In 1943 Max Carver's father - a watchmaker and inventor - decides to move his family to a small town on the Atlantic coast. But as soon as they arrive, strange things begin to happen. Max discovers an overgrown garden surrounded by a metal fence topped with a six-pointed star. When he goes to investigate, Max finds statues like a circus troupe fill the garden. In the centre is a clown set in another six-pointed star. Max has the curious sensation that the statue is beckoning to him. The family grows increasingly uneasy when they discover a box of old films, his sister Alicia has unsettling dreams, while little Irina hears voices whispering to her from an old wardrobe. But Max spends most of his time with his new friend Roland, who takes him diving to the wreck of a boat that sank close to the coast in a terrible storm. Everyone on board perished except for one man - an engineer who built the lighthouse at the end of the beach. During the dive, Max sees something that leaves him cold - on the mast floats a tattered flag and on it is the symbol of the circle and six-pointed star. As they learn more about the wreck, the chilling story of a legendary figure called the Prince of Mist begins to emerge ...

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book is part of a book series called New Windmills Series .

This book has been graded for interest at 12 years.

There are 208 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2011 by Hachette Children's Group .

Carlos Ruiz Zafon is the author of six novels, including the international phenomenon The Shadow of the Wind, and The Angel's Game. His work has been published in more than forty languages, and honoured with numerous international awards. He divides his time between Barcelona, Spain, and Los Angeles, California.