I hesitate in giving my first review of the year such overwhelming compliments, because it's setting the bar awfully high. I can't help it. Great story, unbeatable writing, and characters that stay with you long after you put the book down. All the things that go into a great novel, and Zafon perfected each one. I wouldn't expect anything less from the author of one of my favorite books of all time, The Shadow of the Wind.
One of my favorite lines in the book was from David Martin when he entered the book shop:
"He held the shop door open and showed me in. I stepped into the bookshop and breathed in that perfume of paper and magic that strangely no one had ever thought of bottling."
Book lovers understand...