Haunted Ground

By: Erin Hart

Narrated by: Jennifer McMahon

Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2003 Erin M. Hart (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc. Published by Arrangement with Random House Audio Publishing Group, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"In every way, this is a debut to remember." (Booklist)
"In addition to a complex, multilayered plot that involves both contemporary and historical crimes, Hart's novel is rich in local color." (Publishers Weekly)

Now here is a mystery writer

I never fell asleep,I never skipped ahead,I never guess the ending. Need I say more.

Good reading improves mediocre storyline

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The book was too long and the story not as interesting as I had hoped. The storyline took too many detours into the backgrounds of character's lives, to the detriment of advancing the plot. This was done to either make it as much a character study as a mystery, or, more likely, to set the stage for some of these characters to re-appear in sequels as a series. The audio book took up 10 CDs. My wife gave up after the 3rd CD. For me, this is one of those books that 2/3 of the way through when you realize it's not getting any more interesting, that you decide whether to give up reading more or you stick it out to the end just to feel that you've completed something. I stuck it out. Easily at least 25% could have been edited out without affecting the story lines, of which there were three: 1) an ancient and interesting mystery, 2) a current and uninteresting mystery, and 3) a background mystery to one of the characters that was irrelevant to the storyline.

Would you ever listen to anything by Erin Hart again?

No. But, I might consider buying a book because with a book you can skim over the boring parts, which you can't do when listening.

Which scene was your favorite?

The opening was good and descriptions of the countryside were good.

Did Haunted Ground inspire you to do anything?

No. Maybe be more careful in what I select to listen to.

Any additional comments?

Jennifer McMahon did a very nice job reading it; without her skills I would not have made it through the book. With some editing out of extraneous character detail and a better solution to the modern mystery this could have been a pretty good book. It started out well, but ultimately disappointed.

loved it

Loved it! The narration was amazing, could distinctly identify the characters. Can not wait to read the next.book!

Good Mystery, Excellent Irish Story

I was really drawn to the plot of this story, not because it was such a great mystery, but because the author obviously has a love of all things Irish and gives us a nice look at Irish life today. The characters of Nora Gavin, Cormac Maguire, and Garret Devaney are exceptionally well-written, but all of the characters are interesting and deserving of our attention. The two main mystery plots were less interesting and tied up too neatly at the end. I mean, who didn't know who the real killers were the moment the author introduced them? But, as I say, it was not necessarily the mystery aspect that drew me. Hats off to Erin Hart for creating such real, non-sterotypical Irish people for her first novel. I look forward to reading the further stories of Nora and Cormac. The narrator, Jennifer McMahon, was perfect.

Great, the 2nd time

I started this book, got 2 hours in and lost interest. But when it was the only book I hadn't listened to, I started again......It was great. I found myself guessing the end and never guessed right. Well.....kind of. It was great for me when I really concentrated, The accent of the narrator gave me a little trouble, but made the book.

An entertaining read

This was a nice listen. I build custom cars and listen while I work. I might have liked a little more character development but it made it easy to follow the story while you are working or driving. The readers voice was really great. She shifted between characters with great expertise.

Good. The narrator is brilliant.

Good. The narrator makes the book. A little hard to follow driving in traffic but you can always listen to it again.

Best Book I Have Read All Year

Would you consider the audio edition of Haunted Ground to be better than the print version?

While I have not read the print version, I feel certain that the audio presentation must be far better because the narrator moves seamlessly between Irish, English and American accents. Since in some ways Ireland itself is a character, hearing the native speech is crucial for the reader to feel the atmosphere of the country.

What did you like best about this story?

Erin Hart has wonderfully woven archeology and modern forensics to solve not one, but two mysteries, one centuries old and the other a recent cold case. As an historian with an interest in archeology, I have always found the "bog bodies" of Europe to be fascinating if unintentional time capsules. This novel clearly presents the character of Irish society from the 17th century to the present, all in the guise of a modern murder mystery.

What about Jennifer McMahon’s performance did you like?

Ms. McMahon's reading is beautiful, her accents for the various characters clear and compelling. She gracefully shifts from Irish to English to the US, from male to female, from young to old

Who was the most memorable character of Haunted Ground and why?

For me, the most memorable character is the murdered woman whose head is found in a peat bog at the opening of the book, a beautiful girl with masses of red hair. The investigation into her brutal death in the 17th century leads the local Gardai (Gaelic for "police") to reopen a more recent cold case. While this latter case forms the major plot of the novel, the story always returns to the Cailin Rua (Gaelic for "red haired girl") and does not leave the reader wanting for answers.

Any additional comments?

My only criticism of the format is the confusing lineup of books and chapters; these "books" each having 10-12 chapters in Audible.com's production. While I understand and accept the needs of audio production, it would have been better to inform the reader the exact location within the book (or books as the case might be) for the chapter list. I suggest readers use the installed bookmark system rather than rely solely on the cutoff place. This book is far too brilliant to leave complicated by audio formatting.

Over times story

The story itself and how story from long ago so readily impacted current time. Love the Irish cultural heritage influence.

Interesting Mystery

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