First published 2012
Daniel Sempere celebrates Christmas 1957 in Barcelona with his wife Bea and their newborn son Julian. Their friend Fermín Romero de Torres prepares for his wedding. The festivities shatter when an unknown man enters the Sempere bookshop with a dangerous ultimatum. He threatens to reveal a secret that Fermín has kept hidden for twenty years. This confrontation forces Daniel and Fermín into a perilous quest that drags them back to the 1940s, when Franco's regime cast its shadow over Spain. Their investigation uncovers a web of betrayal, revenge, and deception from those dark years. As they dig deeper, they risk losing everything they hold dear. The search leads them toward the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, where lost literary treasures wait in silence. The truth they seek will change their lives forever.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: deception, investigation, quest
Setting: Barcelona, Cemetery of Forgotten Books
Period: 1940s, 1957
278 pages · Hardcover · Harper
Content warnings: violence