Right off the bat, I’ll confide that I’m a dedicated fan of Anna North’s. I recommended her first novel, “Outlawed,” published in 2021, far and wide.
So I was eager to dive into her newest, “Bog Queen,” with its ornate cover and fantastical plot. Toss in a scientist at the center of this story, and I’m sold!
The book opens at the edge of a Scottish bog where a surprisingly well-preserved body has been discovered. At first, the forensic team thinks it's the victim of a 1950s local murder.
But Agnes, the main character, schooled in the art and science of bone analysis, discovers the body dates back as far as the Iron Age.
From there, the book shifts back and forth between the current-day scientific detective work and the young druid, a kind of spiritual leader for her village who lived and died in 50 BC.
The bog, with its emerald, interlocking mosses and dark peat, is seen as “liminal spaces,” we are told, “or portals to another world.”
Talking Volumes is an event discussion series from MPR News and the Minnesota Star Tribune. Join award-winning journalist and MPR News host Kerri Miller as she talks with notable authors from across the world.
Meet us back in the historic Fitzgerald Theater for the last two shows! Tickets available now.
This week’s new titles include memoir, comics journalism and speculative fiction, horror and humor. Susan Orlean tells her own story in “Joyride,” and Pulitzer Prize-winner Adam Johnson has a new novel.
