A shudder ran through his body and he took a step back: the hand of the figure, which seconds earlier had been clenched in a fist, now lay open, its palm stretched out invitingly. For a moment the cold morning air seemed to burn in Max's throat and he could feel a throbbing in his temples.

When his family moves to an old house by the sea, Max discovers an abandoned garden of mysterious statues positioned on a six-pointed star. In the centre rising out of the mist stands a clown, its arm outstretched.

Then Max meets Roland, who takes him swimming through the underwater ruins of an old shipwreck near the lighthouse where he lives with his grandfather, and Max sees the uncanny six-pointed star again.

But it's Roland's grandfather and his tale of the shipwreck and the circus troupe on board that makes Max realise that he is not the only one to be affected the clown's sinister presence.

The Prince of Mist is an intriguing tale of good versus evil, a compelling gothic mystery for young adults from the best-selling author of The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon was born in Barcelona in 1964 and is one of the world's most read and best loved writers. His novels have been translated into more than forty languages, garnering numerous international prizes and reaching millions of readers. He lives in Barcelona.