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    Haunted Ground
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    Haunted Ground
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    Haunted Ground
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    Haunted Ground

    Written by Erin Hart

    Narrated by John Keating

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    When farmers cutting turf in an Irish peat bog make a grisly discovery - the perfectly intact body of a young woman with long red hair - archaeologist Cormac O'Callaghan and pathologist Nora Gavin are thrown together by their shared scientific interest in human remains. Because of the preservative effect of the bog, it is difficult to tell whether the body has lain there for two decades, two centuries, or two millennia. As they dig into the mystery of the red-haired girl, they are drawn into the two-year-old disappearance of a landowner's wife and young son. The story delves through the many layers of Ireland's turbulent past, tracing the still-visible footprints of fortified tower houses and ancient burial mounds, ever mindful of the eternal, subliminal connections between past and present.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 27, 2003
    ISBN9780739302545
    Unavailable
    Haunted Ground
    Author

    Erin Hart

    Erin Hart is a theater critic and former administrator at the Minnesota State Arts Board. A lifelong interest in Irish traditional music led her to cofound Minnesota’s Irish Music and Dance Association. She and her husband, musician Paddy O’Brien, live in St. Paul, Minnesota, and frequently visit Ireland. Erin Hart was nominated for the Agatha and Anthony Awards for her debut novel, Haunted Ground, and won the Friends of American Writers Award in 2004. Visit her website at ErinHart.com.

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    Reviews for Haunted Ground

    3.5/5

    313 ratings32 reviews

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    • 3/5
      More a 2.5... like that there were rogue O'Flaheries in the past... and who doesn't like reading about bog bodies?
      Well.
      Was pretty predictable, but enjoyable.. I sure wish I had an inkling on how to pronounce Irish names.
    • 3/5
      When the perfectly preserved head of a red-haired young woman is found in a in a peat bog on a farm in County Galway, Ireland, archaeologist Cormac Maguire and pathologist Nora Gavin are called in to consult on how long the head may have been there. Local police officer, Garrett Devaney, uses the discovery to resume his search for Mina Osborne and her son, whose disappearance two years ago still remains unsolved. Her husband, Hugh Osborne, has always been the main suspect and his land is located near the bog.

      I wasn't initially gripped by the storyline but felt like the author did a good job of keeping the reader interested in the two mysteries: who does the severed head belong to and whatever happened to Mina Osborne? She switched between the two plots fairly seamlessly and her depiction of rural Ireland was believable and full of Irish folklore and superstition. This was the debut of a series featuring Nora Gavin and I will definitely try another one when I get the opportunity.
    • 4/5
      The Irish history plays very well in the story. The characters are memorable and the reader hopes Cormac and Nora will return in another novel to follow their romance, in addition, the story is well told and difficult to put down.
    • 5/5
      Excellent narration by Jennifer McMahon - the mix of accents was amazing. I think this would be a great listen-alike for fans of Tana French, Louise Penny, and Julia Spencer-Fleming.
    • 4/5
      I admit that this is not my usual cup of mystery tea, but once I started I was drawn in by the excellent writing, the warm, all-too-human characters, the compelling sense of place, the archeological forensics, and finally a strong desire to see the past and present mysteries resolved. A very good read - I can tell because two hours later and I'm still feeling a strong desire to return to the world of the Haunted Ground.
    • 3/5
      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 are the descriptions of the village and the people living there. There are wonderful examples of the traditional music and the folk lore of Ireland often passed down through generations and centuries in poetry and song.

      If you think you might be interested in *bog bodies* this book is for you.

