles contre les politiciens, il est considéré comme un exemple de personne n’ayant pas peur de dire la vérité mais se retrouve à être un fouineur lorsque le lectorat s’aperçoit que l’auteur est de couleur noire.

Les deux personnages se retrouvent confrontés plusieurs fois à ce problème, et se posent (principalement dans le cas de Kenzie) des questions sur leur propre racisme ainsi que leur vision de la société qui les entoure.

La ville est une personne à part entière qui façonne ses habitants dans la bonne ou mauvaise direction mais aucun protagoniste n’y échappe.

Les deux principaux “méchants” y sont décrit comme monstrueux mais possèdent tout de même une face humaine.

Il en est de même pour Bubba Rogowsky, ami du duo de détectives mais qui se révèle être un total psychopathe.

De ce fait, le roman s’intéresse plus à la psychologie des personnages qu’à l’intrigue en elle-même, ce qui est sans doute le principal défaut du livre.

Niveau écriture, Dennis Lehane écrit bien. Très bien même. Les descriptions sont excellentes, notamment une scène de fusillade dans une gare à couper le souffle, tellement bien décrite, totalement chorégraphiée qu’on est en totale immersion.

Pour un premier roman, Dennis Lehane s’en tire très bien (pas du tout objectif étant donné que je suis un fan). Malgré le défaut de plus se focaliser sur des personnages torturés, plus que sur l’intrigue, le livre tient en haleine du début jusqu’à la fin sans réel moment de creux.

Bref, une excellente introduction à un duo de détectives que l’on prendra plaisir à retrouver dans Ténèbres prenez-moi la main (Darkness, take my hand)

A noter que ce roman aborde plusieurs points qui se retrouveront dans Mystic River.

In that note, below are some movies to watch.

The Road (2009)

Director: John Hillcoat
Writers: Cormac McCarthy (novel) Joe Penhall (adaptation)
Release Date: 25 November 2009 (USA)
Genre: Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Plot: A post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible.

Cast
Charlize Theron -Wife
Viggo Mortensen -The Man
Guy Pearce -The Veteran
Robert Duvall -Old Man

The Lovely Bones (2009)

Director: Peter Jackson
Writers (WGA): Fran Walsh (screenplay) &  Philippa Boyens (screenplay)
Release Date: 15 January 2010 (USA)
Genre: Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller more
Plot: Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

Cast
Mark Wahlberg -Jack Salmon
Rachel Weisz -Abigail Salmon
Susan Sarandon -Grandma Lynn
Stanley Tucci -George Harvey
Saoirse Ronan -Susie Salmon
Michael Imperioli -Len Fenerman

Tell-Tale (2009)

Director: Michael Cuesta
Writers (WGA): Dave Callaham (screenplay) Edgar Allan Poe (short story “The Tell-Tale Heart”)
Genre: Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Plot: A man’s newly transplanted heart leads him on a dangerous journey to find out who murdered its donor.

Cast
Josh Lucas -Terry
Lena Headey -Elizabeth
Brian Cox -Van Doren

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

Directors: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
Writers (WGA): John Requa (written by) & Glenn Ficarra (written by)
Release Date: 12 February 2010 (USA)
Genre: Comedy | Drama
Plot: Steven Russell is happily married to Debbie, and a member of the local police force when a car accident provokes a dramatic reassessment of his life…

Cast
Jim Carrey -Steven Russell
Ewan McGregor -Phillip Morris
Leslie Mann -Debbie

Shutter Island (2010)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers (WGA): Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay) Dennis Lehane (novel)
Release Date: 19 February 2010 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller
Plot: Drama is set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.

Cast
Leonardo DiCaprio -Teddy Daniels
Mark Ruffalo -Chuck Aule
Ben Kingsley -Dr. John Cawley
Emily Mortimer -Rachel Solando
Michelle Williams -Dolores Chanal
Max von Sydow -Dr. Jeremiah Naehring
Jackie Earle Haley -George Noyce

Daybreakers (2010)

Directors: Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig
Writers: Michael Spierig (writer) Peter Spierig (writer)
Release Date: 8 January 2010 (USA)
Genre: Action | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller more
Plot: In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.

