Dolores Redondo Returns to the Eerie and Gloomy Valleys of Navarre

Dolores Redondo (San Sebastián, 1969) returns to the eerie and gloomy valleys of Navarre with her new novel. 'Las que no duermen NASH' (Destino) will reach the hands of her eager readers on November 13. The author of the Baztán Trilogy once again mixes intrigue and mystery in a plot that begins in March 2020, when forensic psychologist Nash Elizondo documents the origin of a witchcraft legend in the Legarrea chasm, in one of Navarre's Tranquil Valleys.

Upon descending into the chasm, she finds the corpse of Andrea Dancur, a young woman who disappeared three years earlier. Her case shocked the nation, and a woman is currently imprisoned for the crime. The discovery and new clues necessitate reopening an investigation that will unfold "through scientific methods and by delving into the psychology of those involved and understanding ancient mysteries," her publishers hint.

Nash Elizondo, who ventures into a mythical and at times hostile territory, will receive unexpected help, positioning herself at the forefront of a lineage of women who do not bend even when they are victims.

Daughter of Galicians born in San Sebastián, María Dolores Redondo Meira studied Law at Deusto and culinary restoration in the capital of Gipuzkoa. She worked in several restaurants and owned one before opting for literature.

Residing in the Navarrese town of Cintruénigo, she began by writing short stories and children's tales. In 2009, she published her first novel, 'Los privilegios del ángel'. The second, 'El guardián invisible', arrived in 2013 as the beginning of a brilliant career that would lead Redondo to win the Planeta Prize and see her books turned into successful films and series.

'El guardián invisible' was the first installment of the Baztán Trilogy, featuring Amaia Salazar, a homicide inspector with the Foral Police of Navarre, endowed with exceptional intuition and mastery of advanced criminal investigation methods. Redondo successfully blended police intrigue and noir with the ancestral and magical mythology of this beautiful and wooded area of Navarre.

At the end of 2013, 'Legado en los huesos', the second part confirming her readers' fervor and translated worldwide, was published. The series concluded in 2014 with 'Ofrenda a la tormenta', where the germ that inspired the entire story—the real murder of a child in Navarre by a sect—is clarified, helping readers understand why despite so many magical elements, the novel is very real and very current.

"All my novels are imbued with a layer of north, rain, and humidity that come from my own roots, from where I was born and raised, from the matriarchal family model around me, from the culture of hard work, from the honor of the poor and death," explained the author in the prologue to the reissue of her first novel which was "a necessary step" to becoming the narrator she is today.

Redondo won the Planeta Prize in 2016 with 'Todo esto te daré', a novel with a different tone revolving around an old family's secrets in Ribeira Sacra, confirming her as a significant phenomenon in recent Spanish literature. She deservedly won the prestigious Bancarella Prize in Italy and was also awarded in France, Finland, and the United States.

She switched genres with 'La cara norte del corazón' (2019), set in Hurricane Katrina's New Orleans—a novel that caught Hollywood's attention as they prepare a series adaptation. With 'Esperando al diluvio' (2022), she hit another bullseye, remaining Spain's best-selling book for twelve months following its publication.

Her particular relationship with cinema began in 2017 with the film adaptation of 'El guardián invisible'. The adaptations of all three novels in the Baztán Trilogy—read by nearly three million people—directed by Fernando González Molina can be seen on Netflix. In France, a television series based on 'Todo esto te daré' has premiered, and Zebra Producciones has announced an adaptation of 'Esperando al diluvio'.