Review: Shutter by Melissa Larsen

Author: Melissa Larsen
Publisher: Berkeley Books
Publication Date: June 2021

In the wake of her father's death, Betty Roux doesn't allow herself to mourn. Instead, she pushes away her mother, breaks up with her boyfriend, and leaves everything behind to move to New York City. She doesn't know what she wants, except to run.

When she's offered the chance to play the leading role in mysterious indie filmmaker Anthony Marino's new project, she jumps at the opportunity. For a month Betty will live in a cabin on a private island off the coast of Maine, with a five-person cast and crew. Her mother warns against it, but Betty is too drawn to the charismatic Anthony to say no.

Anthony gives her a new identity--Lola--and Betty tells herself that this is exactly what she's been looking for. The chance to reinvent herself. That is, until they begin filming and she meets Sammy, the island's caretaker, and Betty realizes just how little she knows about the movie and its director.

In Shutter, Betty's father has passed away. In her grieving state, she packs a bag and moves to New York to live with a friend from school.  She gets the chance to "audition" for  a famous director for his new film.  Before she knows it, she is swept away to a remote island where things are not what they seem.

I really wanted to like Shutter.  This is another one that I probably should have DNF'd, but I kept listening to the audiobook in the hopes it would get better.  The entire story is only told through Betty's perspective.  Normally I would be OK with that, but she was a hard character to root for or even like.  It was hard to be in her head.  She was extremely unlikable.  I didn't understand her obsession with Anthony. 

The beginning was good.  I was intrigued and wanted to know what was really going on.  Once that was revealed, I was let down.  The story went into an entirely different direction than I thought it would.  I kept waiting for the twist that never came.  The ending was unsatisfying.  I don't recommend this one.