Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

ISBN-13: 9780061807404
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: August 2009
400 pgs
Source: Personal Library

I have seen this book around when it was first released, but did not get it at that time, and looking back now I really regretted for not picking it up earlier!

Anyway, Shutter Island is a story about two US Marshals who are on a mission to investigate the disappearance of a patient named Rachel Solando in Shutter Island, where the Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane is situated. Rachel is considered as one of the dangerous patients at the Ashecliffe Hospital, for she is a multiple murderess and not to mention very mentally disturbed. No one knows how she managed to escape barefooted from a locked cell, and what most puzzled is where could she go in the remote island? That is where Edward "Teddy" Daniels and his partner Chuck Aule come in, and they will have to find every means to uncover the missing person case.

However, it is definitely not easy to solve the case with the threatening hurricane but what is most challenging is getting the hospital staff to cooperate, and some cryptic clues which Rachel has left behind before her disappearance. To make things more complicated, Teddy is still deeply traumatised by the days during the Cold War when he was a soldier, but what most affected him is Andrew Laeddis, the man who set his house on fire that led to the death of his wife. He believes Andrew is in Ashecliffe Hospital and hence this is another reason why he is set to find all the answers in Shutter Island.

As Teddy and Chuck continue to track down clues, it began to dawn on them that things might not seem what it is at Ashecliffe Hospital, and they might not be able to leave the island in the end.

Shutter Island is one of the most intense psychological thriller I have read in a while. It is a suspenseful read, one filled with twists and turns and more questions are raised than answered. I totally enjoyed the reading journey as every page I turned, the anticipation kept on growing until I was totally blown away by the ending. The most thrilling part of this story is, you just could not know who to trust, considering the setting is at Ashecliffe Hospital where they kept the dangerous and mentally disturbed patients at bay. Anyone could be a threat or are lying, whether or not if they are sick in the mind or not, and to me that is the scariest part.

After reading this thriller, I am definitely going to look out the other releases by Dennis Lehane. And of course, I have to watch the film adaptation which is opening next month. I hope it will not disappoint.

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All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab

ISBN-13: 9780385738354
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: January 2010
352 pgs
Source: Personal Library

With a combination of mystery and character study, All Unquiet Things marked one of my most unforgettable reads this year. This story basically revolves around three teenagers; a murdered 16-year-old Carly, her ex-boyfriend, Neily and her cousin, Audrey.

Audrey's father is convicted of Carly's murder. But even after a year has passed, Audrey still believes her father is innocent and she hopes to find out the truth about everything, even if that means she has to approach Neily for assistance. Audrey has never been close with Neily right from the beginning, and on top of that Carly dumped Neily for another guy and she is not sure if Neily is still feeling bitter about everything. It turns out that Neily is still feeling guilty about not taking Carly's call before her death, and Audrey's request somewhat seems like a remedy thus they agreed to do an investigation of Carly's death.

However, in order to find out the truth, Neily and Audrey has to find out what secrets did Carly harbour, and what she was doing with the dangerous popular crowd before her death. Suddenly, everyone in that crowd becomes their suspect. But the most complex issue of all is, Neily and Audrey have to be honest and trust each other, including to their own self.

All Unquiet Things was a page-turner through and through, and I wished I had the time to read it all in one sitting. What makes this book such a gripping read (besides the premise, that is) is that it is told from Neily and Audrey's perspective in different sections. I find this pretty effective as the readers get to understand their thoughts and emotions through their respective narrative, besides their findings on Carly's murderer.

The dangerous crowd which Carly mixed with before her death is also another interesting read. Each character appears to be troubled and seems to have an agenda of their own, and I was glad that I was able to figure out the real murderer towards reading the half of the book. Anna Jarzab has done a great job in crafting this story, but I think it is her observations of the characters (their thoughts, emotions and behaviours) that really made this story stands out.

All Unquiet Things is a must read for any YA readers who love a good mystery. I will definitely keep a lookout for Anna Jarzab's new releases in the near future.

