Denise

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 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 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.