The Angel's Game By Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Not too long ago, I was enthralled by an earlier novel by this superb Spanish author “The Shadow of The Wind”. Zafon takes us, again to Barcelona where a deep, mysterious and frightening story about books, writers, unrequited love and great danger unfolds.

A poor but talented young writer, David Martin, struggles to make a name for himself but he achieves notoriety by writing steamy murder mysteries under an assumed name. He has taken up residence and writes in a dark and gloomy abandoned mansion that has a history of death and murder.

He is encouraged and helped by his editor, an old friend who owns a book store, the scion of one of Barcelona’s wealthiest families and the daughter of his friend’s chauffeur, Christina, a girl David has known and loved secretly since childhood, all of whom figure largely in the story.

David is approached by a strange and sinister person who promises wealth and, perhaps, much more to write a book that would seize the minds of the masses and cause it to embrace a new kind of religion . After a lot of internal struggle, David agrees to the proposal even though he is certain that this person is evil and will eventually possess him. David’s health totally improves; as he starts his project, he finds that there is some connection between the story he is writing and the old house. He discovers a manuscript and notes that were written by the man who murdered many years ago. David is compelled to learn more about the man. His research takes him all over the city; one meeting leads to another and as he talks to more people, his intrigue grows. Things become even more troubling when individuals he has talked to begin to die strange deaths and the police suspect David.

“The Cemetery of Forgotten Books” that Zafon introduced in “The Shadow of The Wind” is further explored in this novel. Imagine a vast collection of the sum of centuries of books that have been lost or forgotten. Every book has a soul and every time someone handles it and looks at it’s pages, it’s spirit grows and strengthens. A person who visits for the first time may take away one book; it is said that the book chooses the person.

This was a most compelling story; marvelous characters and the danger and suspense keeps building to a smashing climax.