Book 3 of the superlative Cemetery of Forgotten Books. This one focuses on one of the secondary characters of the first book, Fermin Romero de Torres. It sheds light on his back story, how he came to be in the lives of the Sempere family, and what makes him the enigmatic man using a nom de plume making enemies of the state police.
A shorter book than the rest of the series, but so concise and tightly told its still a marvellous book. All the charm and atmosphere of the previous two is present here, with Zafón's fluidity of prose evident as well.
Characterisation is key to making a story real, making characters you care about and want to know more about. Here we discover more about one of my favourites and also meet a new one, the despicable Valls, the mysterious governor of the hellish Montjüic prison. Dripping with menace and intent, Valls exists in the shadows making moves with apparent foresight.
This one is a self contained story like the rest, but this has the added bonus of feeling like a prequel to the first as well as the next.
A shorter read than the first two in the series clocking in at slightly less than 300 pages. But each page is beautifully composed, not a word wasted, not a sentence included that doesn't need to be there.
A beautifully complex tale, setting up the next installment which I can't wait to read.
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