In Zahara and the Lost Books of Light, the first of two books in Joyce Yarrow’s Zahara series, when Spain offers citizenship to descendants of the Jewish community who were expelled in the past, young Seattle-based journalist Alienor Crespo decides to document her journey to recover her Sephardic family’s past. She has been blessed—or cursed—with the ability to connect spiritually with deceased female family members, and this paranormal ability guides her along the way, revealing an enormous underground archive of religious books that were saved through divine intervention from the book burnings carried out by the Spanish Inquisition, particularly one at the Plaza de Bib-Arrambla. Very quickly Alienor learns that Spain’s distant past with its anti-Jewish sentiments and more recent Fascist past still echo in the present. The novel becomes a women’s fiction thriller as she uncovers Rightist political intrigues and plots to destroy this library.
Joyce Yarrow deftly weaves past and present—far-right Spanish politics and the Inquisition—into a cohesive whole that also reflects what is happening in the United States currently. The settings seem authentic and are well-described, giving a true flavor of Spain. This novel of strong women and books blends women’s fiction with a touch of romance with thrillers—what could be better?
********************
Zahara and the Lost Books of Light (All Bilingual Press, February 15, 2023) is available through:
********************
This post contains affiliate links to third party sites. This can help you visually identify books I recommend. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small compensation at no additional cost to you. This offsets some of the cost of maintaining this blog.
