Are you ready to renew your library card for the the Cemetery of Lost Books? Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s latest Gothic tale of mystery and political intrigue – The Prisoner of Heaven – continues the adventure from his The Shadow of the Wind, but the history of that escapade is not necessary to understand or enjoy this one.

Daniel Sempere is grown, married, and a father; he continues to work at the bookstore with his father. Fermin, itinerate lover, spy, and rogue, is about to be married, but the dilemma of his identity becomes one of the threads that Zafón weaves to tie the present to the past. Worrying that he will not be able to rightfully give his bride a name he has stolen, Fermin tells the story of his past in an electrifying series of events during the early days of Franco’s dictatorship – the best part of the book.

The story slows at times, when the present intrudes – with Daniel suspecting his wife of infidelity or mysterious dark figures lurking in corners, and the plot teases the reader with expectations that are never resolved. You may suspect who and where Daniel Martin, the writer, hostage, and prisoner of heaven is, but Zafón will not give you the satisfaction of being sure. Maybe the next book will reveal more.

Despite the vague ending, Zafón has delivered another riveting historical thriller.

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• Rose of Fire – short story by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (nochargebookbunch.com)