Book 12: "The Talented Mr Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith

This is the first of the Ripley novels, and also the first one I've read. I have seen the film adaptation of this book starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow, which has some very significant differences from the book, and also a movie called "The American Friend", which has Dennis Hopper as Ripley and is based on one of the other books in the series.

Tom Ripley is a compelling character, confident of his ability to fool everyone, while taking what were, in my opinion, insane risks while posing as Dicky Greenleaf. I found myself swerving back and forth between wanting him to get away with it and and wanting him to be found out, which is bad really since he appears to be a sociopath. I'll be on the lookout for the other books anyway, because I'd like to see how he gets on now he is rich.

Book 13: "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

A mystery begins when ten-year-old Daniel Sempere discovers a book by unknown author Julian Carax on his first visit to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books in Barcelona. Over the years Daniel investigates the book's author and the man who is trying to destroy all the remaining copies of his books, and finds that his own life is following the same path as the author's.

I enjoyed following the twists and turns of the mystery, especially since I have visited Barcelona myself, but towards the end of the book I felt that it became a touch too melodramatic for my tastes.