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Haunted Ground (Nora Gavin #1)

by Erin Hart (Goodreads Author)

3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 · rating details · 2,302 ratings · 368 reviews

A dazzling debut -- already an international publishing sensation -- combining forensics, history, archaeology, and suspense.
Introducing Erin Hart, who brings the beauty, poignancy, mystery, and romance of the Irish countryside to her richly nuanced first novel.

When farmers cutting turf in a peat bog make a grisly discovery -- the perfectly preserved severed head of a yo...more

Hardcover, 328 pages

Published by Scribner Book Company (first published 2003)

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May 11, 2012 Almeta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysterious, grsauthorization, winners, in-a-land-far-far-away, serial, reviewed, my-best

In books with historical content, I need to trust that the author has done the research. I did look up a few things, but trusted Erin Hart on several points. Being educated about Bog People and their preservation was really interesting. Considering the destruction of the peat bog in favor of a fuel source for personal use and profit versus the environmental impact of the harvesting of an un-renewable resource was also a thought provoking topic. I’m surprised more was not said about the flora and...more In books with historical content, I need to trust that the author has done the research. I did look up a few things, but trusted Erin Hart on several points. Being educated about Bog People and their preservation was really interesting. Considering the destruction of the peat bog in favor of a fuel source for personal use and profit versus the environmental impact of the harvesting of an un-renewable resource was also a thought provoking topic. I’m surprised more was not said about the flora and fauna. (Where would the Hound of the Baskervilles be without the moor?)☻

I really enjoy archaeological and anthropological mysteries, even hokey ones. The combination of forensics and folklore was appealing in Haunted Ground.

I wasn’t very invested in the modern mystery. The character of the husband , Hugh Osborne, didn't make me very empathetic, (view spoiler) Jeremy, Lucy's son, appears to be vile. (view spoiler) I didn’t worry too much about the missing wife and child either, they were not drawn in a sympathetic palette.. (view spoiler) I know, I know, I’m hard-hearted. (view spoiler).

I wouldn’t mind traveling again with Nora and Cormac, they can verge on the bedside if they like, didn’t make a difference to me. But hey! I do need a scientist and an emotional educator to keep introducing plot points. I’d also like to again hear from homicide detective, Garrett Devaney; need his tenacity and humanity.

So now that I have managed to put thought to paper, I have decided that everyone was just how they were supposed to be! All characters, whether I liked it or not, belonged in this tale!

The mysteries of the "Cailin Rua" and the red-headed pate, now that was very intriguing. I cared about her reason for being bodiless in the bog Loved how each piece, which was gathered from folklore and music, fit into the puzzle, even though the puzzle piece was often times not in the same box and sometimes had to have an edged shaved in order to snuggle in!
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Mar 16, 2013 Marty rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Haunted Ground is a book chosen by one of the book groups I am a member of. It is a book I would have probably overlooked on my own. Generally speaking I am not inclined to read gothic mysteries. That said, this is a pretty good book that has history and archaeology interwoven in a suspenseful plot with not one, but two, mysteries. The first centers around a severed head recovered from an Irish peat bog, the other concerning a missing woman and child from a nearby estate.

Most enjoyable to me ar...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Bettie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: published-2003, one-penny-wonder, britain-ireland, historical-fiction, spring-2013, mystery-thriller, debut, archaeology, tbr-busting-2013, bedside, paper-read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 03, 2013 Cristina rated it 3 of 5 stars

While he is cutting turf in a peat bog, an Irish farmer discovers the well preserved remains of a beautiful red headed girl. Archaeologist Cormac Maguire and pathologist Nora Gavin are asked to investigate the find. As they spend time in the little town of Dunbeg, Cormac and Nora make discoveries about the unfortunate girl from the bog and also uncover clues in the recent disappearance of a mother and her young child.

When I got this book I thought the story would focus mainly on the girl found i...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Hannah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-reads, mysteries

Rating Clarification: 3.5 Stars

Haunted Ground is a very decent debut novel by writer Erin Hart. I enjoy reading stories where they have a historical subplot running along side of the present day story (in this case, the identity of a well preserved, decapitated head found in an Irish bog).