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Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

ISBN-13: 9780441009237
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Published: April 2002
291 pgs
Source: Personal Library

Living Dead in Dallas is the second book of the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris and I was delighted to do a buddy-read with Alice.

I was eager to read more about cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse after reading the first instalment, after all she has telepathy ability and on top of that she's got moxie; she is never intimidated by her own strength and I enjoy seeing the sparks continue to fly between her and her vampire lover, Bill, who I think oozes charisma enough to charm any woman on earth.

This story began when one of Sookie's coworkers is murdered. As if that is not enough to cause a ripple in her life, Eric, the head of the local Louisiana vampire nest, needs Sookie's telepathy to help locate a missing vampire from Dallas, who happened to be the "brother" of the local vampire leader, Stan. Sookie agrees since she owes him a favour, and on a condition that Bill is to follow her along and that any human involved will be entrust to the human law enforcement instead of the vampires'. But things do not turn smoothly for her, as she is first attacked by a maenad and her wounds nearly took her life.

Sookie soon learn of a cult named "The Fellowship of the Sun" which she think might be linked with the disappearance and this is where the story becomes interesting and exciting. I will not go into details but let's just say it is fun to see Sookie is back into action as she meets more vampires, werewolves and other shapeshifters in this book. Charlaine Harris has once again crafted a fun and entertaining read in this second instalment, and I enjoyed reading the adventures Sookie encountered, as well as her relationship with her vampire lover, Bill. The fact that she could not read into his mind makes the relationship sounds more intense and interesting. However, though I enjoyed reading this book, I can't say I loved it. I think it has mainly got to do with the plot; I had anticipated to read more about the murder case but instead it went into another direction - the vampire's disappearance and the cult. That said, there is nothing wrong with those but is more to do with my personal expectations.

Have you read this? What do you think of it?

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Related post: Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire series #1)

Admit One: My Life in Film by Emmett James

ISBN-13: 9780984258109
Publisher: Fizzypop Productions, LLC
Published: February 2010
216 pgs
Source: Online Publicist

I have to admit I rarely read memoirs or autobiography and tend to be choosy even if I do so. When Lisa of Online Publicist contacted me for a review of this book, I have to say yes because this is a book about movies (who wouldn't love watching movies, right?), but most of all I am intrigued by Emmett James' journey into the film industry.

In Admit One, Emmett James tells his story about his childhood days in England (where he share with us bits of his relationship with his family and friends) as well as how he has stepped into the film industry through hard work and not to mention his creativity mind. I like the idea that he cleverly crafted each chapter with a movie title which has somehow made an impact of his life at that point of time, which I find this to be refreshing and in line with the subject of the memoir.

Reading through these chapters made me think of some movies I had watched when I was a teenager (e.g. Star Wars, E.T., Ghostbusters, etc), while some movies remind me a certain phrase of my life. I may not have watched all the movies he listed, but then I was intrigued and amused by his witty style of writing. Let me show you an example of his writing style (I am afraid the passage is a little long, but I liked it because it made me chuckle):

Throughout my life I have tortured myself by watching certain films over and over again purely for the thrill of being terrified. The Amityville Horror, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Psycho, Carrie, The Exorcist, Halloween, and Poltergeist were all very dodgy films for a kid to be sat in front of, but films that every kid has sat in front of. There was always the distinct possibility that seeing these types of movies as a child could turn you into a person liable to break into little bits upon seeing a priest clutching a Bible or if you witnessed another child place their hands on a television screen. Certain films cause universal reactions no matter where in the world you were born or bred. If you have seen Jaws, you have done the bloody music while flailing around in the ocean. It's a 100 percent certainty. And if you're as stupid as I was, you have attacked your unsuspecting family members with the double whammy - the stupid music and your arm stuck vertically out of the water replicating the fin, cunningly disguised as an arm (and just as deadly). ~ Chapter Eleven, The Amityville Horror (1979), Pg 78

I think my favourite chapter among all has to be Titanic, a blockbuster which I enjoyed immensely and one which still touches my heart to this day. Reading about Emmett James' role in this film has allowed me to get a glimpse of the artiste's life in general and how they had worked hard to perfect their roles to meet the expectations of James Cameron, the well-known director who also received much praise on his recent work, Avatar (I was totally wowed by the special effects).

