This book forms an epic end to an epic series.
All the well-known and well-loved characters are there, the Sempere family, Fermin, their various neighbours, and David Martin, Julian Carax, and a new author Victort Mataix.
There is also a policeman Hendaya, who subscribes to the Fumero school of policing.

A new strong female, who is the driving force of this book, orphan Alicia Gris was horrifically injured in the Civil War, and her life was saved by Fermin, and Isaac.
She now works for the mysterious Leandro, in a grey area outside the law, and is investigating the disappearance of Mauricio Valls, who was the governor of Montjuic Prison, and featured in previous books.

Needless to say, she finds a book that leads her from Madrid to Barcelona, and as her investigation continues, her path crosses that of familiar characters, and we find out more about them and their relationships, as well as introducing some engaging and tragic new characters.

This is a truly labyrinthine Gothic tale of murder, kidnapping, betrayal, mistaken identity, love, friendship, that finally answers most of the questions raised by the previous books.
It also leaves some stories that are still worth telling, so maybe…..

I would give this more than five stars if I could, and recommend it to anyone who loves a compelling, addictive read, …………………….. but, please read the other three books first!

Thankyou to Netgalley, and Orion Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book.

I feel like all my favourite childhood authors are bringing out new books this year... and I couldn't be happier! Another gorgeous atmospheric read from Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

David Sempere and his family, secrets and a bookshop....with Daniel and his deep thoughts of revenge for what had happened to Isabella, his mother.

His friend , Fermin is so disjointed in how he speaks and jumps around from subject to subject, he is a comedian and philosopher. Then there’s the resolute Alicia all connected to each other and the Sempere family.

There is a clear love of books and the absolute joy of reading is important in this one of Zafon's quartet of novels. So is the act of writing, to document the fascist regime of Franco and it’s barbarity and sheer greed.

This darkness in Barcelona starts to fade with Franco's death, and Spain begins to recover. This is a spellbinding tale telling of the sheer emotions during a miserable and frightening part of Spain’s history and giving a human touch to the heartbreak and fear of that time. I will be thinking about this novel for some time....I can thoroughly recommend it.


I would like to thank the Author/the Publishers/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

I haven't read any of the previous stories and was completely lost with this one. I think this is the reason I found the story so confusing. I had no idea what was going on. It was a very long book which didn't help.

In many respects Zafon's writing and narrative style remind me of Alexander Dumas and I wonder if he was influenced by him - there are certainly references to his work in this book. Both create fictions of astounding complexity with a whole plethora of vividly described characters and a storyline that has many peaks and toughs. For the most part I really enjoyed this book. It brought together story lines from the previous books in the series whist also introducing a new, very dark storyline. It is a times told with an ironic humour and at other times creates a palpable chill. It can be difficult to keep a hold on the different aspects of the storyline amidst such a densely descriptive tale. My greatest criticism is that there is too much detail which left me feeling like I was wading through treacle. I feel the book could be a good 200 pages shorter than its 816 page length. Zafon does draw all his threads together with great aplomb at the end of the book and as my rating shows I did think it was a work well worth the reading

This is the long awaited last the Cemetary of Fogotten Books series. It was everything I wished for. Beautiful writing as always and a fascinating story. The books brings together the previous three and binds them.

I feel like my review may seem a little unfair as I do feel that in order to get the most out of this book you needed to have read the full series. I have read the first and enjoyed it but definitely needed to have read the other two as well. Neverless very well written , complex and beautifully woven to wrap you in a world thats draws you in. Im going back to find my first book and will be reading them in the right way.

