The Invisible Guardian

Redondo managed to blend police procedural with Basque mythology without either element crushing the other. Inspector Amaia Salazar is a character whose past is revealed in layers, and the Baztán setting — forest, rain, silence — has an almost physical presence. There are moments when the supernatural plot stretches credibility too far for sceptical readers, but as an atmospheric thriller with a distinctive local flavour it is among the best Spanish narrative fiction in recent years.