It's been awhile since I read this book so I will not get into many particulars. A teen and her family move to a remote German (?) town after her father gets permission to study local legends in the area. The legends are, of course, sinister and the family becomes ostracized for stirring up bad things in the area. The teen becomes caught up in trying to sort out the mystery with a local boy who also becomes a love interest for her. I liked this book ok, but it was not as good as The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by the same author and so I was a little disappointed. I started this book not realizing it was a YA book -- my bad, and perhaps it unduly influenced my attitude toward it. The story focuses on Lin, the teenaged daughter of a university scholar. Lin's father is seeking a set of medieval staineg glass windows, reputed to be a masterpiece and the whereabouts of which long unknown. He takes his family to a small town in Germany on a sabbatical leave to try to locate and study the windows. It's pretty clear from the very first scene of the book that there are some uncomfortable family dynamics. Lin's father is detached from the family, obsessed with his work, and a bit narcissistic; Lin's stepmother is detached in her own way, concerned with more shallow things, and seems disinerested even in the youngest child, who's only a toddler. Lin's sister Polly is on her gap year, and seems distracted and depressed but won't talk about it.Upon arriving in Germany, the family is immediately subjected to a series of bizarre and morbid experiences. Is it the residents of the nearby town, resistant to the idea of a foreign professor digging around in their history? Is it the belligerent neighbor or the creepy priest-turned-scholar who offers "help"? Or does the explanation lie in the stories of a demon who haunts the stained glass windows Lin's father seeks?I read this book at the beach, and it was just fine for a beach read: easy to pick up and put down, not demanding, diverting with an interesting historical twist. It wasn't the best YA book I've read--the characters are a bit shallow, the family dynamics predictable, the mystery was farfetched and the narrator Lin isn't wholly likeable--but if you're looking for something quick and easy to read, and your expectations aren't too high, you might enjoy this one.
What do You think about Le Démon Du Vitrail (2011)?
Eh... not terrible, not great. Maybe the translation gave it a different feel.
—afshi
No where near as good as the first book - but I like stuff set in Europe.
—Oakey76uk
Not as good as The Vanishing but still an engaging fast read.
—jeetu
I think that it was a great book and I highly recommend it.
—sara1markovska