Set against the backdrop of Franco's Spain, this sprawling epic entwines the vagaries of civil war and fascism with the secrets of a family caught up in things far bigger than them, whilst also sending spiralling tendrils of far reaching relationships, secrets, and a deep and abiding love for books throughout Barcelona during a period of about fifty years.
I'd not read any of the authors work before, although I was aware of the critical praise he'd received, and I was happy to learn that it is definitely warranted.
A good books wraps itself around you, each sentence is as important as the last and here is where the author shines. He creates webs of words that entrap the reader and, much like the mysterious Alicia, send shivers down the spine.
Never have I wanted to know more but feared knowing the secrets that are uncovered would also be my own undoing. It is not often that I feel my own muscles clench and release tension whilst reading, a supposedly relaxing past time.
This is one part of an overarching world, and I feel like the characters that were only touched upon are explored at length in other books within the series. For some, the sense of mystery and coming upon a story from its midpoint might be off-putting, but it certainly evokes the intoxicating and shrouded feel of secrets, secrets, secrets, something that crops up many times in the book - cleverly outlining the plague of fascism (which relies entirely upon lies and machinations) whilst intertwining the more common place mysteries that every family in such a time would have hoarded.
I come away from this book reeling, desperately wanting more, but a little afraid of what I might find should I dip my toes in again - exactly how one is supposed to feel.
Highly recommended. Although I suggest reading at least the Wikipedia page on Franco and fascist Spain so one is aware of the backdrop.

The gothic universe created in The Shadow of the Wind, and the following alleyways forged in the sequels culminate in this finale, where all the threads connect to illuminate the horrors, secrets, and terrors of the harrowing and heartbreaking years of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's dictatorship that overturned democratic rule, aided and abetted by the Catholic Church. I loved The Shadow of the Wind and the universe it established with The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, but the following two books, I was disappointed in, I liked them but they fell far short when it came to emulating the brilliance of the first. Mostly, I loved this, it's atmospheric with its beautiful prose, Zafon expertly constructs the labyrinth of secrets, the magic of books, with its intrigue, friendship, love and family. However, if I am to be honest, there is an unevenness to the narrative, and the last part of the book in my eyes is the weakest. We are introduced to the seductive and enigmatic 29 year old Alicia Gris, losing her parents in the relentless bombing of Barcelona in 1938 by the fascists, left with injuries and pain that is to affect her mobility for life. For over a decade, Alicia has worked for Leandro and the political police in Madrid. She wants out, but has to take on one last assignment, find Culture Minister, Mauricio Valls, who has disappeared, along with his driver, presumed kidnapped by enemies.

Valls was the governor of Montjuic prison, where a number of writers were imprisoned, including David Martin and Victor Mataix, the writer of The Labyrinth of the Spirits, a take on Alice in Wonderland for his daughter, but where the heroine, Ariadna, descends into Barcelona's underworld to encounter horror after horror, imagined out of Spain's actual realities of that period. Torture and murder were the norm in the prison, and strangely, Valls had a copy of an edition of Mataix's banned novel which he was perusing. Alicia cottons on that her assignment is not what it purports to be, and she, along with others face deadly dangers by those who have a vested interest in ensuring the dark deeds, secrets and corruption of the fascist regime remain buried. Spain, Barcelona, The City of the Damned, steeped in the blood letting, with its proliferation of secret police, the widespread fear of the likes of Major Fumero and the good looking but monstrous Hendaya, is a place where lies and fiction have the greatest agency, and the truth is to be doubted and ruthlessly suppressed.

The Sempere family with its secrets and bookshop return, with Daniel harbouring bitter consuming thoughts of revenge for what happened to Isabella, his mother. Fermin, comic, saviour and philospher, and the unwavering and resolute Alicia were my favourite characters, both connected to each other and the Semperes. The love of books, the joys of reading are central to Zafon's quartet of novels, as indeed is writing, the need to throw light on the darkest of shadows of Franco's fascist regime with his inner cabal and acolytes, defined by their kleptocracy, butchery, corruption, murdering en masse with impunity, and their avarice. The gloom of Barcelona begins to lift with Franco's death, and chinks of light begin to filter through as slow faltering steps take place as Spain begins to move on from its nightmarish history. Overall, this is a bewitching and beguiling storytelling documenting the unbearable, emotionally heartbreaking inhumanity of Spain's fascist past which I must recommend highly, despite its imperfections. Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.

