The Watcher In the Shadows
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A magical read by the bestselling author of The Shadow of the Wind.
A mysterious toymaker, Lazarus, lives as a recluse in a crumbling mansion by the sea, surrounded by the mechanical beings he has created. Strange lights seem to shine through the mists that envelop the small island where the old lighthouse stands, and somewhere in the woods nearby lurks a shadowy creature.
When her mother takes a job as a housekeeper for the toymaker, fourteen-year-old Irene meets Hannah and her alluring sailor cousin Ismael, and what seems like a dream summer begins. But Lazarus's house contains dark secrets and before long Irene and Ismael find themselves entwined in the mystery of the September lights.
Carlos Ruiz Zafon was born in Barcelona. He is one of the world's most-read and best-loved writers. His work has been translated into more than forty languages, garnering numerous international prizes and reaching millions of readers. The Watcher in the Shadows is the fifth of his novels to be published in English.
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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this exciting, if somewhat over-the-top Gothic thriller, originally published in 1995, 14-year-old Irene Sauvelle, her younger brother, and their widowed mother relocate from Paris to the coast of Normandy in 1937. Madame Sauvelle has been hired as housekeeper and secretary at Cravenmoore, the mansion of the kindly, but reclusive genius Lazarus Jann, one of the greatest toymakers in the world. Irene, to her delight, soon finds a boyfriend and kindred soul in Ismael, a handsome young fisherman, but in the wake of a brutal murder, Irene and Ismael discover that Jann is not what he seems and that mysterious dangers haunt both the mansion and the surrounding forest. Zaf n's pre-WWII French setting is nicely realized, and his romantic leads are entirely believable. Unfortunately, Jann mad scientist and demon toymaker rolled into one is too much, a character seemingly drawn straight out of Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann. There are plenty of thrills and chills, however, and this book should please readers who like to be scared, but aren't looking for overtly graphic violence. Ages 12 up.