      * "Over the past centuries, remains of many hundreds of people--men, women, and children--have come to light during peat cutting activities in northwestern Europe, especially in Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, northern Germany, and Denmark. These are the "bog bodies." The individual bog bodies show a great degree of variation in their state of preservation, from skeletons, to well-preserved complete bodies, to isolated heads and limbs. They range in date from 8000 B.C. to the early medieval period. Most date from the centuries around the beginning of our era." ~ from 'Bodies of the Bogs' in Archeology Magazine - December 1997
    • 2/5
      adult mystery. I didn't like this one as much as False Mermaid (a later book in the series, where Nora does finally solve the mystery of what happened to her sister). Perhaps I'm just in a mood for more action right now; there wasn't anything necessarily wrong with this one--it is as layered and murky as it's Irish bog setting.
    • 4/5
      An archaeologist and an anatomy lecturer investigate a redheaded woman’s head discovered in an Irish bog, and also become caught up in the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a local landowner’s wife. I didn’t know about peat bogs and the way they preserved “skin, hair and vital organs [...] even subtle facial expressions”, nor the challenges this poses for determining how long a body has been buried. I’ve read a bunch of murder mysteries -- and this one is definitely different. It is so atmospheric, with a strong sense of place, history and mystery.I intend to read more of these mysteries at some point. While I’m in no hurry to find out what happens to Cormac and Nora next (usually the motivating factor for binging murder mysteries), I enjoyed their company and liked how they had different skills and perspectives.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed the Irish setting, the music, and learning about the bogs and how the Irish cut the turf for heat. The story was decent, even though the author is not yet fully polished. It's about a severed woman's head that is found in a bog, and two archaeologists' attempts to learn the history of the woman and also unearth the current mystery of a missing mother and child.
    • 3/5
      Quite repetitive in the early part of the book , took until page 200 for the first clue to arrive, but a good book over all.
    • 3/5
      Pretty good story. The writing was a bit lackluster, and it did take me much longer to finish this book than it should have.
    • 4/5
      There are actually two mysteries in this novel – one a few years old and one a few centuries. One involves two missing people; one concerns identifying an unknown corpse. Set in Ireland, this audio version is rich in folklore and tradition and well read by John Keating. Author Erin Hart does an excellent job of intertwining the two mysteries as she weaves her way to a surprising conclusion. With believable and complex characters, this riveting mystery will capture your interest from the very beginning to the grisly end.
    • 4/5
      Themes: secrets, crime, missing mothers and children, tradition vs. technologyA farmer is cutting peat when he find a long buried body in the bog. Well, part of a body. A woman's head. At first, locals think it might belong to a missing mother who disappeared 2-3 years ago, but the head has been there much, much longer. Nora Gavin, a forensic scientist who studies bog bodies, and Cormac Maguire, an archeologist, join up to figure out what happened to the body. Meanwhile a police inspector has been warned off the disappearance of Mina Osborne, but he won't give up the case without one last investigation.I liked this one, the first in a series set in modern Ireland. For some reason, I had the idea that modern day Ireland is mostly like England, with a little Irish flair. But this book was so totally different, in the names of people and places, in their mindset, and in the setting itself. Just really different, and I really enjoyed my little trip to the Emerald Isle. 4 stars.
    • 2/5
      meh... just never quite got there for me...
    • 3/5
      The discovery of a woman's head in an Irish bog brings together archaeologist Cormac Maguire and forensic pathologist Nora Gavin. As they conduct their archaeological investigation, they're forced to deal with a much more recent mystery. Cormac's client for the archaeological survey, Hugh Osborne, has become a controversial figure in the small community. His wife and young son disappeared without a trace two years earlier, and the police investigation is still open. For personal reasons, Nora, like many, believes that Osborne must have murdered his wife and child. However, other people are behaving oddly, including Osborne's cousin's widow, her teenage son, and an angry neighbor.While I enjoyed the characters and the setting, neither the historical nor the modern mystery captured my interest. The combination of archaeology and pathology is one that appeals to me, but there wasn’t enough of either one in this book. Nora and Cormac spent more time on their developing romance than on a systematic investigation of either mystery. The breaks in the mysteries seemed almost effortless on their part, the result of luck or convenient confessions. If I continue with the next book in the series, I'll borrow it from the library rather than purchase it.
    • 3/5