This is the fourth book in this series which started with Shadow of the Wind, Each can be read individually although there are references to other events and many of the characters are the same. In this novel, a government official has gone missing and Alicia Gris is called upon to investigate the mystery surrounding this. She works for some sort of private agency assisting the police. She is a fascinating character with many flaws but you are 100% behind her as she seeks to discover who has been threatening this man and why he has a banned novel hidden in his room. What she uncovers is quite a conspiracy with many twists and turns. On the way, the story includes Daniel Sempere and his family and the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. I really enjoyed this novel and it made me think and concentrate! I would highly recommend the series and particularly the first and last books within it. Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read and enjoyed earlier books in this series and so wanted to love this one too. My feeling is that it is far too long. I didn’t begin to enjoy it until after half way – the equivalent of slogging through a whole book of average length. I found many of the characters intriguing and wanted to know more about them and their inter-relationships, which is what kept me reading. It shed some light on the horrors of the Spanish Civil War and what happened to prisoners. Altogether though, for me, the book could have been half the length and would have been more appealing and approachable to the average reader.

Three stars on Amazon's review scale, two on Goodreads.

This is book number 4. Please read them in order,or you will be totally confused and unable to appreciate the complexity and brilliance of this series.
This book returns us to the Cemetery of forgotten books,an eternal city,comprising a labyrinth made up of staircases,tunnels and arches,made up of all the books of the World that await a new owner.
Set in Franco's Spain,this ties up all the loose ends from the previous three books and informs us of the extreme violence,corruption and pure evil deeds that were performed by this government. To be intelligent,artistic or a wordsmith,was to be an enemy of the state,and the murders and torture that were carried out in underground prisons and dungeons are vividly described in great detail,gruesome but necessary. However,there are stories of great love and friendship and loyalty,plus the late introduction of a wonderful female character named Alicia Gris. She is cunning,and full of intellect and has suffered excruciating pain from a war wound,that makes her determined to find justice and get revenge in her own way,is she a positive female role model,or a dangerous loose cannon?. That all depends on whose side you are on,but she demonstrates that the pen is mightier than the sword!!
There are scary and tense descriptions of chases and murders,it is a flowing read that conveys the excitement of the chase and so many mysteries that are now explained.
To conclude,this is a most unusual quartet of books,probably gothic in style,full of strong and determined characters,that have all suffered either individually,or by seeing family destroyed,and this has made the all determined to make amends and bring the perpetrators to justice. Truly a dark period in the history of Spain. I think I was intrigued and dismayed in equal measure throughout these books. I absolutely love these books. I have posted this review to Goodreads today.

An absolutely brilliant book which envelopes you in the story with the most beautiful use of language. You feel by the end that you actually know all the characters involved. I would highly recommend this book to all readers.

No novel – NO novel – needs to be this length. This is an Eton Mess of a book – a melange of crusty police procedural, and mish-mash of soft meta archness. And you really have to be a Ruiz Zafon fan to enjoy the mixture. As for me, I never loved the first couple, and have hardly seen a copy of the third, in this series. If this is the closing section it's a whopper for the devotee, but a struggle for anyone else. You'd find it easier to nail the Mess to the ceiling…

This is the final work in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books quartet of which each book works well as a stand-alone. The series began with the compelling, if not addictive, "The Shadow of the Wind" about fifteen years ago which was set in around 1945 Barcelona. In "The Labyrinth of the Spirits" the reader is taken further through Franco era Barcelona. Unanswered questions from the previous three books in the series are answered (sometimes a bit gruesomely) in later times.

The novel is not only wonderful storytelling, it is also beautifully translated into wonderful English prose. For me, at times the plot dragged a bit but, nevertheless, I strongly recommend reading it, especially to those who have enjoyed the other three in this series.

If I could give this novel more than five stars I most gladly would. It invaded my every waking hour and some of those whilst I slept! The Labyrinth of the Spirits is the sumptuous, extraordinary and downright breath-taking final book of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books quartet. Quite frankly is it magnificent. I was transported to the labyrinths, alleys, houses and secrets corners of Barcelona during the Franco regime. This is a story of murder, passion, secret police, plots, sub-plots, mystery and, of course, books.

