book cover

The Midnight Palace

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Translated by Lucia Graves

Interest age: 11+
Reading age: 11+

Published by Orion Children's Books, 2012

  • Around the world
  • Classics
  • Coming-of-age
  • Fantasy
  • Thriller

About this book

In Calcutta in 1916, after the deaths of both their parents in bizarre circumstances, two babies are separated at birth.

A sinister, cold-blooded killer is seeking out the children but thanks to the self-sacrifice of their grandmother they remain safe for a number of years until, aged 16, they finally have to take their chances in the adult world.

This tense, haunting and gruesome fantasy thriller moves at a remarkable pace between a ruined palace, a ghostly railway station and an abandoned mansion with the city of Calcutta featuring as a character almost as strongly as the secret society at its heart. Inspired, unexpected and, at times, desperately sad, this is compelling reading for teens.

About the author

Carlos Ruiz Zafón 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 different languages, and honoured with numerous international awards. He divides his time between Barcelona, Spain, and Los Angeles, California.

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