After reading the same author's "La sombra del viento", this book was a bit disappointing. I was really looking forward to reading it as I thought it would be of the same standards and, regarding the way Zafon writes, it is. But the plot is a bit weird. You expect a "grand finale" but as much as you read on this never comes and in the end you keep wondering what has happened. Also, in this book Zafon repeats himself a lot in his great effort to set the scene of the story in a dark, wet and mysterious Barcelona, sometimes spending more time in such descriptions than in the story itself. Of course, this is my personal opinion -based on my expectations after "La sombra del viento"-and maybe it's a bit strict, you'd rather read this book and find out for yourself, as you might really like it.