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Quick answer: If you loved The Shadow of the Wind, try The Angel's Game, The Prisoner of Heaven, The Thirteenth Tale, The Historian, Possession and The Club Dumas. Each one offers a love of books, a gothic mystery or a great old city full of secrets.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón's bestseller opens in 1945 Barcelona, where young Daniel Sempere is taken to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and chooses a novel by a writer named Julián Carax. Someone is hunting down and burning all of Carax's books, and Daniel is soon drawn into the mystery. Readers love its gothic Barcelona, its love of books and its sly humor. These books share its literary charm and its dark secrets.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Setting | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Angel's Game | Carlos Ruiz Zafón | Barcelona | readers who want more of the series |
| The Prisoner of Heaven | Carlos Ruiz Zafón | Barcelona | readers who love Fermín |
| The Thirteenth Tale | Diane Setterfield | Yorkshire | readers who want another gothic book story |
| The Historian | Elizabeth Kostova | Europe | readers who love an archive hunt |
| Possession | A.S. Byatt | England | readers who love literary detectives |
| The Club Dumas | Arturo Pérez-Reverte | Spain and France | readers who love book-world thrillers |
| The Book Thief | Markus Zusak | Germany | readers who love stolen books |
| The Starless Sea | Erin Morgenstern | Hidden world | readers who love magical libraries |
| Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore | Robin Sloan | San Francisco | readers who want a lighter mystery |
| If on a Winter's Night a Traveler | Italo Calvino | Everywhere | readers who want an experimental story |
| The Eyre Affair | Jasper Fforde | Alternate England | readers who love literary jokes |
| Inkheart | Cornelia Funke | Italy | younger readers |
| Rebecca | Daphne du Maurier | Cornwall | readers who love gothic love stories |
| The Swan Thieves | Elizabeth Kostova | Multi-era | readers who like art and letters |
| The Binding | Bridget Collins | Fantasy | readers who like magical books |
1. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
A young writer in 1920s Barcelona takes a strange and sinister commission.
Best for: readers who want more of the series.
2. The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
The story of Fermín's past is finally told.
Best for: readers who love Fermín.
3. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
A famous author finally tells a young biographer her true story.
Best for: readers who want another gothic book story.
4. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
A girl follows old letters that may lead to the real Dracula.
Best for: readers who love an archive hunt.
5. Possession by A.S. Byatt
Two scholars uncover a Victorian love affair through hidden letters.
Best for: readers who love literary detectives.
6. The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
A rare book dealer hunts for a suspicious manuscript.
Best for: readers who love book-world thrillers.
7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
A girl in Nazi Germany steals books and shares them.
Best for: readers who love stolen books.
8. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
A graduate student finds a strange book that tells a story from his own childhood.
Best for: readers who love magical libraries.
9. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
A young man takes a job at a strange all-night bookstore.
Best for: readers who want a lighter mystery.
10. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
A reader tries to finish a novel that keeps changing.
Best for: readers who want an experimental story.
11. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
A detective chases a villain into the pages of Jane Eyre.
Best for: readers who love literary jokes.
12. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
A girl's father can bring characters out of books.
Best for: younger readers.
13. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
A young bride lives in the shadow of her husband's first wife.
Best for: readers who love gothic love stories.
14. The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
A psychiatrist uncovers a 19th-century love story to help a troubled painter.
Best for: readers who like art and letters.
15. The Binding by Bridget Collins
A bookbinder's apprentice discovers books that hold people's memories.
Best for: readers who like magical books.
How to Choose
Move on to the rest of The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series if you want more, beginning with The Angel's Game or The Prisoner of Heaven. The Thirteenth Tale is the book that most readers recommend next, with its secrets, its gothic house and its reader-narrator. If you love a book hunt, The Club Dumas and The Historian have similarly intense searches. For a lighter tone, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and The Eyre Affair make the love of books funny and fresh. If you prefer something for younger readers, Inkheart is a great choice. Note that some of these are long, and the Zafón series can be read in any order.
Related: 15 Books Like The Name of the Wind You’ll Love · 15 Books Like Shadow and Bone You’ll Love: Dark Magic, Chosen Heroines and Royal Courts
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Shadow of the Wind about?
A boy in postwar Barcelona discovers a forgotten novel and learns that someone is destroying every copy of the author's work.
Is The Shadow of the Wind part of a series?
Yes. It is the first book in The Cemetery of Forgotten Books series.
Do you need to read the series in order?
Zafón said the books can be read in any order, though most readers begin here.
What is the Cemetery of Forgotten Books?
It is a secret library in Barcelona where lost and forgotten books are kept.
Is the book scary?
It has gothic menace and some violence, but it is more of a mystery than a horror story.