The Girl in the Bog

Book excerpt: Ancient heroes from Irish mythology and folklore come to life in the modern world in this dark, atmospheric story. At once a thrilling chase novel and a wry reimagining of Ireland’s oldest epic, it is sure to enthrall readers of Neil Gaiman and Cassandra Khaw. Everybody is after the girl in the bog. One morning in a field in Connemara, a farmer unearths the body of a young woman, two thousand years old, preserved under layers of peat. Later that evening, she awakens in unfamiliar modern Ireland, ripping a hole through space and time and setting awhirl old animosities and long-held grudges. Shadowy figures follow her from the pagan past, and each emerges with a claim on the girl from the bog. With help from a trio of wannabe teenage witches, she goes on the run. Joining in the chase is an American archaeologist who wants to keep the discovery for herself and two befuddled farmers trapped in the plot. Hosts of fairies out for the night work their magic and mischief, and in the blue hour before sunrise, the saga unfolds in a battle for the ages. Part fantasy, part mystery, part thriller, part send-up, this comic and poignant love song to Irish literature and the gift of gab does not merely bend genres; it braids them into Celtic knots.