Duma Key by Stephen King

Stephen King is my all time favorite author. I pity those who only know the man through his countless movies, mini-series and television adaptations. A lot of these are good and even the worst of them have a lot of cheesy popcorn charm that can be respected by hardcore fans of the genre. But even the best of them don't capture the man's true genius. The way he draws his characters. More specifically, they way he gets into their minds. I love watching them think. Nearly all of them are regular people like you and me faced with horrors they never thought possible and to watch their minds accept the situations he puts them in is pure joy. And his situations are amazingly unique.

In Duma Key, King's latest novel, we meet Edgar Freemantle. A good man in his early fifties who runs a succesful contracting business in Minnesota. He becomes the victim of a horrible construction accident in which he loses his arm. He also gets some serious head trauma causing him a lot of memory problems and also making him prone to fits of rage. His wife can't handle it and divorces him. He feels like giving up but a doctor asks him what else he can do to make him happy. Is there anything else he's good at that he can turn to to make himself feel better? Well he used to draw a bit. Lately it's been little more than a doodling habit but he used to be quite good. So he movies to a little Florida island known as Duma Key leaving his "other life" behind and giving himself a chance to start fresh. Here he discovers that he's actually quite talented as he spends his days in Big Pink (the name gives his house) looking out into the ocean and drawing and painting. But his re-discovered talent will be the key in uncovering a terrible supernatural mystery leading all the way back to 1927.

To tell you more would be a great dis-service. This book is very good and unravelling the mystery will give you hours of joy. You'll meet a fabulous cast of supporting characters. My favorite is Jerome Wireman, one of the islands only other regular inhabitants. He is the caretaker of aging Elizabeth Eastlake who is on the verge of being taken over by Alzheimers disease, but whose hidden memories may be the biggest key of all to the horrors that lie in wait on Duma Key.

Do yourself a favor and get this book. If you've never read SK before this is as good a place to start as any. Trust me, you'll love being a Constant Reader.