Just when life seems to be smiling upon them an unsettling character visits the semperes bookshop and threatens to reveal a terrible secret that lay buried for two decades in the city s dark memory. According to these figures ruiz zafón is the most widely published contemporary spanish writer followed by javier sierra whose works have been published in 42 countries and juan gómez jurado whose works have been published in 41 countries. Carlos ruiz zafón s works have been published in 45 countries and have been translated into more than 40 different languages.