. . . and if that pricked anyone's souls, or balls, they could scratch them with a brick

14. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This is a crazy good book -- and crazy crazy. Is the narrator truly a victim of a strange puppet master, or is he stark, raving mad? I haven't a friggin' clue. I know I can't intelligently discuss the plot without giving anything away, so I'll settle for this:

Zafon has written a novel that is part penny crime novel, part Grimm's grimmest. If you are into books that keep you guessing, this is the book for you. If you are bothered by a book that comes to a close and still leaves a couple of bits unsolved, this is NOT the book for you. I kind of wish I knew someone who's read it so I'd have someone with whom to discuss it. It's under my skin, niggling at me, and I'm trying to decipher fully what I've read.

Then again, given what I've read, maybe that's the point.

Five bright gold stars.