The Shadow of the Wind

Set in a post-World War II Barcelona, Spain, the story focuses on Daniel, a book dealer's son, who finds a book entitled The Shadow of the Wind. Daniel becomes completely enthralled with the story and the author, Julián Carax. He then journeys to find other books by Carax, but he finds out someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has ever wrote. Daniel believes his copy of the Shadow of the Wind is the last Carax book in existence. Soon, Daniel's "seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets - an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love." I found the book to be extremely suspenseful, and quite scary at times, and I could hardly put it down, for I feared what was to happen next. You never know what is going to happen and the plot twists are surprising and unexpected. Zafrón also wrote The Angel's Game, set in Barcelona, and centering around the same "Cemetery of Forgotten Books" that is central to his first book. This novel features David Martín, a struggling writer who gets a job from an extremely mysterious publisher that is "almost too good to be real." Some of the characters from Zafrón's first novel make an appearance in this one, and The Angel's Game, like The Shadow of the Wind, keeps you reading until the very end. I recommend both these books if you are looking for a good mystery novel to keep you guessing. Rating: ★★★★