Tunnel of Bones, review of the second volume of Cassidy Blake's trilogy
Tunnel of Bones
Paris is known for being the city of lights par excellence, but it also knows how to hide many other shady and… “ghostly” secrets. It is not only the stage of Netflix series such as Lupine or Emily in Paris (of which we await the second season) but also of several novels that have punctuated classical and non-classical literature. After the first volume City of ghosts of the Cassidy Blake trilogy, now Victoria Schwab is back on bookstore shelves since last September 28 with the second novel, Tunnel of bones, published by Mondadori in the Oscar Fantasia series and ready to offer us a story that we literally have devoured in a very short time, to enjoy all the dark fantasy nuances of this fresh story and especially suitable for a young public and lover of events related to ghosts and mysteries.Let's go into this new adventure to discover, without too many previews, what awaits the aficionados of the genre and, above all, the fans of the trilogy.
Tunnel of bones, a dimly lit and very ghostly Paris
We just got off a train in company of Cass, her "imaginary friend" Jacob, a ghost that only she can see and interact with, as well as her parents to discover the most haunted places in Paris, s second stage of the Fantadetective television tour, Cassidy's parents who hold this program. For those unfamiliar with the story told in the previous volume, we immediately give you some ideas to better understand the plot: Cassidy has discovered that she is a Traversante and that she can see and speak with the spirits, as she really risked her life, to one step away from death, and miraculously saved by this spirit who is now a sort of omnipresent traveling companion.She is not the only one in the world with this power of course: she is in contact with this Lara, whom she had met a little while ago, and now they feel even while the girl is on her way to the French capital, a city apparently elegant and chic, like Edinburgh, but which turns out to be the background of numerous mysterious and terrible stories, as well as hosting many ghosts. While in Edinburgh the Veil felt light at every step and heavier in historical places, Paris seems to arouse no signal until the most significant and equally famous places are explored, such as the Catacombs, the beautiful Notre-Dame or the cemetery. of Père-Lachaise, all places where the Veil presses on Cassidy.
The girl, however, at this point, is stronger and manages to resist the temptation, even if the curiosity to visit those macabre places in the Veil is a lot. For example, in the Catacombs he gives even only partially and finds something unexpected and very, very dangerous ...
A second volume with a standalone flavor
This second piece of the trilogy can easily be read by those who are fasting in the first chapter, as the understanding is not affected in any way thanks to the resumption, albeit fast, of some previous passages that allow us in any case to resume the threads of the discourse without any narrative fallacy. Now we can also understand how the Veil works and why Cassidy has to go there, adding a new mystery and a new danger that keeps the reader attracted and attached to the pages of the novel in this new story.A narrative also that turns out to be strictly focused on the city in which we find ourselves, well set between real places, such as Les Jardins des Tuileries or the Catacombs, and others of fantasy, like the hotel where the family is staying. Any space present in the narrative, however, is masterfully described, in all its vivid nuances and allowing us to see the action that is taking place before our eyes.
Of this novel, we appreciated the way in which the protagonist expresses itself. which uses terms that are absolutely easy to understand, adhering to the language and the average ability of a teenager to process reality and describe it, which is why the main target of readers, as we said, is precisely the one relevant to this age group. The story is described in the first person, where Cassidy is the narrator and therefore we can even more identify with her experience, describing any action in great detail: from the tasting of a chocolate crepe, to the sensations she feels when interfacing with the "out-of-body" world.
Finally, even the characters remain well constructed and multifaceted: Cassidy has more confidence and savoir-faire in her abilities, but she also feels the weight of the responsibility of having to help these souls who cannot find peace . At the same time, her concern for Jacob grows, fearing that she will have to send him "over", sooner or later and give up the presence of her best friend. Finally, the latter turns out to be a character with many facets, determined not only by moments of irony and goliardia with her, but also by reflective and dramatic parentheses.
