My Lady of the Bog

My Lady of the Bog is a breath of fresh air as our somewhat sexually inhibited academic suddenly finds himself looking at the naked body of a woman who died hundreds, if not a thousand and more, years ago. This meeting in a bog has a profound impact on his life as he finds himself possibly the subject of a curse, and a suspect in a modern murder investigation when the man who has translated the book found in the woman’s burial site is hacked to death with a sword.

So this is a modern murder mystery set against an archeological investigation to decide how the lady came to be in England and killed in such an unusual way. There are also possible supernatural events and some rather odd effects when people read the book. It’s foolish to say so in these modern times, but perhaps the book is enchanted. And there are odd dreams — no they are never reliable indicators of anything other than disturbed sleep. The resulting conflation of different genres is a positive delight to read as our heroic academic struggles to understand how the mysteries are connected and what he should do to protect himself and his new love interest.