The Prisoner of Heaven returns to the world of The Cemetery of Forgotten Books and the Sempere & Sons bookshop, where Daniel, and his old friend Fermín Romero de Torres, are tending shop. Daniel is now married with a son, and Fermín is soon to follow. Both men lead relatively happy and quiet lives. Enter an enigmatic visitor–a grim old man with a piercing gaze–who inquires about Fermín’s whereabouts. When told he is not in, the old man proceeds to buy the most expensive item in the store, a first edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, adds a dedication and leaves it as a present for Fermín. When Daniel reveals the details of this unsettling encounter to his friend, Fermín reads the dedication, turns pale, and at Daniel’s insistence, decides to open up about a past that has come back to haunt him…a story that will leave Daniel questioning his very existence.

A direct sequel to my favourite ever novel? With a gorgeous cover? Returning to Sempere & Sons and The Cemetary of Forgotten Books, sidling in alongside an older Daniel Sempere and an always gregarious and charming Fermin, just can’t come soon enough. After hitting a bit of a road bump with The Angel’s Game (REVIEW), I have the utmost (to a silly degree, perhaps) faith that Zafon is back in the playground he’s meant to play in.

For more of my thoughts, see the post I did about the Spanish cover for the The Prisoner of Heaven.