Cast
Willem Dafoe -Elvis
Isabel Lucas -Alison Bromley
Ethan Hawke -Edward
Sam Neill -Charles Bromley

Source: http://www.imdb.com/

Mo 11/9: Carla Gugino, Dennis Lehane
Tu 11/10: Adam Arkin, fashion director Nina Garcia
We 11/11: Kenneth Branagh
Th 11/12: Trace Adkins, Paula Marshall, Nick Griffin
Fr 11/13: Harry Connick Jr., Peter Sagal

Shutter Island is a mystery/thriller 2003 novel by Dennis Lehane. It starts off in 1949 with US Marshalls Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule heading to Ashecliffe, a mental hospital, to investiagate the disappearance of Rachel Solando, a patient. Everything is  not as it seems at Ashecliffe starting with the staff who doesn’t seem too be interesting in finding Rachel or discovering why Rachel aludes to a 67 patient when there is only 66 patients.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spoiler Alert

The US Marshall Teddy and Chuck head to Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of murderess Rachel Solando who left behind a piece of paper indicating there is a 67 patient in the island.The search for Rachel quickly turns into a search for Patient 67 whom everyone claims is a figment of Rachel’s mind. In the search, Teddy reveals he came to island to find Andrew Laeddis the man who set the fire that kill hiw wife. Laeddis could be patient 67 or Teddy could be the patient since Dr.Crowley, the head doctor, has begun to screw around with Teddy’s mind. In the aftermath, Teddy begins to suspect Chuck isn’t who he is but once Chuck disappears, Teddy is resolve in finding him. Unfortunately, everyone claims Teddy came alone to the island so Teddy know they are trying to keep him int he island. Teddy tries to escape the island but ends up meeting with Dr.Crowley who simply states he has been at Ashecliffe for two years and he is Patient 67. Teddy doesn’t belive it and aks for Chuck who turns out to be a doctor at the hospital. Everything is reveal; Teddy is Andrew Laeddis and Rachel Solando is Dolores, his dead wife, who murdered their three children. Teddy killed his wife because he couldn’t believe she killed the childrewn and then lost his own mind in the process.  Andrew created Teddy to deal with the situation and was sent to Ashecliffe. The entire point of the last four days was to get Andrew to remember he was Andrew, not Teddy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Take:

I bought Shutter Island because I like Leonardo DiCaprio and the movie was directed by Martin Scorsese. Plus, I love Msytic River. This book is insane as the patients there. Honestly, I was not expeting Teddy to be Andrew Laeddis and that his wife was the one who murdered their children. Halfway through the book, I suspect Chuck was playing along with Dr.Crowley and they both wanted to keep him on the island. Once Chuck disappears, you know the people want to keep Teddy there. When Dr.Crowley begins to reveal Teddy’s past and the part he play in the past four days, I thought foul play and they really are playing with his mind.  Chuck turns out to be  a doctor in the hospital who played along with Teddy’s delusions and you can feel the hurt in Teddy when he states that he was risking his life to find him. That’s painful and a complete betrayal. When Teddy remembers the truth and knows what Dr.Crowley said is true, its shocking and turns everythings around. I love this book.

I’ve finished the rough draft of my third book recently, giving me 3 rough manuscripts total. Though there’s still a lot of work to be done, I feel I’ve accomlished something huge. With all of that, I still managed to squeeze in some reading.

I’ve felt some need for inspiration to finish my last MS, so I’ve gone back and reread First Person Plural, and for fiction I read Shutter Island by Lehane.

I’ve been a Dennis Lehane fan for quite some time. I was hooked after Mystic River and have read everything but Shutter Island. And now I’m wondering why. It’s such a good book with raw emotion, and though Mysic River remains my fave, Shutter Island is right up there.