Hart's writing is easy to cosy up to, and her characters are well drawn and interesting. The slight romantic component was probably my least favorite aspect of the book. It seemed a little forced, and didn't ad...more

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Jan 08, 2010 Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: source-own, 2010, fiction, cat-series, f-thriller, f-general

I finished reading this book at lunch yesterday, but since then I have been puttering around gathering my thoughts. The truth is, right after finishing it, I was not sure what I felt. I definitely felt relieved, since there was a lot of jargon in it that I didn't care for, but I know I enjoyed it too.

Firstly, this is not an easy book to get into initially. I read the first page of the book many times before I felt comfortable in going ahead. The first page is the most important page for me. I wo...more I finished reading this book at lunch yesterday, but since then I have been puttering around gathering my thoughts. The truth is, right after finishing it, I was not sure what I felt. I definitely felt relieved, since there was a lot of jargon in it that I didn't care for, but I know I enjoyed it too.

Firstly, this is not an easy book to get into initially. I read the first page of the book many times before I felt comfortable in going ahead. The first page is the most important page for me. I won't give up on a book after starting it, no matter how disillusioned the book makes me feel, but if the first page doesn't grip me, then I may not care for it much. Which is why, when I go to a book store to buy a random book, I read its first page before picking or dropping it. Now, I did give up on Haunted Ground a few times, but some of my friends kept insisting that the book is worth it in spite of the starting trouble. I guess I would say almost the same thing, but I would still prefer not to have to struggle for a few pages to get into the plot.

Haunted Ground has two good mysteries weaving in and out. Both suspenseful. Thrilling. And gripping. Erin Hart laid out the initial buildup pretty well, and switched between the two plots fluently, without letting one get way too ahead of the other.

One thing I enjoyed about Haunted Ground is Erin Hart's writing style. Just ponder this prose:
"And with the force of the blow, time seemed to telescope. The spaces between seconds allowed an almost unbearably acute perception of each sensation as it passed through him. He was conscious of the grinding sound of stone and mortar giving away, of sharp pain and snapping tree branches, then falling, falling into darkness, and the earth seeming to meet him too soon, with a shuddering thump. And then silence. A most pure and sublime silence roared in his ears as he struggled to take breath."
Such a beautiful paragraph, don't you think? Just to describe a man falling down.

There are many such wonderful passages, which are a delight to read.

I did have some qualms though while reading this book. One thing is the excessive technical jargon that went way over my head. I understand most of it was central and necessary to the story, but some kind of footnote would have been helpful.

As for the characters, I couldn't bond with them well. Although Erin Hart did give plenty of pages to some characters, I still felt something lacking, like an unfinished story. Some actions of the characters just weren't making sense to me.

Overall, I would say I enjoyed the book. I don't think I will pick the next book in the Nora Gavin / Cormac Maguire series right away, but I might get to it someday. One of the unfinished subplots in Haunted Ground concerns Nora Gavin's sister. After reading the blurb on the 3rd book, False Mermaid in this series, I gather that Erin Hart is focusing on this subplot in that book. So I am definitely curious to know where she takes that story.(less)

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Mar 16, 2008 Nancy Oakes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-series-first-novel, read-gave-away

A local farmer digging peat for fuel in Drumcleggan Bog comes across a woman's head, complete with a full head of red hair. It is not long until the police show up at the scene, then not long after that until Hugh Osborne, a local, shows up, wanting to see if the head is that of his missing wife. His wife had gone into town one day, bought their little boy a pair of new red boots, then disappeared on their way home. Osborne had no alibi and became the chief suspect. However, with no clues, the l...more

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Jan 22, 2008 Robert Beveridge rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: finished, owned-and-gave-away

Erin Hart, Haunted Ground (Scribner's, 2003)

Erin Hart's first novel, Haunted Ground, shows some of the hallmarks of a first novel, but fortunately sheds them as the pages turn, and we end up with quite a fine read here. If you picked this up and couldn't get past the first few pages, press on. Trust me on this.