      This was an interesting mystery with the archeological/historical mystery thrown in. It was kind of a cozy ( well not exactly a cozy more like M.C. Beaton or Louise Penny) except for the F-bombs that were so superfluous to the story they took me right out and actually took me awhile to get back in. Also this does move a bit slow, so if you are expecting a fast moving mystery this isn’t the book for that.I was very interested to find out about the Bog body or should I say head of a red haired woman the mystery of how long the body has been in the bog is resolved pretty quickly but then the mystery of who she was starts, there is also a present day mystery of a woman and her child that have been missing for a few years. The crux of the book is these two mysteries and how they will interconnect because it’s a mystery with a present day & historical mystery so you know somehow they will come back around to each other. How they connected wasn’t done as well as I hoped they would be. Also I had pretty much figured out what happened to the missing woman.This is the first in a series and first book for this author and I did like Nora so if she is the lead character in this series I would probably read the next book, but it won’t be one I will immediately run out and get. Audio production: Jennifer McMahon was a new to me narrator who went back and forth from an Irish accent to an American seamlessly I was very impressed. However her male voices need a little work.3 stars
    • 4/5
      The first in a mystery series set in Ireland and starring an Irish archaeologist and an American pathologist. Here, the head of a woman is found in a bog, drawing the two scientists into a search for her ancient identity as well as into a more recent mystery: the disappearance of the young wife and child of the local landowner, upon whom suspicion has centered. The historical background, and especially the details concerning bog bodies, is very interesting, and the book has a wonderful final twist. The characterization is not quite as successful, with some less-than-convincing explanations of behavior which seems rather gratuitous. However, I enjoyed this quite well enough to read the sequel, which is already on my shelves.
    • 2/5
      I just could not get into this book. It started slow and continued for the first few pages. I usually love any book about Europe but this one just didn't sit well with me.
    • 4/5
      Irish archaeologist, Cormac Maguire, and American pathologist, Nora Gavin, are called to investigate a severed head that was uncovered by a farmer cutting peat in a remote Irish bog. Due to the preservative nature of the peat in bogs, the head could be from more recent times to centuries old. As they investigate the red-headed girl, Nora and Cormac discover that a more recent mystery is also disturbing this small village. Three years ago, the wife and son of the local, wealthy landowner went for a walk and never returned. Some in the village believe that her husband, Hugh Osborne, killed them and that the bog may some day turn up their bodies as well. As their investigations continue, Nora and Gavin find themselves living at the Osborne home and becoming drawn into this puzzling disappearance as well. I found this to be a beautifully written story told in a style that is perfectly evocative of the rural Ireland of its setting. Hart's depiction of Galway is rich and detailed, full of Irish lore, traditions and superstitions. I found myself drawn to the characters of both Nora and Gavin and the local police inspector, Garrett Devaney. I thought that there were some issues with the pacing in the novel, especially towards the end. The good, however, far outweighed the bad, and I am happy to add another author to my watch list.
    • 5/5
      A red-headed woman is found deeply buried in an Irish bog. Who is she and how long has she been ther? These are the questions that Nora and Cormac work on. A local woman and son are also missing. How do they dove-tail and who is resposible for horrible finding? Great read. Couldn't put it down.
    • 4/5
      Set in Ireland, archeologist Cormac Macguire and pathologist Nora Gavin are called in to investigate the uncovering of a woman's severed head. Since the bog tends to preserve tissue, the head could be hundreds of years old. Hart includes a lot of science as the two try to discover the history of the find. But this discovery unleashes new interest in a more current mystery in the town, the disappearance of the wife and child of a prominent citizen who is generally suspected of being responsible. Hart moves back and forth between the two mysteries and does a good job with both. There is also a developing personal relationship between the two scientists that is well done. She gives a good sense of place in describing the rural Irish setting. I'll definitely read her next book.
    • 3/5
      I think I really enjoyed this book only not as much as I thought I would. I loved the beginning and the middle but near the end I literally had to speed read to the finish line. Haunted Ground had lovely writing and great depth but I was simply ready to finish it. The premise of Haunted Ground is this…an Irish farmer is digging up turf. Turf is what fuels stoves and fires for cooking and for the winter. Every farmer has his own turf patch and the cutting is exhausting and precise. As this farmer is digging he discovers a red headed woman, who has been buried in the peat for God only knows how long. It could be months, years, or centuries. The discovery gets everyone excited because there is an unsolved missing persons case going on within the area and everyone rushes to this area hoping wondering and praying that it is the missing person that they want it to be. There are three key characters in this novel that I am sure will reappear in the second novel in this series. Cormac and Nora are the archaeologists working on the buried body. Detective Garret Devaney is the relentless policeman who is determined to solve the crime. There are lots of towers and Irish bars and old estates and things to constantly dig up. There is a huge cast of odd quirky and dysfunctional characters that includes neighbors and cousins and parents and scientists and friends and unwed mothers and so many secrets that I should have kept a list of them…I don’t think any of these characters thought that just plain talking to someone about something that was bothering them would be a simple and effective way to find out what was going on…and truly everyone in this novel has a secret or two…or three…but it was a very good book…sort of in the Elizabeth George style of writing. Upon finishing it I only craved tea and brown bread with butter and perhaps a cheese sandwich or two and a green apple…these seemed to be the only foods that Nora and Cormac ever ate. I have no clue why books make me crave certain foods mentioned in them but they really do. We were at a Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning and of course our first item purchased was a hearty loaf of organic brown bread. Yum!!!
