The movie “Shelter” by Harlan Coben, follows Mickey Bolitar, who moves in with his Auntie Shira (in the book, it’s his Uncle Myron) and begins a new life in the town of Kasselton, New Jersey, following the tragic loss of his father in a car accident.
Following the disappearance of Ashley Kent, a fellow new student at the school, Mickey finds himself rapidly embroiled in a new mystery. As a result, he meets the creative Arthur “Spoon” Spindell and the elusive Ema Winslow. Together, the three friends lift the veil on their ostensibly tranquil community to reveal a murky past of murders, abductions, and other crimes—as well as a connection to Mickey’s own convoluted family background.
Let’s have a look at Bat Lady and the mystery of Mickey’s dad
In the first episode of the Prime Video series, Mickey encounters an elderly woman that the Kasselton children have dubbed Bat Lady. She makes the startling discovery that Mickey’s father is still alive, which understandably shocks Mickey. In a later segment of the show, Mickey teaches us about a little girl named Elizabeth Sobek who, during World War II, escaped from the Auschwitz concentration camp and assisted in the liberation of a number of other children.
In an unexpected deviation from the books, the Bat Lady confesses to Mickey who she really is at the end of episode 3: Elizabeth Sobek.
What did we learn from the book?
According to the novel, “Lizzy” continued to work to protect the weak after the war and founded the Abeona Shelter, which was headed by Mickey’s father Brad and was named for the Roman goddess of safe return. She clarifies that, in contrast to what she had before said to Mickey, who claimed that his father was still alive, Mickey’s father actually lives within of him in a spiritual rather than a corporeal sense.
She did this because she was aware that Mickey, like his father, was committed to doing good deeds. During their last chat, Lizzy gives Mickey an old photo album of her family taken before the war; on the last page, a photograph of a guy appears that Mickey is able to identify.
The conclusion of the novel Shelter
In the book, Ashley’s mother worked for a criminal kingpin named Buddy Ray who, upon the death of Ashley’s mother, began pressuring Ashley herself for money that he claimed to be owed. This results in Ashley’s initial disappearance as she gets taken by a pair of men named Antoine and Juan, who are members of Lizzy’s Abeona Shelter and want to prevent her from being harmed by Buddy Ray.
The organization can be compared to an unofficial witness protection program as it rescues people from potentially harmful situations and sets them up with new identities elsewhere. However, Ashley gets spooked by the whole affair and runs away, only to find herself captured by Buddy Ray and gets locked up in the basement (known as the dungeon) of a strip club he owns. Eventually, after several twists and turns, Mickey, Ema, Spoon and new addition to the group, Rachel, track Ashley down to the seedy establishment.
Mickey manages to sneak into the dungeon and breaks Ashley free, just as Buddy Ray was planning on torturing her. The rescue mission almost ends in disaster as Buddy Ray manages to grab Ema and holds a knife to her neck as they make it out into the alleyway outside. Thankfully, the day is saved when Spoon comes racing around the corner in a van and knocks Buddy Ray to the ground, leading to his arrest and hospitalization.
After many detours, Mickey, Ema, Spoon, and Rachel, a recent addition to the group, eventually locate Ashley in the filthy establishment. Antoine and Juan soon carry Ashley away to safety, so sadly there is no happy reunion for Mickey and Ashley.
