I was so excited when I got a copy of The Prince Of Mist; Carlos Ruiz Zafon is one of my favorite authors and I look forward to anything written by him. This is in fact Zafon's first book and was written in 1993 for young adults. He wanted to create a story that he would have wanted to read when he was a boy of eleven or twelve, and I think this is a great story for young adults or older adults, like myself. The story begins in war time with Max Carver's father deciding the family will leave the capitol city and move to a small coastal village. They move into a beach house that had not been lived in for some time and from the moment they set foot in the house strange things start happening, like voices whispering from an old cupboard. The house holds mystery and tragedy connected to the previous family that owned the house, the Fleischmann's, and the tragic drowning of the young boy called Jacob.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon's writing draws you in and takes you into a  wonderfully dark atmosphere with haunted houses, sunken ships, stone gardens, and the Prince of Mist. This is a superbly told story of mystery and adventure with elements of romance and gothic horror. From the beginning the tension builds and results in a stormy culmination, you will not be able to put this book down. ~Mara