Dolores Redondo: Featured Books

Dolores Redondo Meira is a Spanish writer specialized in the crime novel genre. She was born in Donostia, Spain, in 1969. Despite feeling attracted to the profession of writer from a young age, she decided to study Law, although she did not complete her degree, she did complete her training as a Restorer at the University of Deusto.

Later, she ventured into the culinary world, first as a worker and finally as a restaurant owner., until he assumed his literary vocation. She began as a creator of children's stories and stories. In those initial stages he was unsuccessful, he had to wait until 2009 to see his first published novel, The Privileges of the Angel. 

Jump to recognition

It was definitively unveiled in 2013 with the first installment of the Baztán trilogy, The invisible guardian. That same year the continuation was launched Legacy in the bones, and in 2014 the closing of the saga, Offering to the storm. In total, this series has exceeded 400.000 units sold and has been translated into more than 15 languages.

In 2016 he published All this I will give you, by which was awarded the Planeta Prize as the best Spanish novel and also with the Bancarella Award (2018). On the other hand, the rights of the Baztán trilogy were acquired by German producer Peter Nadermann (known for the Millennium Saga) and the movie The invisible guardian It was released in 2017, under the direction of Fernando González Molina.

Dolores Redondo featured books

The privileges of the angel (2009)

This is the first novel published by Dolores Redondo. In it, several of her distinctive lines as a crime novel writer are already glimpsed, with a genuine combination of noble, tender and innocent characters, in the midst of a dark, tense environment and situations of despair. The play received good reviews, and most arose after the popularity obtained with The invisible guardian (2014)

What the series is about?

The plot of The privileges of the angel takes place in the fishing settlements of the coast of San Sebastián. It describes situations set in the current life of Celeste Martos, explained in parallel with traumatic events that occurred during the 1970s, since the protagonist has been marked since she was five years old by the disappearance of her gaming friend.

A cool style

In a narrative style full of short sentences, the writer shows how the breaking of the tender bonds of childhood friendship turns into a prolonged duel for more than two decades. Then the reader is enveloped in the cloudy atmosphere characteristic of people unable to accept emotional losses.

Denial reaches unhealthy and dangerous limits, dealing with spiritual issues, loneliness, and suicide. Celeste's internal conflict makes her feel helpless amid the superficiality and harshness of the environment around her. For all of it The privileges of the angel It has been considered a rather introspective and moving book in some specialized reviews.

The role of angels

In your search for answers, angels appear as your only allies because they will make you understand the value of your feelings and his own personality. The heavenly beings counterpart to the earthly hell experienced to the end, full of unexpected changes and surprising revelations.

Baztán trilogy (2013 - 2014)

This series of three installments Is made up of The invisible guardian, Legacy in the bones y Offering to the storm. Each of the books is related to a sequence of connected crimes that occurred in the Baztán Valley. The protagonist is Inspector Amaia Salazar, who assumes the difficult task of investigating and deciphering the facts.

A well-supported history

To develop the plot it is evident that Dolores Redondo carried out a very extensive and meticulous documentation. Mystery abounds in its settings, with intrigues around supernatural elements associated with legends and myths. The writer also does not skimp on bloody deaths that evoke in the reader very crude images, as well as an urgent need to find out "what the hell is going on here?"

Details have been the key to success

The hook is created through the detailed description (almost didactic) of criminalistic concepts plus a high dose of reflections and unexpected turns. Redondo presents contradictory circumstances that can become disturbing (stressful) for unsuspecting readers. Likewise, the construction of its characters is very well elaborated.

A simple and pleasant language

For such an intricate story it is incredibly easy to read, the mysteries are approached with surprising fluidity. The protagonist, Amaia Salazar, is an enigmatic woman, punctilious, focused on her work and (obviously) gifted with great intelligence. However, her obsession with solving crimes makes her indolent of the feelings of the people with whom she interacts.

A story that grabs the reader

At the end of the saga it is impossible not to become fond of Amaia. In addition, many readers can be reflected in the dysfunctionality of his family, evident in his relationship with his mother and sister. These kinds of peculiarities give these books a very palpable and authentic realism. In addition, Salazar's young companion, Jonan Etxaide, is equally cultured and hard-working, but much more sensitive.

The reader must remain alert to each of the numerous details presented throughout the trilogy if they do not want to be surprised and / or disappointed by the final outcome. Not in vain, the interest aroused in the public has led to the production of the film The invisible guardian and it is planned to complete the saga.

All this I will give you (2016)

On this occasion, Dolores Redondo presents a crime novel with a less frenetic pace compared to the Baztán trilogy. However, the work has an aura of mystery that ensures strong emotions and uncertainty until the end, since the appearances surrounding the case described are quite deceptive.

The loss that starts it all

The plot is set in the Ribeira Sacra, where Álvaro suffers a fatal accident. When Manuel (her husband) arrives in Galicia to identify the body, he discovers that the investigations into the case have been closed very quickly. In addition, the influential and wealthy family of the deceased, the Muñiz de Ávila, have a history of other cases of supposedly fortuitous deaths, very suspicious.

Well accomplished characters and unexpected turns

Additionally, Nogueira (a retired civil guard) and Lucas (a priest who knew Álvaro since childhood) also have many suspicions about the death; they accompany Manuel in the reconstruction of her husband's secret life. That's when three men with no apparent connection come together to solve the case.

In the midst of an environment full of conservative customs, puzzling clues are revealed, because in the whole plot nothing is what it seems. To discover the enigmas, the protagonists are forced to resort to something more than logic and reason.