The Book of Killowen (Maguire)

This is a well-written book that combines archaeology and history. Once again, the author takes the reader to the peat bogs of Ireland. There a ninth century body is found in a bog. The puzzle is that it is found alongside that of a twenty first century body, in the trunk of a twenty first century car buried in the bog. Both bodies show signs have having been murdered, though many centuries apart. How did they come about being placed in that car trunk? How did it all end up in a prat bog?That is the mystery that needs solving. Recurring characters, archeologist Cormac Maguire and pathologist Nora Gavin are brought in to assist in the investigation. They stay at Killowen, a nearby artist colony and organic farm, where everyone seems to be a person of interest.I enjoyed this book, especially the historical portions of the book. The mystery was likewise enjoyable, though a little discombobulated in the telling and the resolution a trifle strained. Nonetheless, fans of the author will gratified by yet another peat bog mystery.

Hart's book succeeds in taking us to a world where most of us are truly strangers. Ireland itself and the peat bogs where human remains, or even the remains of ancient books may be preserved for centuries. So it is a story within a story. A murder wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in an historical enigma. The death of an ancient philosopher is linked to the murder of a modern intellectual.It takes the work of a detective, an archeologist, and a pathologist to find a way to the truth. We learn about paleography, peat bogs, Irish monks, and the little notes to the future that they wrote in the margins of the books they copied by hand. Hart's research is extensive.It is all complicated by the deceptions of various characters living near the bogs, including people in an artists collective, and a small time crook. You have to pay attention. It is one of those novels where I sometimes had to back track and reread. It was well worth the time.It leaves you with the feeling that if the world is sometimes sordid and cruel, it is also full of real mysteries.

Fans of Erin Hart's atmospheric murder mysteries set mainly in the Emerald Isle will be happy to know the plot centers on Ireland again in this fourth installment in the Nora Gavin/ Cormac Maguire series. This time, Irish archaeologist Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin are back in the Irish peat bogs, in a place called Killowen Bog, located in County Tipperary. A man operating a digger in the peat bog has just made a gruesome discovery, that of a body in the trunk of a car. Cormac and Nora's interest increases when they discover that the body is of a ninth century man, and that there's another body underneath the ninth-century corpse, that of Benedict Kavanaugh, academic and philosopher, who had been missing for several months. Is there any connection between the two bodies or is it merely a ruse to throw the authorities off track?Unlike Hart's previous novels, Cormac and Nora though still central to the plot, are not the only primary characters. There's detective Stella Cusack, a single mom struggling to raise a teen daughter, and who finds the long hours required of her job has placed undue strain on her personal relationships. Then there's Niall Dawson, Cormac's friend and fellow archaeologist who shows great interest in the case, but who arouses Cormac's suspicions when Niall keeps certain information hidden from the police, such as his (Niall's) past acquaintance with Kavanaugh.Cormac and Nora board at nearby Killowen Farm, a sort of retreat for artists owned by Claire Finnerty. Cormac brings along his dad who is recovering from a stroke and a caregiver named Eliana. Before long, it becomes apparent to Cormac, Nora, and Cusack that the various residents of Killowen Farm are hiding secrets of their own. Then there's the dead man's widow, artist Mairead Broome and her younger lover, Graham Healy who decide to board at Killowen Farm. Are they innocent or guilty in Kavanaugh's death?The list of suspects is long, and the story moves along at an adequate pace. I enjoyed reading about the lost manuscripts throughout the history of Ireland and how some of these manuscripts were found in peat bogs. The lore of the "little scholar" Eriugena and his legacy in the form of priceless manuscripts was intriguing and I wished the subject could have been delved into in greater depth.I also liked the procedural aspects of the novel where the investigation was primarily led by Cusack. Stella Cusack is an interesting primary character and definitely got a meatier role in this story than even Nora Gavin. However, I felt the story suffered from having too many characters. The residents of Killowen Farm are an interesting and mysterious lot, having their own background stories and secrets, and yet the story does not allow for each of these characters to be fleshed out in detail. As a reader, I so wanted to learn more about them, but only got little bits of information without having a full picture.The resolution seemed a little wanting to me. After the identity of the murderer is revealed, several short chapters (all of the chapters are short) are devoted to wrapping up the rest of the plotlines such as the mystery of the Book of Killowen, the story of Cormac's ailing father, as well as what happens to certain residents of Killowen, but the wrapping up felt too pat and convenient, and in fact, rushed. It was almost as if the author had reached her quota of pages and had to resolve everything quickly, much to the detriment of the storyline.I think this story has several sub-stories within it, all of which are intriguing in their own way, and could have been expanded further in the form of a fuller, thicker novel. I still enjoyed it and would love to read about Cormac and Nora's further adventures, and perhaps even read more of Stella Cusack, but I felt the novel just fell short of being really good.The three other novels in this series before The Book of Killowen in order of publication are: Haunted Ground: A Novel Lake of Sorrows: A Novel False Mermaid

Erin Hart is an American experienced novelist. She set this novel in Ireland and she did some very interesting research which she has set out so nicely at the end of the novel. However there are so many annoying things that Hart knows would not work if she set the scene in Minnesota. For example ,a widow would not be required to identify the deceased as there are would be dental records which would identify the deceased. Even more remarkable a cop called Molloy is supposed to have stuffed eel ink pots into the mouth of the deceased and cut even the deceased's tongue? No real explanation. We have the spectre of a deceased's young woman in a wake which adds nothing to the plot. . Creating a character who is not able to speak properly except when there are some words in Gaelic. Unfortunately with the exception of Stella Cusack none of the other characters never gets beyond as cardboard characters.

AD 877, Eoghan, a simple orphan with (we take it to be) Turrettes Syndrome is an outcast in his village. Sent to work with the Monks when the community declare "he has the devil in him!" he soon becomes adept at scribing the ancient manuscripts. The elderly monk who takes him under his wing is set upon one day, killed then thrown into an Irish peat bog, leaving Eoghan alone but still clasping his Psalter which he and the monk have spent years working on. Present day, Nora and Cormak become involved when a body is discovered in a peat bog in Tipperary, thought to be from ancient times. Once the Garda arrive they soon find another, buried alongside, both stuffed into a sunken carboot only to find the second body belongs to the well known TV personality, Benedict Kavanagh. Nora and Cormak stay at the local artists retreat while their investigations continue, quickly realising the guests are hiding many secrets and some are not quite what they seem. I love this series of books by this author. This can be read as a stand alone but I feel if you start from the first in the series you will find the relationships between the characters much more fullfilling. This is a great read; detailed, captivating and a really good mystery to cosy up with. Highly recommended.

I have loved this series - I wish there was a fifth book but that seems unlikely given that the fourth was writtten several years ago.

Arrived sooner than expected. Well wrapped and excellent condition

Hard going at times but reasonable read