This movie looks excellent.  I am not usually a fan of Hollywood films but I will see this one.  Mark Ruffalo is a new favorite of mine (well, new since 2003,) and Leonardo Dicaprio is a fine actor.  The pair play U.S. Marshalls investigating the disappearance of a patient from a remote island hospital for the criminally insane.  Also starring the legendary Sir Ben Kingsley, Max Von Sydow, Patricia Clarkson and Michelle Williams.  Based on a novel by Dennis Lehane (Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River,) and directed by Martin Scorsese.  Due in theaters February, 2010.

I can’t believe it’s been over a month since I’ve posted.  I actually started this blog when I was going through a bit of an I don’t feel like reading phase and I think I may have overwhelmed myself with all the excitement of literary blogs/challenges/etc.  I didn’t really plan to not post AT ALL during October but it just kind of happened and I allowed myself to get swept up into work and forget about the things I enjoy doing.  About a week ago I got fed up with myself and forced myself to open up a new book.  And what do you know…I got totally lost in the book and remembered how important it was to make time for myself and to enjoy reading again.  Since that day a week ago I have finished two books and am almost finished with a third and it feels so good!

The two books I have finished are Murder, She Wrote: Panning for Murder and Shutter Island.  I credit the Murder, She Wrote book for getting me back in the swing of things as it was a light, easy, no-pressure book.  However, Shutter Island was SO good and it’s really the thing that motivated me to keep up with my books-to-read pile.  It had the craziest twist that made my jaw drop.  I finished the book and still wasn’t sure I believed it!  I’ll be doing reviews on both very soon.

Right now I am knee-deep in Things Worth Remembering which I won in a book giveaway sponsored by Callapidder Days and I will probably finish it tonight.  I must admit that when I first read the description I thought it was going to be too…flowery for me.  It’s a mother-daughter type story and I was afraid it was going to end up being full-on sappy.  But I gave it a try last night and could NOT put it down.  I’ve been thinking about it all day and can’t wait to snuggle into bed tonight to finish it.  I’m also already planning on passing it along to my mom who I think will also enjoy it.

So that’s a quick update from me.  I’m sorry I disappeared for a bit but I think my disappearance was just what the doctor ordered to get me back into reading.  Hope everyone in the blog world is doing well!

No excuses but I’ve had the busiest two weeks and of course what suffers? My writing!  Fortunately the waterfront condo (short-sale) my buyers have been waiting  to purchase will close TOMORROW @ 1:00pm. Great for them and great for me. I have a few more $$$ and some of it discretionary…

A friend, Laurie, from my book club gave me a brochure a last week outlining a Writer’s  Conference “Writers in Paradise” held in January, 2010.  And, it will be held Eckerd Collage which is located within about 2 miles of my home. www.writersinparadise.com She thought I should apply and I wholeheartedly agree! Writing faculty includes Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shutter Island, The Given Day) Michael Koryta (Envy the Night) winner of the 2008 Los Angles Times Book Prize and the keynote speaker is Anita Shreve  – The Pilot’s Wife, and most recently A Change in Attitude.

I am so excited about applying for this workshop. I need to submit 25 pages, a two-page synopsis. Easy. I know my story and I know I’ll be able to tell it. The conference will be a motivator and the knowledge and insight I would glean from these talented writers would be amazing.

 Wish me luck!

NiceWork readers will be relieved to know my return flight from New York City to Los Angeles was an improvement over my outbound flight. To begin with, the departure time allowed your reporter to sleep until 6 AM  instead of having to struggle awake at 4 like last time. And then, too, New York’s JFK airport offered much nicer amenities than LAX. Even better: My seat assignment, some rows further to the front than on the previous flight, allowed precious inches more leg room. Better still: The seat next to mine was empty. But best of all…

…I had ROBIN MEADE to accompany me. Along with a take-your-mind-off-the-Hell-of-flying book I bought at JFK –  Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane — I was given, absolutely free, a bookmark die-cut in the shape of ROBIN MEADE. I took up my newly purchased thriller and there was Robin’s head, her dark flowing mane, her twinkling eyes, poking out of the top of the book, radiating confidence.

That confident radiation kept me warm for the entire ensuing 6 hour flight and did much to dispel the New York pallor already beginning to deaden my shiny LA mug.