The story revolves around an ensemble of characters, but the central two (who seem to be becoming a detective team, as Ms. Hart's website informs us that she is working on a second novel f...more Erin Hart, Haunted Ground (Scribner's, 2003)

Erin Hart's first novel, Haunted Ground, shows some of the hallmarks of a first novel, but fortunately sheds them as the pages turn, and we end up with quite a fine read here. If you picked this up and couldn't get past the first few pages, press on. Trust me on this.

The story revolves around an ensemble of characters, but the central two (who seem to be becoming a detective team, as Ms. Hart's website informs us that she is working on a second novel featuring them) are American expatriate Nora Gavin, who fled to her ancestors' home country after the murder of her sister, and Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire. The two of them meet at the site of the discovery of a new bog body (an archeological curiosity of natural bogs, in which bodies can stay perfectly preserved for hundreds of years as long as they're not exposed to the air), but this one has a twist; it's not a body, it's only a head. As they're uncovering it, an hysterical local arrives to find out if it's the head of his wife, who went missing a couple of years before. Despite themselves, and for very different reasons, Nora and Cormac find themselves working on the two parallel mysteries of the disappearance of Mina Osborne and her son in the present day and the identity of the head found in the bog.

There is a good deal of setup, much of it slow, in the first half of the novel. (This seems to be a common thread in the novels I've been reading recently, for some odd reason.) A little trimming could probably have cut thirty to forty pages of the setup, just by rearranging sentences, and made the book more readable. Thankfully, though, once it gets past the halfway point, Haunted Ground gets more compelling, and by the time I got to the last fifty pages, I was staying up late to keep reading. Because of the differing layers of the mystery, it would have been impossible to tie everything up at once, so the ending may seem a bit drawn-out, but at the end, all of the loose ends are tied, everything is resolved to everyone's satisfaction, and the book has turned out a lot better than the first half presaged. A very good debut from a promising new author. *** 1/2 (less)

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Dec 27, 2008 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I truly enjoyed this book. It had two stories going at once. A mystery from the past and one from the present. Both were explored concurrently. The characters are very well developed and the imagery makes you feel like you are right there. I love the archaeological details about the bogs and the historical information about Irish history and ancestory.

I didn't realize until I was done with this book that this was her first novel. I tend to read many of these, because they tend to have a little...more

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Aug 18, 2008 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Heidi and Kathryn

This was an excellent book - - the secret to an old murder unfolding hand in hand with a more recent murder, set in a part of Ireland that many people have never visited, the wild countryside surrounding Galway. I'm sure my interest in this book was heightened by having visited this corner of Ireland myself, but i must admit, this would be a wonderful book even without that experience. Hart describes the people, the music, the countryside and its history with detail and love, and it really shine...more

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Feb 12, 2009 Toni Osborne rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel is a suspenseful mix of forensics, history and archaeology delightfully crafted around traditional Irish folklore.

The story is set in a tiny village in Ireland and opens when two farmers make a grisly discovery while harvesting peat. They discover the head of a young woman with long red hair perfectly preserved in the peat bog. Archaeologist Cormac Maguire and pathologist Nora Gavin are summoned."Bog bodies" are a remarkable find and time is crucial in order to preserve their original...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Kathryn rated it 3 of 5 stars

My husband and I read this book aloud together, and both of us guessed who the perpetrator of the main mystery in the story was long before it was revealed. We talked about it, thinking there would be some unexpected twist that would prove us wrong. No such luck. There are two mysteries here, and the second one involving the discovery of a young girl's head in a bog was the more interesting and provided a more satisfying conclusion.

The story develops slowly, which seems designed to flesh out the...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Niki rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was very happy to discover Erin Hart as a new favorite author recently. I like her main characters, the romantic plot and the culture and settings as well. Erin Hart seems to be an amazingly well educated person in general and is very well informed about her subject matter, and in each of the three books I have read, has chosen very unusual and unique settings. I loved this gripping mystery with the background of bog bodies and treasure hoards, both fascinating and intriguing subjects in and o...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Jon rated it 3 of 5 stars

An oddly unfocused murder mystery with no assurance that there has even been a murder until late in the story. The severed head of a red-haired girl is found preserved in a peat bog in Ireland, and it is quickly determined that she died 400 years ago. A local woman and her young son simply disappeared from the face of the earth two years ago, and academics from Dublin, come to investigate the bog discovery, have the feeling that the two events are somehow connected. (I don't see why anyone who d...more

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Dec 29, 2011 Clarinda Dodson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had a little difficulty getting into this book. The beginning scenes (chapters?) in the Irish bog were too technical for me. I was getting lost in the graphic description and wasn't sure where the novel was leading.

