This is because initially, the plots of both books appear rather similar, first person tale of a successful millionaire who suffers a tragedy and travels to a secluded location brimming with paranormal influence and ghostly visitations, where their creative efforts are used to highlight a past mystery which eventually gets revealed just before the protagonist confronts the evil.

In some ways, reading Duma Key so soon after Bag of Bones might not have been a good idea. Edgar however finds far more than he bargained for, from an artistic talent that goes from surreal to all too real, to a best friend in the form of wise ex-lawyer Wireman, to a decades old mystery surrounding 85 year old Elizabeth Eastlake, Since there is something sleeping on Duma Key, something whose nightmares transcend art and life, something with a long reach and an appetite for power and pain. In a desperate attempt to find some sort of happiness in his life, Edgar relocates to the Florida Island of Duma Key to try his hand as it were, at painting. A horrific crash with a crane on a building site costs Edgar his right arm, his business and partly due to the uncontrollable rage resulting from Edgar’s brain injury, his marriage. Middle aged Edgar Freemantle's life has suddenly taken a dramatic downturn. This is a shame, since Duma Key is certainly one of King’s better books, albeit one of this most subtle. Unlike Rose Madder, it doesn’t seem this is because it’s disliked, or even ignored, most reviews I’ve seen are positive, though perhaps not as effusive as with books like Under the Dome or The Stand. For some reason, Duma Key is another of Stephen King’s books which tends to get pushed to the side.

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