The novel, Shutter Island, tells the story of a moody U.S. Marshall, name of “Teddy,” who ventures into a maximum security prison/hospital scary place on a bleak island named “Shutter” way way out in Boston Harbor. A dangerous madwoman has vanished, and so Teddy and his sidekick, “Chuck,” ferry in to investigate. Nothing is as it seems, though. The doctors on the island — MAD doctors! — are conducting screwy Mengele-style human experimentation — brain surgery, psychotropic drugs, ice-pick lobotomy, trepanning; you name it — like it’s 1999.

Even moody Teddy is not what he seems, folks. He is screwy. He has a secret screwy mission. A mission of screwy vengence. Not long ago a pyromaniac… But do you care? If you do, then read the screwy book yourself. I shan’t spoil the surprises.

Partly because I don’t know what the surprises are. Shutter Island is a book meant to be read in one sitting, but airline oxygen deprivation caused me to pass out from time to time, and so a good chunk of the book remained unread even as ROBIN MEADE and I deplaned and kissed the ground of LA.

Morning Sunshine!
How to Radiate Confidence and Feel It Too
by Robin Meade
(Center Street, Hardcover, 256pp.)
Publication Date: September 2009

Shutter Island
by Dennis Lehane
(Harper, Mass Market Paperback, 325pp.)
Publication Date: September 2009

I didn’t read Lehane’s Mystic River prior to seeing the film adaptation. The movie was good, but it never really charmed me the way it did others (Academy included). That said, when Leonardo DiCaprio is in a Scorsese movie, I will gladly make the effort to do some prefatory work/research. Besides, I heard some good things about Shutter Island and Dennis Lehane, so why not?

Why not is right. This was such a fun read. In fact, it was so fun that I couldn’t stop telling everyone around me how much fun it was with every passing chapter. “Oh jeeze, then the doctor was telling Teddy that he can’t leave the Island!” It was probably really annoying, and my apologies go out to the folks that had to suffer through my giddy, nerdy moments of lameness. The thing is though, I have no regrets! I want to encourage all of you to read it before seeing the movie. Why? Well, if the movie is bad (it could happen) then you will probably never be inspired to pick up the book.

Concerning the upcoming movie, the casting is seemingly perfect. Teddy Daniels was written for someone like Leo. And, my undying love for him aside, Mark Ruffalo will surely be a loveable Chuck Aule. I’m extremely excited to see how this plays out on film. If you’ve seen the trailer – and I’m sure most of you have by now – you may be discouraged because you feel as though you already know the ending. To that I say, “PFFFF!” There is much more going on here than some mere search for a missing patient—much more.

Ils ont déjà été annoncés sur de nombreux blogs mais je m’en fais le relais quand même car il faut diffuser les bonnes nouvelles. Cette année, les prix 813 ont été décernés à:

Pour le roman français: Tranchecaille de Patrick Pécherot.

Pour le roman étranger: Un pays à l’aube de Dennis Lehane.

Le prix Maurice Renault (pour l’essai) est allé à Une brève histoire du roman noir de Jean-Bernard Pouy. Vous pouvez d’ailleurs voir son discours de remerciements sur le blog de Tata rapporteuse.

Et le prix de la meilleure traductrice à Isabelle Maillet (pour Un pays à l’aube).

Verano de 1954. El agente federal Teddy Daniels llega a Shutter Island, isla en la que está ubicado el hospital Ashecliffe, un centro penitenciario para enfermos mentales. Junto con su compañero, Chuck Aule, se propone encontrar a una paciente desaparecida, una asesina llamada Rachel Solando, a medida que un huracán azota la isla. No obstante, nada es lo que parece en el hospital Ashecliffe. Y Teddy Daniels tampoco.¿Haido hasta allí para encontrar a una paciente desaparecida? ¿O le han enviado para investigar los rumores acerca de los radicales métodos psiquiátricos que se utilizan en esa institución? Unos métodos que posiblemente incluyan la experimentación con drogas, pruebas quirúrgicas terribles, contraataques mortales en la guerra encubierta en contra de los lavados de cerebro soviéticos…

Ficha Técnica

Director.: Martin Scorsese
Productor.:  Martin Scorsese, Bradley J. Fischer, Mike Medavoy y Arnie Messer
Basada en una novela de: Dennis Lehane
Guión: Laeta Kalogridis
Reparto.: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, Jackie Earle Haley, Emily Mortimer y Max von Sydow
Estreno.: 2010

Imágenes 

Image via Wikipedia

Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)

5 stars!