The new protagonist is the intriguing and beautiful Alicia Gris. As a child during the civil war, her life was saved by the indefatigable Fermín Romero de Torres and twenty years later, although damaged by the war, she is back in Barcelona working as an investigator for the Spanish secret police. She comes back into the life of the Sempere family and with their help uncovers one of the most awful conspiracies to have ever taken place in Spain.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón is a masterful story teller and he has created a truly haunting novel. Do be aware that there are some pretty gruesome scenes but they are not gratuitous. This is a superb end to a truly marvellous series.

This is well written,or translated,but it failed to grip me. It recreates a period of Spanish history but it jumps about and fails to anchor its stories. It has a fanciful and unconvincing beginning too.

If I could give this book a one word review it would be 'Genius" I really don't know what else to say as there are no words when the ones in the novel are so wonderfully written and brilliantly evocative.

But here goes:
I have been so excited for this novel to come out in the English speaking world. I admit I had read it before in Spanish as well, I couldn’t wait for it to come out in the UK, but kudos to Lucia Grave who translated it! Brilliantly done and in a way which totally captures the magic of the original and even adds a little magic of its own.

You do read this with a bit of sadness however as it’s the final novel in Zafon’s The Cemetery of Forgotten Books quartet but you are in for one heck of a treat. Best to start with Book One - The Shadow of the Wind which is one of my favourite books of all time if not the favourite.

We’re back with Daniel and the Cemetery of Forgotten books and the Spanish cover has a young boy gazing into the shop window which I found to reflect how I felt about reading this book. You gaze like an excited child dying to go inside and experience the magic. I was not disappointed.

It’s not just a revisit however for there is more of Zafon’s magic in the Gothic city of Barcelona. Meeting Zafon’s latest creation, Alicia Gris, was a memorable moment. She has to be one of the most extraordinary characters ever to be captured on the pages of a novel. And an epic novel at that.

Daniel is now a young man (running that most exciting of bookshops Sempere and Sons) and is now married with a child of his own. but this makes his search for his own mother even more urgent and enter Alicia who will be a part of this final journey for the truth

I read it slow -painstakingly slow infact as once I was back in this world I didn’t want to leave it. I now feel bereft, but all my questions and worries about Daniel and co have been answered and addressed. I was particularly excited to read about how Fermin arrived in Barcelona and his backstory to the present day!


It's a captivating conclusion, a maze like series of puzzles and clues which suit the setting of the maze like streets of Barcelona. Some new exciting and mysteries locations in the city appear here too.

Oh what else can I say? This is not just a novel you have to read but a journey you HAVE to go on.

This HAS to be a film. It’s such an epic immersive and brilliantly written read.

I was spellbound reading this. Excited to return to the Cemetery of Books, back with old friends and meeting new ones. The gothic streets of Barcelona are the perfect setting for the maze of secrets and puzzles contained within the plot.

Dazzlingly brilliant.

I have always resisted Zafron .. and in fact it took me a while to set aside what seemed to me obvious tropes of this melodrama..the scarred, damaged central figure of Alicia, and the set pieces of the tough guy protector, Vargas, who is a softie inside, and the cold blooded mentor ..the cruel bad guy with an enticing, lonely daughter .. admittedly before halfway I felt it drag .. the often used magic book and dangerous search for it is not entirely woven in to signify Alicia which might be useful.. After cruel smooth government guy disappears, a cruel soul-destroying event happens in Barcelona which has big impact on the charges .. an image of his abuse in prison cell will not leave me any time soon. But this writer is a terrific storyteller in melodrama stakes (if obvious) And the creation of Alicia, his central character is fresh and smart .. and I began to be utterly involved .. really sneaky (still slow though!) In this detective story...

A very long read and at times very slow paced. This is the 4th in a series and although I have read and thoroughly enjoyed the 1st, I do wish I'd read the whole series in order to fully appreciate this book. That said, the book is undeniably a fantastically well written book.