There are, of course, many more chapters that I enjoyed in this memoir but like movies, it is always best to experience that feeling for yourself. That said, I shall end this post with a few passages taken from the memoir which I think is so true:

People in general want to be moved when they buy a ticket to a film. They enter the cinema with an open heart and mind hoping to be in some way emotionally affected, an openness that is unfortunately rare in today's cynical society... ...There was never any judgment passed by society while within those hallowed walls.

Film holds the power to alter a person's thinking, juxtaposing the huge world and one's small place in it... ...Most intriguingly, though, it holds within its transfixing, flickering light the possibility of pure imagination. Nothing could be more important.

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Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

ISBN-13: 9781860495243
Publisher: Virago Press Ltd
Published: March 1999
472 pgs
Source: Personal Library



I have heard a lot of great reviews on Sarah Waters' books, but just haven't got around to reading any of them yet. So I told myself, enough is enough, and I shall wait no more in reading her books, thus this is where Tipping the Velvet comes along. Why I chose this book is simply because I don't think I have read a lot of reviews on this one, as compared to her other titles such as Fingersmith and The Little Stranger. I might be wrong, but anyway the decision has been made so I wasted no time in jumping into this story. And guess what, I loved this story! Aside from the Victorian England setting (which is one of my favourite era to read), the other thing that made this book so outstanding is Waters' writing style. Oh, how I love her prose!

Eighteen-year-old Nancy Astley's life is a simple yet a satisfactory one, in a sense that she is enjoying her life being an oyster girl and that their oyster restaurant in Whitstable, Kent, is doing well. However, her life changes once she attends a musical hall and is fascinated with a young cross-dressing performer named Kitty Butler. She is so intrigued by Kitty so much so to the extent that she watches her perform almost every evening, and hope that she could catch Kitty's attention.

Nancy does finally manage to catch Kitty's attention, and it is not long before she becomes Kitty's dresser, helping her to change costumes in between the performances. All this while, she has kept her desire on Kitty only in her thoughts, plus she is not sure if Kitty feels the same way towards her. When Kitty is being offered a chance to perform in London, Nancy decides she would leave everything behind and be Kitty's personal dresser as she follow her around. Nancy's life then took a new turn when she became Nan King as she joins Kitty on stage. It is also at this time that their relationship soars and at its height when they discover their love for each other.

Tipping the Velvet is not what I have expected in the beginning. I knew this is a coming-of-age story of a young girl and her journey of finding her self and her unique relationship with another girl. Other than these, I knew nothing about this book and for this, I felt it is a good thing because you just wouldn't know what to expect of this story, since there are so much anticipation and twist to it. The twist referred here is more of a change in Nan's life thereafter and does not associated with mystery. And the more I read, the more I felt for Nan and hope that she would find happiness in the end.

While Tipping the Velvet is a story about self-discovery, I have to say it is also a story about sexism, class difference, freedom and socialism. Though this book contains lesbian theme, please do not let that deter you from reading it as Waters' storytelling is superb and the passionate scenes are done tastefully.

As I mentioned before I like reading the Victorian era, what most fascinated me of this story is the characters and the settings as Waters has the capability to bring them all to life through her skilful writing. I learnt something more about oysters; how they are prepared from fishing right down to opening them (yes, there's a technique) and not to mention the colourful life of the performers onstage or offstage.

After reading Tipping the Velvet and falling in love with Waters' writing style, it is no surprise to me that she has become one of my favourite authors to read and I cannot wait to read the rest of her books. The problem is, I do not know which book I should read next (should the mood strikes since I am such a moody reader). What's your suggestion? I would love to hear your views!

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