Lehane is a writer who can conjure up powerful, evocative, unusual images in a very succinct way. This gift makes his characters, settings and story ring very true, and that – plus an underlying theme of hopelessness and the bitter taste of life – imbue this novel with power.

The story begins when three boyhood friends – Sean, Jimmy and Dave – are fighting in the street. They are interrupted by a car driving up, and a man who pretends to be a police officer persuades Dave to get into the car. The boy who comes back four days later is no longer Dave but a damaged soul. Fast-forward 25 years, when Jimmy’s daughter is brutally murdered. Sean is the police officer investigating the case, and Dave, for reasons connected to that fateful day when he got in that car, is the prime suspect.

Everything is connected, this book says. The future events of your life completely depend on whether you did or did not get into a car when you were eleven years old. That’s why this story seems so bleak – none of these characters can escape their fates, and eventually Jimmy and Dave stop trying. Only Sean holds out some hope by trying to overcome the cynicism that his job has engendered in him and reunite with his family.

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The Given Day

The Given Day is a treat; not only does Lehane tell a great and thorough story, but  tempers the hard-edged personalities of both his characters and his settings with a smooth, soft touch. Through the central characters of Danny Coughlin and Luther Laurence, the reader is taken aboard a fast moving train into the pulsing heart of Boston circa 1919.  If you ever thought history was boring, it’s time to think again.

Danny Coughlin was was born into Boston Police Department (BPD) royalty.  Irish, tough, and committed to the brotherhood, Danny joins the ranks as his father and godfather did before him. Though his relations maintain top positions within the BPD, Danny is given no preferential treatment and opts to live within the confines of his Italian beat in the South End of Boston.  It is in this neighborhood that we are introduced to the world of the immigrant. Poor, hungry, and full of discord, Danny listens to the daily soapbox rants of the dissidents and their increasing cries of inequity as he walks the streets that have become his home.

Luther Laurence, a smart, young black man, arrives in Boston on the lamb from the thriving city of Tulsa. Tossed around by fate and tethered to the social constraints of the time, Luther finds himself living in the home of a prominent black family where he is welcomed with open arms.  Luther’s benefactors provide him with a job at the home of Danny’s father, and it is in this capacity that our characters become intertwined.

When Luther is hired on as a houseman for the Coughlin family, an unlikely friendship forms when he and Danny cross paths. At a time when blacks and whites did not intermingle, and was dangerous to do so, Danny and Luther manage to forge an unbreakable bond. It is through this bond that we are exposed to the tyrannical workings of the race and class systems of the early 1900’s.

As the cries of the immigrant radicals escalate, so do those of the BPD. With ghastly wages, hours, and living conditions, the heat in the BPD is rising, calling for a unionized movement.  Forced to handle the radical terrorists (Bosheviki, Reds), provide safety through the Spanish Influenza pandemic (horrific), and deal with the internal corruption of the political workings of the department (enter Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge), the BPD becomes a pressure cooker on the verge of explosion.  The amped up volume and actions of both the radicals and the BPD injects adrenaline into the vein of Boston, setting the city into a perpetual state of anxious and volatile agitation, ultimately placing the reader atop a cresting wave.

