Shutter

Shutter is an impressive debut novel from Melissa Larsen.

Betty Roux has never even taken an acting class, but she wants to be an actress. She broke things off with her boyfriend, Tucker, and fled her California home in the wake of her father's death. She has only been in New York a few weeks and is staying, ostensibly just temporarily, with her friend Sofia and Sofia's live-in boyfriend, Ben, in their small apartment. She works as a dog walker, leaving the apartment each morning so that Ben can work there without interruption. She has been steadfastly avoiding her mother's telephone calls.

Luckily, Ben and Sofia know famed filmmaker Anthony Marino, and they agree to introduce her to him. Sofia pretends she has never heard of Anthony, and never saw his film, Reverence, an artsy movie akin to reality television with some scripted elements. In reality, Sofia is obsessed with Anthony and the movie, having watched it numerous times.

And Ben and Sofia are good to their word. They do introduce Sofia to Anthony, who immediately commences an unconventional audition for his new project. It isn't long before Anthony offers the inexperienced Betty the leading role in the movie he tells her will "capture the essence of" the classic Robert Mitchum film, Cape Fear. It is fear itself that he wants to capture on film. The movie will be filmed at his family's summer cabin on an island off the coast of Maine. Soon Anthony, Ben, Sofia, and Betty set out for Maine, stopping to pick up Mads Byrne, a well-known actor who also appeared in Reverence and will portray Betty's boyfriend in the new film.

There are multiple warning signs that should cause Betty to re-think accepting the role. There is no script or even a story outline, and it seems that everyone else involved knows exactly what they have gotten into, but they are keeping secrets from Betty. When she asks questions, Anthony tells her, "It's like a game. You don't understand the rules until you start playing, right?" And repeatedly implores him to trust him because she's "a perfect fit" for the role. Betty is completely enthralled with Anthony and the prospect of transforming herself and her life, leaving her sadness and self-doubt behind forever. When they arrive in Maine and stop at a local store, Anthony insists that she be in character as Lola, and explains that on the island, the whole cabin will serve as a soundstage. There will be no set up shots or rehearsed scenes. The island is isolated, wooded, and has no cell phone coverage. Not that it would matter because Anthony collects the participants' phones. Anthony quickly takes possession of the main bedroom, setting up the second bedroom as his office and relegating Ben and Sofia to the loft. Betty learns that she and Mads will be staying together in a small adjacent cottage equipped with a single bed and no window coverings. Anthony sets about changing her appearance, bleaching her hair and providing her with the clothing she is expected to wear. Betty intuits that there is danger lurking in the island's woods, but Anthony is keeping the truth about it from her. And even though she is supposed to be playing the role of Mads' girlfriend, "it feels like Anthony has claimed me as his. And I don't think he intends to let me go. . . . As nervous as I am -- I don't know -- maybe I'm also a little bit pleased."

Once settled in, the group members meet Sammy, Anthony's childhood friend, who serves as the island's caretaker. He lives on the island with his mother, Mrs. O, the woman Betty met at the store in town while pretending, at Anthony's insistence, to be Lola. It becomes apparent to Betty that Sammy figures prominently, but unwittingly, into whatever Anthony has planned. "And for whatever reason, I feel a little used." Still, she makes no effort to leave the island, always placated by Anthony's assurances that she only needs to trust him.

Betty is both an infuriating and somewhat sympathetic character. She is a young woman who has yet to find purpose or meaning in her life, and refuses to relinquish what she perceives as her big break, even while she knows she is not prepared to be an actress. She is insecure and wracked with guilt about her father's death, and those facets of her personality render her gullible and malleable. Anthony knows how to wield his power and fame to ensure that Betty does exactly what he wants. He preys upon her vulnerability because it furthers his agenda, and she, in turn, is mesmerized by his charisma and cinematic artistry. If Betty leaves the island, abandoning the role she has agreed to play, she has nothing to return to. "I left home. I left Mom. I got in that van. I got in that boat. I'm here. I'm committed to this. I'm Lola now, not Betty." She possesses sufficient self-awareness to acknowledge that Anthony knows she will not deny him what he wants. "He knows I'm going to give him what he wants. . . . I know there is no going back for me. I have nothing except this file. Everything else is gone. . . . I have no money. No real friends. Not even Sofia."

Of course, things go from sketchy to downright deadly on the island and, as they do, Larsen ramps up the story's tension. Larsen skillfully sets the stage, establishing both her characters' strengths and tragic flaws, before she gradually reveals Anthony's master plan and how deftly he has ensnared not just Betty, but also Sofia, Ben, and Mads, in his scheme. Anthony is a person who does not really exist unless he is pursuing his passion -- filmmaking. As Mads wisely notes, "I think he needs a camera to function. Until he sees himself on film, he doesn't know he's real." And Betty understands what Mads means because she is, essentially, the same kind of person, "letting myself go, on film, to find out who I am." One by one, as Anthony's history with Sammy is revealed, along with the force of his ego and self-centeredness, and his intentions come to light, Larsen's characters have to decide how far they are willing to go to support their friend and further their own ambition. Will they compromise their integrity in the name of art?

Larsen skillfully discloses exactly why Anthony selected Betty to be his Lola and uses Betty's first-person narrative to describe her emotional reactions as she figures out what she has become entangled in. The pace of the story accelerates, along with those revelations, as Betty wrestles with the decisions she must make. As events on the island culminate in a chilling, shocking conclusion, one thing is abundantly clear: Betty will be irrevocably changed by what she has experienced. She believes that she and Anthony have revealed all of their secrets to each other. But have they? Who has Betty become? And once Betty decides on a course of action, what will the future hold for her?

Shutter is a riveting, nuanced, and thought-provoking psychological thriller from a promising new contributor to the genre.

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.

I had so much hope but this book was terrible!