The Prisoner of Heaven, book review. (Carlos Ruiz Zafon)

If you've ever read The Shadow of the Wind (and let's face it, many millions have) and thought it was a standalone book, that the story ended there, that the author's subsequent books where independent of each other, then you'd be right and wrong. This book, the third in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series (and shortest by some margin) is the link between the first two - the afore mentioned Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game (which anyone who is familiar with my blog will know, are held by me in high regard) and therefore moves both Daniel Sempere's story and that of David Martin to a point where they converge with the help of the indelible Fermin as the connection.

With its heart in your mouth pace one minute, genuine fear the next, to giggling from the shear absurdity of Fermin's tomfoolery, the pages here turn quickly, and you are under no illusion that even though this is a short book, the author has not dropped the ball and that you are invested in the same brilliance that went before.

We still have Fermin with his jokes, Daniel's beautiful wife Bea, their little boy Julian - named after the unfortunate Julian Carax - who wrote The Shadow of the Wind in book one; Daniel's father, who is aging but well, Bernarda, who is betrothed to Fermin (which is the crux of the book) and the deeply disturbing Valls, who's methods of torture: starvation, solitary confinement, bribery and poisoning to name but a few, are slowly revealed as we learn of Fermin's past and why he believes he will never be able to marry the love of his life.

The tangled web that unthreads through the pages of this book brings joy and sorrow, and with Fermin confessing his darkest secret, the promise he made to Martin when incarcerated together - Martin is the prisoner of heaven by the way - that he would look after and protect the love of Martin's life, Isabella (Daniel's mother) if their escape attempt worked, is all handled with aplomb. Here is a man who has befriended Daniel (who will be his best-man at his wedding), his father, works in their shop, and has found what he hopes is true love, but he holds a secret which, in his eyes, is his worst crime.

That crime being: his failure to fulfil his promise to Senor Martin by allowing Valls to get to Isabella and poison her.

The Prisoner of Heaven is written in the same beautifully menacing but somehow witty prose that lead me to attributing the first two books in this series with top honours and possesses the same, must-keep-reading-whatever-the-time-is-because-I-just-can't-put-it-down, style that will have readers up well into night, early in the morning and late for their Zoom meetings.

A fantastic read then - four and a half stars.

Don't forget to search my blog for your favourite authors and books and if I haven't read them yet why not message me with your recommendations.

The Angel's Game, book review. (Carlos Ruiz Zafon)

Where do I start with this book? It's one of the few books I've read that doesn't fit a given genre. It is thrilling, sexy, frightening and spooky in equal measure. It is pacey, has excellent and very memorable characters; there is love, loss, desperation, suspense and it's all wrapped up in the atmospheric backdrop of early twentieth-century Barcelona.

The novel follows the life and loves, the ups and downs of David Martin, a talented but poorly paid journalist with a wealthy benefactor as he fights his way out of poverty, start to write under a pseudonym, fall desperately ill, only to be saved by the mysterious Senor Corelli with a book deal to end all book deals - One hundred thousand Francs for a single book to be written over a twelve-month period. (I'm still waiting for my letter Senor Corelli - oh, no, actually, scrap that, I think I'll stick with what I've got).

His muse, a young girl by the name of Isabella, is thrust upon him one night when she leaves her family to become a writer, ending up on his doorstep because he is the only writer she knows, and I couldn't tell at first whether she was going to be a distraction - she is young, beautiful and talented - a love interest, or whether she would fill his world with further anguish, but after a rocky start they find a bond and David takes her to The Cemetery of Forgotten Books so she can choose.

After a deal is struck with the mysterious Senor Corelli, Martin's illness wanes, but there is skulduggery abound. His previous employers, who were unwilling to compromise on his contract, are suddenly killed in an arson attack, his beloved Christina is suddenly betrothed to another (Martin's benefactor friend) only to be driven to despair and . . . (no spoilers here I'm afraid) as the body count rises and David becomes ever more entrenched in the mystery that is Senor Corelli and the fate that seemed to befall his previous employee (Diego Marlasca - who was also commissioned to write a book and, it turns out, lived in the very same house as Martin - The Tower House) the similarities between them becomes all too clear. Wherever David turns it seems, people are dying, being killing or going missing and with the police following his every move he leaves Barcelona not a moment to soon, to go in search of his beloved Christina, only to find . . .

I'll give nothing away here but when he eventually returns and uncovers the truth, is chased around Barcelona, running for his life, cornered, trapped in the cable car, hanging, suspended hundreds of feet in the air, confronted by an armed man with blood on his hands and murder on his mind, you wiz through the last third of the book so quickly it leaves you dizzy, wanting more, which is good because this is only book two of four, so there's more than enough to quench your enthusiasm.

A shockingly good read then, and all the better for it being part of a four-book series but just as good as a stand-alone novel.

If we rated books out of ten, this would get nine and a three quarters, it is that good, so it's as near to a five star book as you can get without it actually being so and very much worth a read. On to book three then, which I’ve not read before, so here’s hoping.

Don't forget to search my blog for your favourite authors and books to see if I have read them yet and if I have not, why not message me with your recommendations.

The Shadow of the Wind, book review. (Carlos Ruiz Zafon)

When Daniel Sempere is ten years old and taken to the Cemetery of Forgotten books by his father and comes away with a copy of, The Shadow of the Wind, by Julian Carax, he is overwhelmed by its brilliance and vows to track down and read all of the authors’ books.

However, the author seems to have disappeared, along with the vast majority of his works, and so, some years later, with what could be the only Carax book left, Daniel begins to investigate.

With the assistance of his beggar friend, de Torres, and with the rather unscrupulous, Inspector Fumero shadowing their every move, Daniel starts to uncover the truth, the story of a young Julian, son of a milliner, and Penelope, daughter of one of Barcelona's richest families, and how they fell in love.

