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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
I loved the setting of this book and the immersion made me feel iike I was solving the mystery along with the characters.
Not bad for a first book. Maybe tried to do too many subplots. Starts with finding a decapitated head in a bog. Background delves into some Irish history.
I'm fascinated with bog people, so I was pissed as hell when I went to the British Museum, the bog man was "out on loan." This is a mystery that involves a woman's head found in a bog, a missing wife and child, and the loveliness of Ireland. An interesting tale that takes a few twists and turns at the end.
This is not what I expected, and I am disappointed. Besides all the information dumps on bog bodies (which could have been interesting) and song lyrics I skipped over, I did not like the pace, nor did I like any of the characters or their interpersonal issues. Nora was my least favourite character and I felt she was just a busy body. Her relationship with Cormac felt very forced and not at all necessary for the story. There was too much going on in this book.
I started this book in mid-April. I could never get into it. I read the first 8-10 chapters over the course of a month and a half. I finished the rest over two days in June. I never logged it in real time because frankly I wasn’t convinced I’d finish it.
It was… Fine? A lot of potential but just didn’t pull together.
It was… Fine? A lot of potential but just didn’t pull together.
I really enjoyed this one. I liked the characters, the mysteries and the setting (so many places I recognize from my travels!). There was a short bit towards the end that was a little tedious (basically a chapter of recap of the rest of the story), but otherwise it flowed very well. Looking forward to more with Nora Gavin!
It was much better than I expected it to be. The storyline was solid and the characters were easy to connect with and root for. I will say that the middle portion was a little slow and could have been condensed but a solid ending wrapped it up nicely. It also left plenty of storylines for the characters to follow, so I won’t rule out continuing the series.
I am re-reading Haunted Ground for the same book club that originally introduced me to Erin Hart and her work. I recall that after having read Haunted Ground I read the second in her trilogy, now with a fourth book. I had intended to skim the book for the club, but now I am only 20 pages in and fully expect to be captured by every word ... again. More later.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Basic but good. Good mystery that wraps up nicely. Characters are good but not a lot of depth. Easy, fun read.
Several different stories going on in this first book in a series of 4. Kept my interest enough to finish in 2 days. Nice twist.
"When farmers cutting turf in a peat bog make a grisly discovery -- the perfectly preserved severed head of a young woman with long red hair -- Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin team up in a case that will open old wounds. Peat bogs prevent decay, so the decapitated young woman could have been buried for two decades, two centuries, or even much longer. Who is she? When was she killed? The extraordinary find leads to even more disturbing puzzles. The red-haired girl is clearly a case for the archaeologists, not the police. Still, her tale may have shocking ties to the present, and Cormac and Nora must use cutting-edge techniques to preserve ancient evidence. And the red-haired girl is not the only enigma in this remote corner of Galway. Two years earlier, Mina Osborne, the local landowner's Indian-born wife, went for a walk with her young son and never returned. Did Mina simply decide to disappear, or did mother and child become lost in the treacherous bog? Could they, too, be hidden in its depths, only to be discovered centuries from now? Or did the landowner, Hugh Osborne, murder his family, as some villagers suspect?"
"When farmers cutting turf in a peat bog make a grisly discovery -- the perfectly preserved severed head of a young woman with long red hair -- Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin team up in a case that will open old wounds. Peat bogs prevent decay, so the decapitated young woman could have been buried for two decades, two centuries, or even much longer. Who is she? When was she killed? The extraordinary find leads to even more disturbing puzzles. The red-haired girl is clearly a case for the archaeologists, not the police. Still, her tale may have shocking ties to the present, and Cormac and Nora must use cutting-edge techniques to preserve ancient evidence. And the red-haired girl is not the only enigma in this remote corner of Galway. Two years earlier, Mina Osborne, the local landowner's Indian-born wife, went for a walk with her young son and never returned. Did Mina simply decide to disappear, or did mother and child become lost in the treacherous bog? Could they, too, be hidden in its depths, only to be discovered centuries from now? Or did the landowner, Hugh Osborne, murder his family, as some villagers suspect?"