One upcoming film I am looking forward to is Shutter Island, based on Dennis Lehane's novel. It’s due in national theaters Oct. 2, just in time for lots of discussions at Bouchercon.

Again, the previews look wonderful. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and the film is directed by Martin Scorsese. Need I say more?

Set in the 1950s, Shutter Island is about two U.S. marshals who are called to investigate the disappearance of an inmate from a hospital for the criminally insane on a remote island off the coast of Massachusetts.

Shutter Island was totally unlike any of Lehane’s previous fiction and, if I remember correctly, readers were very mixed on it—either loving it or hating it.

I loved it and named it the top mystery of 2003 for the annual list I compile for the Sun-Sentinel.

Quoting myself, I stated that “Lehane takes still a different route in his seventh novel, Shutter Island, an unconventional psychological suspense tale with elements of an espionage thriller, a noir novel and even the locked-room mystery. It shares strong roots with the best of psychological cinema such as The Manchurian Candidate, The Wicker Man, Gaslight and The Game.”

Again, these previews look terrific. Take a look for yourself.

This article was originally published on the Mystery Scene Blog, June 2009.