As I read further, the story did begin to captivate me. The story line in the book was rather redeeming. It begins with the discovery of a body in a bog. I found it interesting how well bogs preserve items that are discarded within them. It must be wonderfully fascinating from an ar...more

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Sep 24, 2010 Fiona Robinson rated it 2 of 5 stars

I chose this book because I liked the title in French "Le chant des corbeaux" = The raven's song, because my cats are named after ravens. The book is worthy of about that level of intellect, it's a fluffy bit of brain candy. Heavily romanticised view of Ireland written by an American of Irish heritage with the heroine being precisely that. Predictable, soppy love interest and a bit too much neat tidying up of all the details at the end. A feature really only of interest to my attempts to read in...more

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Mar 24, 2010 Zarina rated it 5 of 5 stars

The story is set in Ireland, where a farmer, Brendan McGann makes a gruesome discovery whilst cutting turf in the bog - the perfectly preserved, decapitated head of a flame-haired lass. This prompts an investigation, and Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire is brought in, as well as attractive American-based-in-Dublin pathologist Nora Gavin. As the pair try to uncover the mystery of the "Cailin Rua", they also get embroiled in another mystery, which may or may not be connected to the head in the b...more The story is set in Ireland, where a farmer, Brendan McGann makes a gruesome discovery whilst cutting turf in the bog - the perfectly preserved, decapitated head of a flame-haired lass. This prompts an investigation, and Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire is brought in, as well as attractive American-based-in-Dublin pathologist Nora Gavin. As the pair try to uncover the mystery of the "Cailin Rua", they also get embroiled in another mystery, which may or may not be connected to the head in the bog. The second mystery concerns the disappearance of Mina and Christopher Osborne, wife and child of local gentry, Hugh Osborne, who have been missing for the past two years. Hugh is still the main suspect in the case, and both Cormac and Nora have conflicted opinions as to Hugh's role in the disappearance, for different reasons. These two protagonists are emotionally complex people, choosing a solitary and uncomplicated life, yet are immensely attracted to each other. Their burgeoning romance is credibly portrayed, and never sinks into sentimental sap.

The other characters that play a major role in the story are equally fascinating - Hugh Osborne, still a main suspect in the disappearance of his wife and young son, seems to play the grieving spouse and father very well, but is he all that he portrays or is there more to him? Lucy Osborne, the cool and distant cousin who also shares Hugh's roof, seems benign enough, but is she? What about teenager Jeremy, Lucy's son, who seems to be a developing alcoholic, and quite an unstable presence in the story. Brendan McGann, the farmer who discovered the head also seems to be an emotionally unstable person, and someone who despises Hugh. What is the cause of tension between the two men?

The plot may seem incredibly complex with the cast of characters here, but it all ties in together beautifully, which attests to the author's skill in weaving a complex, and chilling mystery. I loved the twin mysteries and how both were explored simultaneously - the historical mystery of the bodyless head, and the chilling mystery of the missing mother and son. And there's always a pervasive sense of menace in the background, partly attributable to the dreary climate and descriptions of the bog, and also because there's a sense of the unknown in terms of each character's motives. This will hold high appeal for those who love atmospheric mysteries, and though the plot does slow down considerably in some parts, it is on the whole an immensely satisfying read. (less)

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Apr 14, 2009 Janet rated it 4 of 5 stars

To My Inlaw Family & Goodreads Friends, I neglected to thank you for all your assistance in how to pronounce Aiofe - that would be "EE-fah... Almost like how little robot Wall-E mispronounces "Eve"." for anyone who may share my pet peeve - all authors have every right & duty to name a character as they see fit. But to have their readers stumble over a character's name every time that character is mentioned - it stops the world of the story & it's painful for the reader. Authors - ple...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Kaye rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-challenge

