A true gem. Donohue writes engaging plot and their characters are well-developed. The prose is beautifully written, with vivid descriptions that bring the setting to life. Highly recommended.

The Girl in the Bog is a story with a distinct voice and clear vision of what it wants to be. Donohue’s knowledge and passion shine through.

Unfortunately, all of that did not equal up to the book I wanted this to be. The first chapters—Fidelm’s chapters—were beautiful, horrible, and captivating. Unfortunately the rest did not work as well for me. I take full responsibility for that: I don’t think I was ready to appreciate this book on its own level. It was by turns far too slow and dull and then frenetic and confusing. Perhaps if I was, right now, a more perceptive reader, that dullness would be thoughtful and the frantic scenes understandable. The characters which, for me felt formulaic and shallow now, may likely be deep pools that I am only skimming the face of. Ultimately and unfortunately, right now, I am not the reader this book needs.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

This book was good objectively, just not my cup of tea. I thought that I’d enjoy this story because I love true crime podcasts about big bodies and the tragic stories behind them. This book was easy to read and I’ll be on the lookout for other stories by this author.

“The girl in the bog” is a dark atmospheric thriller that blends fantasy and mystery themes whilst delving into old Irish folklore and mythology.

A two thousand year old body is discovered garnering the attention of the entire community. Later that evening she awakes to discover unfamiliar territory and unfathomable changes to the world she once knew.

Contains witches, kings and queens, ancient history, mystery, farmers, archeologists, fairies and more.

The author does a great job of blended thriller, mystery and fantasy genres in a way that just works.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Keith Donohue and NetGalley for the EARC!

Publish date: august 13th 2024

The book is dark, atmospheric and thrilling. The characters are pretty intriguing. The setting is atmospheric. The writing is compelling. This is such a unique take on Ireland’s oldest epic tale The Cattle Raid of Cooley.

A body of a young woman is found after two thousand years and everyone is after it. The bog body has it is own secrets and mystery. The woman wakes up but she is dead, she visits her home and notice the changes. Presently, the farmer found the body and before it gets to anyone else, the wannabe teenage witches trio wants to finds it and solve the mystery. There were many mythological and atmospheric elements. The characters are inspired by irish mythology. Author has blended Fantasy and Mystery. The ending was unpredictable.

Thanks to the publisher and author.

A hilarious, madcap tale of Irish gods and magic in 21st-century Ireland, The Girl in the Bog is a celebration of pre-Christian Ireland. Slightly long-winded, as many such tales are, it includes two old men, fond of a pint; three young witches figuring out their powers; an ancient Irish Queen and King, who are very, very into each other; two violent warriors of old and their terrifying weapons and powers; and the titular girl in the bog, I won't spoil the fun, other than to say that if you ever loved Irish folklore, if you loved The Good Fairies of New York (yes, I know they're Scottish, same kind of vibe), if you loved the movie The Song of the Sea, you'll enjoy this.

very interesting read. the writing was fluid and easy to consume, making me stick to the book even at times when i was physically too tired to read. the characters were great too, with interesting dynamics and personalities.
i enjoyed this book and i think i'll read more of donohue in the future.

Dnf at around half way through.

I’m definitely in the minority in not liking this, and in no way am I discouraging ANYONE from picking this up. While I can see that this is a great story, with its base in interesting mythology, it just sadly wasn’t what I was looking for. While the language, setting and background of the story is beautiful, I was looking for more action and horror.

If you want to learn more about Ireland, and its mythology, you should definitely read this story, and I truly hope you enjoy it if you do.

Big thanks to Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books and the author Keith Donohue for allowing me to read an e-arc of this novel.

What an interesting premise for a story. Really enjoyed the bits from Fedelm’s perspective in the first few chapters, but after that I got very lost. Irish mythology is never something I got really into so I couldn’t connect the characters to known heroes and other such characters in the mythology.

But I cannot fault the story for my own short comings. The story itself – the basics if you will – was quite nice.

This review was posted on my Goodreads account on the 11th of April 2024.

Truly enchanting! This mysterious story left me turning page after page in anticipation. I loved this book especially because of
this unique idea, that I hadn't really read anywhere else before. This would make "The Girl in the Bog" a great book for everyone, who enjoys
fantasy and mystery but has read so many of those books, that the usual plot-twists hardly surprise them.

I was attracted to this story because who isn't interested in bog people? But once I started reading, I realized this book was so, so much more. A combination of Irish history, mythology, and what makes Ireland Irish has become a book I would read over and over again. Keith Donohue is a spinner of tales as good as any Irishman in the pub. Don't miss this one.

This was a modern take and reimagining of The Cattle Raid of Cooley or in Irish, Táin Bó Cúailnge. The story follows the characters of two old men, three red-headed girls fondly known as the Red Hags, and an American archeologist as they are thrusted into a version of the Ulster Cycle via the unearthing of a bog body. For those who don’t know what a bog body is, it’s a naturally preserved mummies that are found in areas where bogs are common. Only look up pictures if you’re 1. Not squeamish seeing dead bodies, and 2. Don’t mind mummies. 🧟

I found the characters likeable, but I was mostly drawn to Fedelm and Maeve. I do wish we could’ve gotten a bit more of Fedelm’s power and a bit more of her background in general. Cú Chulainn and Láeg were interesting semi-antagonists. I enjoyed the idea of him being a huge himbo and that Láeg is a glorified babysitter. 🤣

The other thing that felt slightly off for me were the characters from the epic using modern language. It just felt rather weird to have a character from ancient times just casually using words like, babe and lads. But other than that, I had a great time with the characters and the setting of Connemara. 💚

Thank you goes out to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for accepting my request to read in exchange for an honest review, and to the author for crafting a fascinating reimagining of this famous Irish epic in modern times. 🐂

Publication date: August 13!

Overall: 4/5 ⭐️

I’ve read all of Keith Donohue novels and really liked them, except for June which was just okay. But this one was such a disappointment. And it’s strange, because I like all the individual components like the archaeology aspect and the use of the Irish historical and mythological figures. And I enjoy Donohue’s writing too. But altogether the book just really didn’t work for me.
Despite the lovely writing, the book was sluggish, by turns dreamy or rambly. The characters were interesting, but at times ridiculous, saying wildly out of character/place/time things like “tushy”, which is just one of the ways in which this book has hit upon some really awkward raunchiness. The plot is busy, muddled, overdone. The book reads like a slog through a bog.
It is no wonder that Donohue, whose books used to be released by top publishers with lovely covers and all, has done this one with the low-tier press like Crooked Lane and a cheap-looking cover. Let’s hope it’s a one off for a talented author and not a sign of things to come. Thanks Netgalley.