Peter Hayes (4)

The title has mystical overtones—my lady? Our Lady?—of the Bog. The subtitle’s intriguing—An Archeo-Forensic Mystery. And the cover’s sepia-misted fen is hauntingly evocative, making it hard to resist picking up this book. Meanwhile, the story, or stories, within make it hard to put down.

American anthropologist, Xander Donne, feels out of place and lonely in England’s quiet backwater, but he has ambition, and an ancient, wonderfully preserved dead body lends itself well to his show more needs. The fact that she’s beautiful, mysterious, and richly endowed with treasure just adds to the allure. So Xander teams up with the lonely and insecure British coroner, and an archeo-forensic mystery begins.

England viewed through this American’s eyes is still England, though certain turns of phrase remind the reader the protagonist doesn’t quite belong, his local tongue less sure than his history. Still, no one’s sure where the mysterious lady belongs either; here, elsewhere, in the past, in magic, or beyond? A curious book found with her corpse might hold clues, and a wise friend returning from India might help. But bloody murder in the present day would certainly be a hindrance.

“In traditional Hindu medicine,” we’re told, meditation on suitably chosen fairy tales can be offered as a road to healing. While Xander’s well-structured world falls apart, and unlikely collusion piles itself on top of bewitching enticement, it’s not clear if book or body will provide the right fairy tale to guide his path. But both are intriguing. As is the modern-day bewitchment of the lovely Vedya.

One thing I’ll never forget from this novel is the Indian professor’s complaint at untrained Western translation of Eastern thought. Here, East and West meet in past and present, well-chosen tales tie them together, and both cultures are offered space to dream. A man in search of himself could get lost in a book. Facts haunt mystery. Love haunts characters. And the end result, like a well-timed roller-coaster driven through the ghost train of myth, will haunt the reader too.

Disclosure: I received a preview edition from the publisher and I offer my honest review. show less

"My Lady of the Bog" is quite a decent little mystery. There are some truly beautiful turns of phrase scattered throughout (something about the phrase "blizzard of moths" is just delightful to me), and the plot is good enough to keep the reader turning the pages.

The downside to this book is the not-necessarily-likable main character, Donne, and his equally unsympathetic love interest, Vidya. I found myself not wanting them to get out of the mess they end up in, which made the ending a bit show more of a let down.

Overall, I enjoyed the book well enough - evidenced by the fact that I finished it in a day and a half. If you like an easy read mystery with a bit of the supernatural thrown in, then add "My Lady of the Bog" to your list. show less

My Lady of the Bog is part Archeo-Forensic mystery, like the title says but is also part enchantment and magic.

The first mystery begins when a perfectly preserved body of a beautiful woman is found in a peat bog of a small English town. The woman is not only beautiful, but staked down to the peat bog, blindfolded and has a treasure buried beneath her. Alexander Donne, an American anthropologist studying under a Fellowship is called in. He determines that the body is possibly a thousand show more years old and also becomes infatuated with the woman he now calls "my lady." Together Xander and coroner Wooland try to figure out more about the Lady in the Bog and her treasure. Before the treasure is mysteriously stolen, however, Xander takes a book written in Indic and sends it to his mentor, Jai Prassad to translate. Here enters the second mystery, Jai returns the translated book, which happens to be a journal of a Prince, along with news that he is now happily married in an arranged marriage. Upon meeting Jai's wife Vidya, Xander is taken up with this new mysterious woman. As Xander begins to read the Prince's journal more strange things begin to happen with himself, Jai and Vidya. But how will the journal unravel the mystery of "my lady?"

The archeology and forensic anthropology was what drew me to this book and I enjoyed those sections the most. I wish the story would have used more evidence and found more clues from the body in the present rather than just having everything match the body from the enchanted journal. However, the journal entries were written wonderfully and I could see how they would transport someone, even if they were not enchanted. Xander's whirlwind relationship with Vidya also threw me for a loop. Vidya's mystery was secondary, but almost seemed to take more importance at times. The ending to the mystery of the Lady in the bog was well thought out and I'm glad that I got to know her entire story, even up to her tragic death.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less

My Lady of the Bog is really a book with two mysteries which even though the two mysteries take place hundreds of years apart they are connected. This book follows Xander Donne, an American Anthropologist, as he is brought in when a woman's body is found in a bog in England. While the people who find the body think that the woman was recently killed, Donne can tell that the body (even though it is fully preserved) is really hundreds if not thousands of years old.

Donne does not have a show more doctorate and doesn't have as much experience as other anthropologists in the area so he fights to stay on the case. Donne develops an odd connection with the dead woman, who was called Albemarle, almost as though she was his lover. In the course of the investigation into her death another mystery occurs, this time in the present day.

In the beginning of this book I did like Donne but as the book progressed the more I began to dislike him. He was naive, entitled, seemed to be uncaring about certain important events that happened, acting idiotic at times, and seemed to bring most of his troubles on himself.

I just couldn't believe that when he found out that his mentor and best friend, and probably his only friend, was dead that the first thing he did was screw the man's wife. Then he is magically in love with her. I don't think that was love, he wasn't using his brain he was just following his member.

I really loved all the parts about archeology and anthropology in this book. Whenever Donne described archeology is when I was most interested in this book. This started off with a lot in regards to archeology but gradually it became less and less about that.

I wasn't really sold on the storyline with Vidya. I did like that it really connected with the diary of the Indian prince that was found with the dead woman's body. I really loved reading the parts that were from the diary. I felt like those passages were beautifully written and really managed to transport me back to that time. I didn't really like how Donne ended up kind of becoming the prince but I think that maybe that is because I didn't really like Donne but I did like the prince.

While the ending had quite a bit of action, I did seem to be a bit lost during it. Donne put the dots together to solve the mystery and did it so fast that I didn't quite understand it. I really did like the final confrontation though. I still feel like there are mysteries to be solved and that the possibility of a sequel was left open, whether or not the author intended that.

Overall I felt like this was a good book but it wasn't great. The main character tended to be unlikeable, or at least to me, and everything seemed to be wrapped up in a hurry. If you are looking for a book that is filled with mysteries and will transport you back to India in the 1300s then this is the book for you. show less