I enjoyed this, but I could tell it was a first effort. 

 

It was fun to see where so many of Zafón’s themes and motifs started and how they echo throughout his writing career. Even in this first outing, his writing is full of nostalgia and haunting magic, which were my favorite parts. The tension builds so well and there’s a very Hitchcockian vibe to this story that makes it a quick, easy read. 

 

Overall, though, I was left wanting a little more. The story felt underdeveloped, especially the motivations of the villain, and all the pieces didn’t quite fit together the way I know Zafón would learn to perfect later in his career. 

 

I’m glad I read it but I won’t be returning to this one. If you’re a CRZ fan, though, I definitely recommend checking out the audiobook: the production is full of atmospheric music and eerie sound effects. Also, I always have to shout out Lucia Graves for her impeccable, moving translation work.

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A very good YA mystery book. It was pretry creepy at times. I loved the writing (and translation). The characters were also very good and the story itself was very interesting. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

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Review previously placed on my blog:

I have read The prince of mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. This is the first book in the Niebla series. I read this for my Reading the rainbow challenge video for the colour green. 

This was a solid YA mystery read, with a couple of pretty scary bits. The story was good and interesting. The writing was good as well, as was the translation. It didn't really stand out to me, so therefore I gave it 3,5 stars. 

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