The Angel's Game (Abridged, Downloadable audio file, Abridged edition)

The Angel's Game opens in Barcelona in the 1920s and is a prequel to The Shadow of the Wind. David Martin is a young man working in a newspaper office. But late one night the editor of the paper has a crisis - they have just had to drop six pages from the weekend edition and he has a matter of hours to fill them. With most of the staff already home, he turns to David and asks if he can write a short story. If it is good, he will publish more. The resulting story is a huge success and is David's first step on the path to a career as an author. As David's books gain a certain recognition, he receives a mysterious letter from a French editor called Andreas Corelli who wants to help him achieve his ambitions. But the character is not all that he seems and soon David has entered a pact that will lead him question everything he values. He is also befriended by the bookseller Sempere (the grandfather of Daniel from Shadow) who introduces him to the strange world of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. The Angel's Game is a tale of lost souls and literary intrigue; a book steeped in the world of writing, with references to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Great Expectations. It is about the demons a writer faces; but also a page-turning mystery and a love story set against the creaking mansions and mysterious alleyways at the dark heart of Barcelona.