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The smokey mists of Ireland seep out of every scene in this first mystery by Erin Hart. From the bog fields of the west to the tiny towns and manor houses to an apartment in modern Dublin these events could be happening nowhere else. And the reader cannot help but emerge with a new perception of Ireland, past and present, and the certainty that sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between the two. Brendan McGann and his brother are digging turf the old-fashioned way when they uncover the head of a woman. While it is fairly certain this is a ³bog body² dating from centuries before, the local police in the form of Garett Devaney are present to attest to this. Archaeologist Cormac Maguire of the University College Dublin and an Irish-American lecturer in anatomy, Nora Gavin, are sent from Dublin to handle the recovery. Hugh Osborne, local squire, materializes to view the head because his wife and child had disappeared two years before and he fears the worst. Cormac and Nora agree to return to do a dig for Osborne, to ensure that there are no important artifacts where he hopes to build an arts center. Nora has no sympathy for Osborne and is certain that the local police are correct in believing that he murdered his wife because she has had a similar event in her life. As you can tell the story is quite complex with a number of subplots and important characters. Hart never loses sight of any of them and never confuses herself or the reader. This is a rich and complex book and rewards the reader who will stay with it and follow the stories. While not everything is neatly tied up at the end, just as in real life, the two key mysteries are solved, one a bit fortuitously, and appropriate justice is rendered. We have a whole stage of distinct, believable, engaging, and unique characters. Each stands out and is a person in his or her own right. There is no confusing these people one with another. None is perfect; none is evil. Here are a collection of people who are wounded but soldiering on, weak sometimes but strong enough to face life, mistake but learning from their mistakes and moving ahead, all intriguing to know and authentic. Even the most minor of character is believable. The sense of place is equally authentic. This is Ireland. We savor the Irish past as Cormac and Nora search for answers about the bog body. As we encounter the small farmers and villagers, we learn about the more recent past and the changes that are coming to Ireland, changes that some resist even with violence. The book is beautifully written. Sometimes it is sheer poetry. But the words never get in the way of the story. The descriptions are evocative of every sense and the reader will see, hear, smell, touch, and taste the world these people inhabit. We become a part of Ireland for the purposes of this book, to enjoy, to experience, sometimes to weep about what has happened on the small island. The point of view shifts from person to person, but it is well done and clearly marked and makes this book more interesting to read. Information is revealed to the reader gradually, as we would learn from meeting people and visiting places, peeled back layer by layer, always fresh, always intriguing. The plot is excellent; the modern mystery well told and the solution believable and acceptable. Of course it is not so easy to solve the mysteries of the past, but the characters do what they can. The discoveries are satisfying. And people find each other and lose each other in the course of this story. It is real and true and feels like a lightning strike revealing the face of Ireland for a brief moment in time.
Reviewed by Sally A. Fellows, June 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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