    • 4/5
      While cutting some sod in a bog, a red-headed woman's head is found. Archaeologist Cormac Maguire is called to the scene and enlists forensic pathologist Nora Gavin to help. There are several threads running in the story line. There is the ancient mystery involving this bog body (or head, in this case), and there's a modern mystery with a missing wife and her child. Investigations into the modern mystery have mostly focused on the husband and father in the past, but there are plenty of motives abounding elsewhere. Although the investigation was formally turned over to officials in Dublin, the local detective "unofficially" reopens the investigation.What did I think? I wish there'd been a little more focus on the ancient investigation in the book. Too often the readers were just given the results of the research by a consultant. I thought the book itself got bogged down in a few places and was probably a little longer than it needed to be. I thought the "romantic" interactions between Cormac and Nora were awkward. The first time it happened I wasn't really expecting it, and I think there was an assumed familiarity that readers of which readers were not aware since this was the first in the series. Overall, though, it was a very entertaining read.
    • 5/5
      Brendan McGann is cutting turf in a peak bog in a chilly April morning when he discovers the head of a young woman in Lough Derg in County Gallway.Cormac Maguire is an archaeologist at the National Museum and Nora Gaven is an American pathologist. They work well in preserving the young woman's head and attempt to find out how she came to be there.Other young women have been missing from the area including the wife and young child of Hugh Osborne.Osborne is doing some renovations to his home and asks Cormac and Nora to help with a construction site. The move into his home while doing so and live with Hough's cousin and teenage son.This is a wonderfully descriptive novel with Gothic aspects. It depicts the emotions of the locals, their love of music that gives meaning to many of their lives and gives history of the bog that has provided a livelihoon to many for generations.Cormac and Nora find a ring in the girl's mouth and with that are able to date the time she was decapitated to around 1652. They learn that this was a time of ethnic cleansing similar to what has gone on in the world in the last number of years.It is a well put together story paralleling the story of the missing women, Hough's family and the woman whose head was found.Highly recommended!
    • 3/5
      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 ...more 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 of a few characters' family lives, and those were okay, but... you know how "Law & Order" will sometimes try to shoehorn in the personal stuff, and it seems forced? It was like that. I would have preferred this book without the romance. There were also details in there (along the lines of "she held the carton up to her nose to see if the milk had turned") that I guess were supposed to help set the scene, but felt awkward.On the plus side, Erin Hart has a knack for atmosphere. I don't know much about Ireland, so I can't say how authentic the setting was, but I enjoyed the place descriptions and use of local language.
    • 5/5
      "Haunted Ground" is a rare find, an amazing book. It is not too often one finds a book that speaks to them. Hart's book does exactly that. I was hooked from the very first and savoured every page. The location is a wonderfully haunting part of Ireland, with its bogs that can preserve history as fresh as yesterday. The use of song to vocalize and hand down history adds a traditional aura. Perhaps it was best said in the review by The New York Times: "Hart writes with a lovely eloquence about how character is shaped by the music, the architecture, and the history of this harsh and beautiful land."I was so enveloped by the story that I could hear the voices as I read, feel the emotions and see the locale and happenings as though I were witness. The mystery remained true to itself throughout the book, with a separate underlying mystery from 400 years earlier. The characters are honestly depicted, growing throughout the book and arriving full-fledged by the end. I've read several exceptionally good books recently but I was invested in this one. Hart’s fluid writing is reminiscent of that of Sharyn McCrumb’s Appalachia series. My only regret is that it sat on my bookshelf so long before I was able to get to it. I wholeheartedly recommend "Haunted Ground" and will be on the lookout for more of Erin Hart's books.
    • 5/5
      This is a very good read. You learn more about bog bodies and what really happens to them while enjoying a good murder mystery. I highly recommend this book.
    • 3/5
      The Irish setting and the historical and archaeological details added to this read for me. It opens in a peat bog in a small town and offers a peek into the lives of some of those who live there. Tragedy and betrayal are part of the story, but so is love and hope. A very enjoyable weekend read!
    • 4/5
      It was a great read. The characters are weill-developed.
    • 5/5
      Great mystery by a promising new author! I love both her books!