DUMA KEY, by Stephen King ****

I read this in Florida last month, which was very apropos, considering that most of the novel is set in southwest coastal Florida (the fictional town of Duma Key, hence the book's title).

Any northern "snowbird" can empathize with Edgar Freemantle's instant fascination with the west coast Florida sunset.

"As that light skied upward, orange faded to a breathless Maxfield Parrish blue-green that I had never seen before with my own eyes...and yet I had a sense of déjà vu, as if maybe I had seen it, in my dreams."

Whether it's the novelty of a sunset over water or being closer to the equator or further west in the time zone, there's no denying the light really is different in Florida and King perfectly captures the newcomer's wonder. It doesn't seem the least strange or foreboding that Edgar runs for his colored pencils and works feverishly to capture the color.

Edgar has come to Duma Key from Michigan to revitalize himself after a horrific accident in which he lost an arm, badly damaged a leg and suffered a head trauma which months later still causes aphasia, headaches and bouts of depression and anger. He had nearly died and often wishes he had. His marriage is over and he feels suicidal and out of control. A self-made man who is used to propelling the world in the direction he wants it to go, Edgar hates his new helplessness.

But Duma Key almost instantly works its magic. Every day Edgar walks the beach, growing stronger, and every evening he attempts to capture the sunset on paper, though it's a while before he succeeds as well as he did on his first night.

Although he hasn't done more than doodle in 20 years - too busy building the contracting business which has made him a wealthy man - Edgar's artistic ability grows in leaps and bounds, keeping pace with his insatiable drive.

But this is Stephen King and while the reader enjoys, even participates in Edgar's renewal, we know there's a bogeyman somewhere in paradise. The first inkling Edgar gets is after an email from his favorite daughter, Ilse. Seized by the drawing urge that grips his right arm (the missing one), Edgar draws the boyfriend he's never met and the heartache that awaits his daughter.

Other psychic pictures begin to come to him, scarier ones. The tension builds like a slow drumbeat in the distance, insistent but far away. Then Edgar learns that he's not the only one on the island with special gifts and the island itself may have secrets it doesn't intend to share. At least not until it's good and ready.

Bouts of drawing, and later painting, leave him insatiably hungry, as if he's been emptied of what fuels him. His productivity rockets in tandem with the talent that bowls over everyone who sees his work; from the local caretaker to the respected art critic and knowledgeable gallery owner.

Edgar is a bit bemused by the wow factor but he takes his new talent in stride. He is a powerful, determined character with a big, healthy ego. Edgar comes across as just the sort of driven, self-made man he's supposed to be, dropped in his tracks, but not out, more active than introspective, making a start on a whole new life.

The Duma setting, crucial to the plot's success, essential to the scare factor, is so vivid you can smell the brine and see those mesmerizing sunsets. It's beautiful, exotic, wild and sinister. "Overhead a heron glided across the darkening sky, a silent long-neck projectile."

It's a place with dark secrets and darker plans and Edgar may not be as in control of his gift as he thinks he is. King has another big winner; in my opinion, his best in years.