Loved the Ireland setting and the characters. Good mystery too. A severed head of a woman with red hair is found in a bog and two experts are called in to excavate it intact in the peat. It seems peat is like a preservative so it's hard to know if the body is 10, 100 or 1000 years old. Word spreads about the find, the local "squire", Hugh shows up to see if it is the body of his missing wife. Not just his wife is missing but his young son. The locals assume he had something to do with it but aft...more

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Feb 09, 2012 Susan O'Bryant rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'd had this book on my shelf for at least a few years, and I was in the mood to delve into a longish novel. One of my favorite settings is Ireland, and thought it may seem macabre, the idea of bog bodies is what led me to purchase this book. I'm sure I'm not alone, finding weird phenomenon like this fascinating, or books like Haunted Ground would not be written.

Beyond the intriguing aspect of the head discovered in the bog, this novel comes with a really good plot and well-developed characters....more

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Oct 21, 2011 Warnie B. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, ireland, mystery, archaeology

Pretty enjoyable, though not without issues. While I found both of the main mysteries interesting, and the setting really well-described, I felt like the romance parts, especially in the beginning, were really awkward and cheesy, and that sometimes answers to questions came a little too easily. It's also a mystery with kind of a Scooby-Doo type final confession--you know, "I did all this stuff, and I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids!" That sort of thing, which a...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Anne Hawn Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cozy-mystery, history, mystery, forensics, foreign-country

This book was hard to get into at first, but I really enjoyed it. The reader is deposited right into the middle of the action and, while it gives a sense of immediacy, it is hard to figure out what it going on. The story is actually two mysteries in one...there is a red haired woman's head which is found deposited in the peat bog and a real woman and her child who have been missing for over two years. The plot is interwoven and switches between forensic and historical research on the bog body an...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Kelly Stine rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked up "Haunted Ground" (and Lake of Sorrows) at a used book sale (I think in 2005 or 06)- they were in "Like New" condition. I wanted to read it because it was basically a home run for me - I love history, and Irish lore, etc. - (I really hope some day to be able to travel there), I love archeology, and as a Criminal Justice/Forensics Paralegal type, Bog Mummies are incredibly,forensically facinating. (I moved in 2005, and these books have been packed away ever since - hence, the delay in...more

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Mar 30, 2009 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: mystery fans, historical mystery buffs, Irish history fans.

Shelves: amature-detective, collectible, mystery, own-it, read-in-2009, reviewed, signed-edition, thriller

A picture of Ireland in a place rarely seen, a farmer is cutting turf in a peak bog on a chilly April morning, something catches in his cutting tool, he scrapes the earth around it and finds the severed head of a young woman. We are taken to the western part of Ireland to Count Gallway.

Cormac Maguire is an archaeologist working at the National Museum, he is asked to examine the head to help date it to see if a crime has been committed. He asks Nora Gavin, an American pathologist to help.

Other...more

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Jul 13, 2009 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I recently picked this book up at my public library after searching for Irish mysteries. The story opens with the discovery of a perfectly preserved severed head in a peat bog. Who does the head belong to? Where is the rest of the body? Could it belong to a woman who disappeared along with her son about 2 years ago, whose husband is the prime suspect in her disappearance? There are several mysteries here and the author does a nice job of developing each without causing confusion. In addition to...more

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Aug 04, 2010 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

I have to admit this book was a rather unintentional read: I picked it up whilst travelling in Malaysia, having, run out of material to read after a few days spent lazing about on a beach in Kota Kinabalu. It was one of only a few English language books on offer in a Malay-language bookshop, and was positioned rather beguilingly between Malay versions of Harry Potter and Twilight. (Perhaps the bookshop attendant was making some small claim to its potential to be a bestseller.) Regardless, its bl...more I have to admit this book was a rather unintentional read: I picked it up whilst travelling in Malaysia, having, run out of material to read after a few days spent lazing about on a beach in Kota Kinabalu. It was one of only a few English language books on offer in a Malay-language bookshop, and was positioned rather beguilingly between Malay versions of Harry Potter and Twilight. (Perhaps the bookshop attendant was making some small claim to its potential to be a bestseller.) Regardless, its blurb spoke of bog bodies, Irish music, and a modern day murder, three things that for some reason set my little readerly heart aflutter. A mere train trip to a small country town later, and I was sadly flipping through the last few pages, returning from chilly Ireland with its thick food and thicker accents to a humid Malaysian train carriage that offered instead a television blaring a karaoke channel and the ripe-garbage smell of durian.

