The Invisible Guardian (Trilogía del Baztán #1)

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

This thread is to discuss The Invisible Guardian, the first book in the Trilogía del Baztán series by Dolores Redondo.

Pages: 384 pages

Length: 1 month (April)

Participants: Lorraine, Valerie

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Here are some questions to help get the conversation started! Feel free to look up discussion questions specific to this book or come up with your own. Just make sure any questions that contain spoilers are under spoiler tags.
Discussion questions are not required but may be a fun way to talk about the book and get to know each other!

Prior to starting:
What prompted you to join this buddy read?
Have you read this author before? What do you think of their other books?

Mid-read:
What character or ideas do you relate to the most and why?
Do you have any favorite quotes or scenes?

After reading:
What was enjoyable or not-so-enjoyable about this book?
Did this book change your perception about anything, either within the book (character development) or in real life?

[Valerie]

Hi Lorraine, do you want to start this next week or leave it for later in the month? I’m flexible just decide and let me know.

[Lorraine]

Let's start it. After I read the summary, I got excited! Any time works for me

[Valerie]

Ok early next week then. Looking forward to it.

[Valerie]

Read the first 7 chapters today. A lot of background, characters, and relationships to get to grips with but it flows along well and I was pleased that it started straight in with the murders.

[Lorraine]

Read the first 10 chapters. Like you, I liked that the action (murders) started at the beginning. The author lost no time!

[Valerie]

At the end of chapter 12 and yes she certainly lost no time! I like the fact that the village, forest and all the associated traditions, including from a pagan past that still resonates with the locals, are gradually creeping into the story. It really adds to the richness and atmosphere. (view spoiler)[ if it’s true that the killer is a local then I wonder if we have already met them amongst so many characters? (hide spoiler)]

[Lorraine]

I'm at Chapter 20, but I’m not sure how much time I'll have to read today. (view spoiler)[ Since the killer is someone from the village, we may have already met them. I have a suspect in mind, but I won’t say more for now—I’ll let you know at the end if I was right or wrong. My suspicion is based more on intuition than concrete evidence, probably from reading so many crime novels—my favorite genre! (hide spoiler)]

Something feels missing in this book, though I can't quite put my finger on it. I feel like Amaia was more intuitive in the previous book, or perhaps we had greater access to her internal thoughts and personal story. I'm not sure if I’m expressing this clearly, but that’s the impression I have so far.

[Valerie]

At the same place as you. Yes seems like a lot of context and explanation about family, community and the region which we sort of know from the other book. But then I realised that this was actually the first book and the information would have been new. Still, I think the story needs to start picking up the pace again regarding solving these murders!

[Lorraine]

At Chapter 30 now. Yes, I was wondering the same thing—maybe this was the first book she wrote, and then she went back and wrote the prequel. If that's the case, great! That means books 2 and 3 might be even better! 😂
I have to say, I've found a new suspect… maybe my first guess was a mistake after all. We’ll see!
By the way, I’ll check what we’ve got scheduled for May so we can decide whether to read book 2 next month or wait a bit.
Now, back to The Invisible Guardian!

[Lorraine]

I was wrong! Twice! I’ll let you finish before my final comments.

[Valerie]

At chapter 29. I have a couple of suspicions but I’m probably wrong! We’ll see. The latest event doesn’t seem to fit the pattern so maybe there’s even more going on than we think.

[Valerie]

Just finished and I was right (well at least with one of my two suspects). Two clues (view spoiler)[ the changing of the flour because who else would Flora be protecting and the sound of the motorbike which was reported (hide spoiler)]. It didn’t spoil the rest of the book for me because I wasn’t sure until nearer the end. Lot to think about but I’ll comment more later.

[Valerie]

I enjoyed this overall. I really like the way the place - including that overpowering weather - and its traditions add atmosphere and interest to make this something more than just a murder mystery. I do think, though, that she sometimes throws in too many elements- like the supernatural aspects- and focuses too much on Amaia’s past traumas, losing sight at times of the main plot. I’m interested to see how things develop and move on in the next book.

[Lorraine]

Like you, I really enjoyed The Invisible Guardian and definitely want to continue the series. Just let me know when you're ready to dive into Book 2. I have no problem with the supernatural — one of my favorite series is Charlie Parker, and (view spoiler)[he talks to his dead daughter (hide spoiler)]— but in this case, I felt it was a bit overdone, and I’m not quite sure why. (view spoiler)[ What exactly was the role of the Basajaun, other than telling Amaia she was protected?

I also had some issues with the ending. How could her older sister kill her husband and then just be allowed to walk free? But hey, if I can accept the supernatural elements, I suppose I can live with a murderer escaping justice… (hide spoiler)]

[Valerie]

I’m ok to read the next one in either May or June.