Duma KeyA Novel

Classic King that will sate the diehards and intrigue newcomers
After construction worker Edgar Freemantle loses his right arm in a crane accident, he relocates to an island in Florida where he rents a house he refers to as "Big Pink." The house rests on stilts, and at night when the tide rushes in, Edgar can hear the rustle of shells crunching below and quickly finds solace in the house's confines. It is here on Duma Key that Edgar discovers an urge to draw pictures — etchings of the stunning sunset just outside his window. As he soon discovers, these paintings hold clues to future events — they might even inspire such events to occur.

Also living on Duma Key is a former lawyer who has his own secret powers, and who is taking care of an eccentric old woman named Elizabeth Eastlake. Although she suffers from the early stages of Alzheimer's, she appears to hold the answers to everything freaky and unexplained. When Edgar begins painting friends and family being murdered, it's clear that all three inhabitants of Duma Key possess creepy, otherworldly abilities.

Duma Key is classic Stephen King, full of horror and supernatural thrills, but it also has a more personal touch. The book begins with a jolting accident, which has traces of the author's own roadside accident in 1999. This is not the first time King has touched on his car accident in Maine, but it is perhaps his finest attempt at conveying the terror of an impending rehabilitation, one that is sure to be both lengthy and arduous.

Duma Key captivates from its terrifying beginning, when Freemantle is recovering in Minnesota, and then first sets foot upon the key. And while the two lead characters may not be quite as dazzling as, say, Paul Sheldon or Annie Wilkes of Misery, Duma Key remains a terrifically fun ride for veteran King fans and new ones alike.