Haunted Earth is a debut novel, and despite the fact that spoke to a number of my interests, I have to admit that my expectations were initially rather low. And while for the first few chapters this seemed to be a justified position, I was rather quickly disabused of my snooty position. Haunted Earth is quite the decent read indeed.

Our setting is Galway, Ireland, a place of damp bogs and mires, of thick grass fed by constant drizzling rain. The local pub offers warm respite, with locals coming together for a wee tipple, some jaunty reels, and a bit of gossip, all of which serve as key social lubricants in a village that scarcely warrants a dot on the map. But as is always the case in such communities, all manner of complex, challenging stories lie just beneath the surface, barely latent, waiting to be nudged into salience. And such a precipitating event occurs when a local farmer, digging up the peat around his property, unearths a decapitated head, prompting the arrival of archaeologist Cormac Maguire and forensic expert Nora Gavin. But the grisly discovery is not only of historical interest: the incident spurs local police officer Garrett Devaney to resume his search for local woman Mina Osborne, whose disappearance some two years ago remains a mystery. What follows is a carefully layered thriller involving multiple mysteries that stretch in a fascinatingly diachronic manner.

Devaney, however, is not the only character driven to obsession by Osborne’s appearance. Nora is already dealing with demons of her own: she is haunted by her sister’s recent brutal murder, and by the fact that the courts have failed to bring the killer, her husband, to justice. Feeling frustrated and impotent by the resulting legal stalemate, she not only throws herself into the investigation of the artefact, but begins to seek answers regarding the disappearance of Mina Osborne, a case that she begins to find eerily parallels her own experience. Her investigations, however, dangerously bring her into the paths of sombre Peter Osborne, prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance, and the strange and vindictive Jeremy and Lucy Osborne, both of whom seem beset with problems of their own.

While the solution to the mystery seems obvious enough, Hart does an excellent job of confounding the reader. The truth about Mine Osborne’s disappearance is cleverly obfuscated behind a careful rendering of complex townsfolk relationships and confused hearsay, but in retrospect is neatly alluded to throughout the narrative. Hart’s depiction of rural Ireland is detailed and rich, full of Irish folklore and superstition, and she works to create a believable backstory for even the most minor of characters. The relationship between Cormac and Nora is also nicely drawn, with no shortage of tension, but yet none of the sudden coupling that is so often used to (if you’ll pardon the pun) signal the imminent climax and denouement of a mystery. Unfortunately, the novel does suffer from some pacing issues, particularly in the first few chapters, and again at the end. We’re treated to a several-page-long confession that rather detracts from the carefully plotted and subtle mystery, and the final pages do stretch out as the mystery regarding the bog body artefact is painstakingly (and rather too coincidentally) wrapped up. This is a shame, as it detracts from what is otherwise an admirably accomplished first novel. Still, I’m certainly interested to see where Hart takes the subsequent volumes in his promising new series. Fans of sophisticated cozy mysteries will find a lot to enjoy here.

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May 19, 2009 karen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Eh. "Haunted Ground" was okay. I very much enjoyed the two mysteries that were the focal points of the novel: an ancient beheading and a more recent missing-persons case. The timing was a little off, with all the solutions coming at once, wham bam, but the puzzles were interesting enough that I didn't notice that while I was reading; I just wanted to find out what happened.