Lehane’s sensitive prose permeates what is an otherwise gritty, bloody-knuckled epic tale. Rebel Federico wistfully utters, “Music speaks for the soul because words are too small,” or Danny reflects on his father as “a giant in the BPD, yes, but he wore it lightly…displays of vanity, after all, were the province of minor gods.” Waxing poetic of the rough hewn passion of the Irish,  Danny speaks to his little brother Joe of his friendship with Luther-

You can have two families in this life, Joe, the one you’re born to and the one you build.  Your first family is your blood family and you always be true to that.  That means something.  But there’s another family and that’s the kind you go out and find.  Maybe even by accident sometimes.  And they’re as much blood as your first family.  Maybe more so, because they don’t have to love you. They choose to.

Such rich nuggets appear throughout the book and cumulatively lend credence to Lehane’s craft as a writer and a storyteller. Lehane doesn’t disappoint.  By the end of The Given Day, the reader finds they have unexpectedly amassed a wealth of historical information and garnered a fresh sympathy for the immigrant experience as well.  As the reader stands in Luther Laurence’s shoes, you are  forced to take a hard look at the black experience and comes out  richer for the read.

*Note:  Both of Lehane’s parents emigrated from Ireland.  He was raised in the Boston area and obviously knows it like the back of his hand. As we are swept through the story we absorb every morsel of the scenery causing it to play out like a movie in our minds.  Is it any wonder that the film industry snatched rights to The Given Day? (Columbia Pictures) Here it will join Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, and Shutter Island (Lehane also wrote for The Wire).

-Post by Megan Shaffer

Shutter Island

This is one of the books I’ve taken out from the library for a few reasons. One: I want to see the movie. Two: It’s creepy. Three: Anything to do with asylums is creepy. Four: It’s spooky season and nothing better than reading spooky books. Shutter Island fits in on all four categories.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane is about Teddy Daniels, who with his partner Chuck Aule, go to this island which houses the criminally insane. They’re there on a case to investigate the disappearence of a patient named Rachel Solando, who seems to have vanished into thin air in what seems to be a very impossible escape from the asylum. Throughout the story, you go through Teddy’s journey to find Rachel Solando and you find out Teddy’s hidden agenda as to the real reason why he wanted to take this case. What Teddy doesn’t know is the asylum has lots of surprises in store for him and they have no intention of letting him leave the island.

There’s always something about asylums that have always given off an uncomfortable feeling. The way Lehane writes in this novel really expresses the uneasiness and queasiness about asylums and how an outsider would feel when first entering one. He does a real great job creating the mood and setting. It’s bleak. It’s dark. It’s gives off an omnious feeling that by the middle of the book you’re starting to doubt yourself and you’re not sure what’s real and what’s not. You feel what Teddy feels. It’s done really well and does a good job enticing you to read further, to get you to want to explore the asylum and join Teddy in his journey to find this missing patient. Suspecion is placed on everybody and you the feeling of mistrust starts to build throughout the book.

The plot is filled with twists and turns. It engages you to help solve the puzzles, and once you start thinking you’re one step closer to solving the case, another twist is thrown in and you’re back to square one. It’s not frustrating. It’s actually more exciting and every twist puts you into shock. I was especially shocked during the last few parts of the book. This is definitely a page turner. There a few dream sequences from Teddy that you might find strange (almost like an acid trip) but they’re almost comparable to something you might find on the show Twin Peaks. They’re just strange but it does fit the book quite nicely.

Character wise, I think the main focus would be on Teddy himself. The rest of the characters are very secondary and even his partner, Chuck, is flat. The main character development falls on Teddy and when you see what really happens to him, you’re left speechless and literally dumbfounded. He may be your typical US Marshal on a case on the outside, but inside he has a lot of skeletons in his closet that you eventually discover as the story progresses.

The only criticism I would have at this book is, it is a little predictable. I’ve seen a lot of movies end this way and it seems to be the trend (I’m not sure if books are like this as well). However the ending suits the book so I’m willing to let it go. There is mild language and talk of frontal lobotomies in detail which may be not suiting for some.

Overall a really good book and suitable for a dark rainy windy day. Really creepy and a wonderful psychological thriller with a lot of twists and turns to keep the reader occupied. Don’t mind the typical cliche ending, it’s actually suitable and worth the read. It’s amazing how much more scary asylums are than an average horror movie.

I give it an 8 out of 10.