Due to their backgrounds, they kept their relationship a secret, but with just days to go to their planned elopement to Paris (arranged and financed by Julian’s closest friend Miquel) their love affair is discovered, along with Penelope's pregnancy.

Penelope is imprisoned by her father and Julian - his life now in danger - is forced to make the journey alone.

Decades pass before Julian feels he can return, and on learning of Penelope's fate when he does, he starts to destroy all his books, and it is in the dark, foggy, rain-soaked streets of Barcelona, that Daniel too finds the truth and if he’s not careful and doesn’t act quickly, the same fate might well befall him and his beloved, Bea.

The Gothic beauty in which Barcelona is painted here is so enticing you feel the chill on your neck, the hairs prickle on your arm as you read. The characters ooze such depth and quality that I want to meet them, shake their hands, kiss, or run from them. I want to visit the Cemetery of Forgotten Books - just the once of course - walk through its many avenues, climb its many stairs, before finding my copy of, The Shadow of the Wind, and then I'd be its keeper, its custodian, share and protect it.

This book is so wonderfully written in such a superb setting that you feel the danger that Daniel, de Torres and any who cross Fumero (who is now a corrupt police chief) are in, seeping from the page, and of Julian, having lost his one true love, damaged beyond repair, you feel his pain with every breath.

This book is funny, too – de Torres speaks like a poet and acts like the fool but has a heart of gold. Scary - Fumero’s methods of torture are legendary and being a woman or a child is no protection. Mysterious – what happened to Penelope? Who is the burnt man who follows Daniel? Who has burnt all of Julian’s books? And superbly atmospheric.

Having just read this for a second time (the fourth book coming out prompting me to go back to the beginning) and enjoyed it just as much as the first, it has now cemented its place in my top ten favourites of all time.

Five big gold stars then and on to book two, The Angel's Game.

The Shadow of the Wind, book review. (Carlos Ruiz Zafon)

When Daniel Sempere is taken to the Cemetery of Forgotten books by his father and comes away with a copy of, The Shadow of the Wind, by Julian Carax, he is overwhelmed by its brilliance and vows to track down and read all the authors’ books.

However, the author seems to have disappeared, along with the vast majority of his works, and so, with what could be the only Julian Carax book left in existence, Daniel begins to investigate.

With the assistance of his beggar friend, de Torres, and with the rather unscrupulous, Inspector Fumero, shadowing their every move, Daniel starts to uncover the truth; the story of a young Julian, son of a milliner, and Penelope, daughter of one of Barcelona's richest families, and how they fell in love.

Due to their backgrounds, their relationship was kept a secret, but with just days to go to their planned elopement to Paris, their love affair is discovered, along with Penelope's pregnancy.
Before she can make her escape, Penelope is imprisoned by her father, and so, Julian - his life now in danger - is forced to make the journey alone.

Decades pass before Julian feels it is safe to return, and on learning Penelope's fate, start to destroy all his books, and it is in the dark, foggy, rain-soaked streets of Barcelona, that Daniel too, finds the truth.

The Gothic beauty in which Barcelona is painted here is so enticing. You feel the chill on your neck, the hairs prickle on your arms, and half expect to see Daniel, de Torres or Julian, running down the street the next time you go out in the dark.

The characters ooze such depth and quality that I want to meet them, shake their hands, kiss, or run from them. I want to visit the Cemetery of Forgotten Books - just the once of course - walk through its many avenues, climb its many stairs, probe its depth, before finding my copy of, The Shadow of the Wind, and then I'd be its keeper, its custodian; share and protect it.

This book is so wonderfully written, in such a superb setting, that you feel the very danger Daniel's in, seeping from the page, and of Julian, having lost his one true love, damaged beyond repair, you feel his pain with every breath.

This book is such a solid five stars I can recommend it to all, and having read the second book first - I know, what an idiot - and the fourth book being out, I thought I would go back to the very beginning and start my journey again.

The Angel's Game, book review. (Carlos Ruiz Zafon)

I've been having a foreign affair (evidence to the left), and what a ride.

It goes to show just how important it is for books to be translated and shared around the world, because these three are great.

This post is about my favourite one though, Carlos Ruiz Zafon's, The Angel's Game.

Where do I start with this book? It's one of the few books I've read that doesn't fit into a given genre. It is thrilling, sexy, frightening and spooky, in equal measure. It is pacey, has excellent and very memorable characters; there is love and loss, and all wrapped up in the atmospheric backdrop of early twentieth century Barcelona.

So, where better to read a book that is set in the fair city of Barcelona, than Barcelona!

No I didn't arrange my summer holiday around my reading habits, (I'm not that sad), but I did wait for Barcelona before I started the book, and it added to the experience.

The novel follows the life the loves, the ups and downs, of the main character, David Martin, as he fights his way out of poverty, start to write under a pseudonym, fall desperately ill, only to be saved by the mysterious Senor Corelli, with a book deal to end all book deals: One hundred thousand Francs, for a single book to be written over a twelve month period. (I'm still waiting for my letter, Senor Corelli).

The deal is struck and Martin's illness wanes, but there is skulduggery abound. His previous employers are killed in an arson attack, his beloved Cristina, is betrothed to another, (his benefactor) only to be driven to despair and . . . (no spoilers here I'm afraid). His muse, a young girl by the name of Isabella, is thrust upon him one night, and I couldn't tell whether she was going to be a distraction, a love interest, or fill his world with further anguish!!

A shockingly good read then, and all the better I think for being the middle book in a three book series, that was so good as a stand-alone novel, that I didn't realise it had a prequel and a sequel, until after I'd read it.  

As near to a five star book as I've got this year and I feel certain that it will be in my top five books of 2016.

Highly recommended