The Angel's Game: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books 2 - Tapa dura

The gothic landscape of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books - the winding streets of Barcelona's old quarter - haunt a novel about books and writing and secrets. Wonderful. (KATE MOSSE THE TIMES SUMMER READING ROUNDUP - 27.06.09)

The prose is intelligent but unpretentious, and the author is clear in his intentions to provide a rollicking, fun read.... the novel's themes address the power of narrative, and many sharp lines pertain to storytelling... hugely enjoyable. (LIONEL SHRIVER THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 06.06.09)

Scintillating second novel... a heady brew of detective thriller; supernatural horror tale, magical realist fable and heartbreaking love story... and the central role of books, especially fiction in our understanding of the human condition. (THE DAILY MAIL 05.06.09)

In this book about books, Zafon writes about Spain's harrowing history with literary aplomb. (THE TIMES - 30.06.09)

A thrilling labyrinthine plot packed with murder, mystery and an obsessive love affair (FANNY BLAKE WOMAN AND HOME - JULY 09 ISSUE)

another imaginative gothic tale (HARPERS BAZAAR - JULY 09 ISSUE)

Those who were hooked on Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind will be similarly entranced by The Angel's Game... dark and disturbing narrative... Surprising and bittersweet, it's as potent as an Audrey Niffengger novel, with a nod to a certain nineteenth-century romance. (CLARE LONGRIGG PSYCHOLOGIES - JULY 09 ISSUE)

enter the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for another terrifying adventure. (Suzi Feay WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY - June 09)

revisits some of Zafon's much loved urban landscapes in old Barcelona. Yet this novel stands alone, a complement or even an antagonist to its forerunner. If the previous book celebrated the ecstasies of reading then this one - no less in love with literature, and no less crammed with archetypal plots - explores the agonies of writing. (BOYD TONKIN THE INDEPENDENT 05.06.09)

wit, style, great sex and a hugely entertaining plot. (MAIL ON SUNDAY - 21.06.09)

In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man - David Martin - makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books, and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house are letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Then David receives a letter from a reclusive French editor, Andreas Corelli, who makes him the offer of a lifetime. He is to write a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realises that there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home. Set in the turbulent 1920s, The Angel's Game takes us back to the gothic universe of the Cemetery of the Forgotten Books, the Sempere and Son bookshop, and the winding streets of Barcelona's old quarter, in a masterful tale about the magic of books and the darkest corners of the human soul.