My main dissatisfaction with the novel was that the romantic bits seemed awkward and pasted on. There were some explorations...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Franny rated it 3 of 5 stars

I would give this book a good rating for its setting alone...Ireland. However, the subject is extremely interesting. Its a mystery, but a very unique one. The two main characters are an archeologist and a pathologist investigating the finding of human remains in a bog. And apparently bogs are these freak things that preserve for thousands of years-who knew? Not me, so I found myself looking up bogs and bog bodies and pictures of things found in bogs from 5000 yrs ago (weird and amazing-check it...more

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Mar 07, 2010 Susan Kelley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In the peat bogs of beautiful Ireland, a secret lies hidden - the head of a red-headed girl, perfectly preserved. How long has she been there and why? Meanwhile, her discovery has brought to mind another woman, Mina Osborne, wife of Hugh Osborne of the local gentry. She and her infant son have been missing for two years, and the red-headed girl has lit a fire under Detecteive Garret Devaney to solve the Osborne mystery.

Hart has written a creative novel, combining two mysteries in a unique way. S...more

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Oct 15, 2011 Bev Hankins rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: academic-mystery, mystery, historical-fiction

Haunted Ground begins with an Irish farmer cutting turf in a peat bog and finding more than he bargained for. The square of peat that he removes reveals a perfectly preserved head of a red-haired young woman. The local police call in Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin to work on the site and find out how long the bog has kept its secret. The searchers are unable to find the rest of the woman's remains. While the search is going on, local landowner Hugh Osborne...more Haunted Ground begins with an Irish farmer cutting turf in a peat bog and finding more than he bargained for. The square of peat that he removes reveals a perfectly preserved head of a red-haired young woman. The local police call in Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin to work on the site and find out how long the bog has kept its secret. The searchers are unable to find the rest of the woman's remains. While the search is going on, local landowner Hugh Osborne shows up dazed and wondering if the woman is his missing wife.

It's been two years since Hugh's young, Indian-born wife Mina and the couple's son Christopher disappeared without a trace. Rumors are divided between Mina having been unable to cope with Hugh's philandering ways and taking off with Christopher OR that Hugh is the villain of the piece and has disposed of the bodies in some cunning fashion. Perhaps in one of the convenient bogs? Cormac believes Hugh's grief and disorientation to be real, but Nora is none too sure.

As Cormac and Nora continue their investigation they find themselves involved not only in the mystery of the red-haired woman: Who was she? When and why was she killed? but also embroiled in the modern-day disappearance. If Hugh killed Mina for the insurance money (as many believe) why would he hide the bodies so well? Surely he would want them found sooner rather than later? And if the husband didn't do it, then who did? And who is trying to warn them off the case? It becomes obvious that there are many secrets hidden the boggy area--and not all of them are centuries old.

Garrett Devaney is the local policeman on the Osborne case. His superiors have turned the inquiry over to a team in Dublin, but he refuses to let sleeping dogs lie. He knows that the original investigation must have missed something and, contrary to instructions, he keeps digging on his own time. Eventually, his investigation dovetails with the work of Maguire and Gavin...for a very interesting finale.

This was a great read and very nicely done for the author's first outing. As several Goodreads reviews have mentioned, the beginning is a bit slow, but once I made it to the second half--I whizzed right through that last 200 pages and could not go to sleep last night before I finished it. Lots of twists and turns and the historical mystery is woven into the narrative in a fairly seamless manner. Plenty of historical and archeological detail without bogging down the story (sorry, I couldn't resist!). The only minor quibble I have is how conveniently all the threads are tied up. There is a fair amount of lucky happenstance there at the end--regarding the mystery of the red-haired woman. It's almost too much to swallow that so much information would just happen to be preserved. But....a little suspension of disbelief never hurt anyone in the reading realm. Three and 3/4 stars--nearly a full four (which I will go ahead and give it in Goodreads).(less)

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What's The Name o...: SOLVED! Murder mystery book set in Ireland involving body(ies) found in the moors [s]	12	36	Feb 03, 2013 08:50pm

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About Erin Hart

ERIN HART'S archaeological crime novels are set in the mysterious boglands of Ireland. She introduced pathologist Nora Gavin in one of the most lauded mystery debuts of 2003: HAUNTED GROUND (2003), was a Booksense 76 pick, won the Friends of American Writers award and Romantic Times' Best First Mystery, was shortlisted for Anthony and Agatha awards, and translated into ten foreign languages. LAKE...more

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Haunted Ground (Nora Gavin #1)

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