False Mermaid

by Erin Hart

Book Overview

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR ERIN HART DELIVERS A SEARING NEW NOVEL OF SUSPENSE, BRILLIANTLY MELDING MODERN FORENSICS AND IRISH MYTH AND MYSTERY IN THIS CHARGED THRILLER. American pathologist Nora Gavin fled... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416563768
• ISBN13: 9781416563761
• Release Date: March 2010
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 318 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Why..just why

It shows as false mermaid...reviews are English....i recieved in Roman..why

COLD CASE FILES

Nora Gavin's sister had been murdered in Minnesota five years ago. Nora is again chasing down the evidence. Her thought is that her brother-in-law Peter is the murderer. This novel takes place in Ireland and Minnesota. Cormac (from the previous books) also has a role in this book, along with Nora's niece Elizabeth.

Irish mermaids and American murders

Hello Irish lovers, it's St. Patrick's Day 2010. I just finished the third Erin Hart novel about an Irish archeologist, Cormac Maguire, and American pathologist, Nora Gavin, who have been studying ancient remains recovered from peat bogs in Ireland for three years and two full novels. FALSE MERMAID is a bit of a diversion. Nora has left Ireland for her home in Saint Paul, Minnesota to probe her sister Triona's murder. Cormac's little-known father has resurrected again and living in his Aunt Julia's home in western Ireland. Lots of new characters. Frank Cordova, a Minnesota police detective with a haunted past, and his female partner: Holly Blume, a biologist at the University of Minnesota's Saint Paul campus; Peter Hallett, Nora's brother-in-law who is about to remarry; Elizabeth Hallett, Nora's eleven-year-old niece; Harry Shaughnessy, a Saint Paul vagrant with a bloodied Gaillard College sweatshirt and running shoes with false mermaid seeds in the soles; Natalie Russo, an American Olympian-bound rower; a Cambodian fisherman. And an interesting ginger-haired colleague of Cormac's from Dublin. The colleague is Roz Byrne, a folklorist, who has come to Donegal to add to her collection of selkie stories. Selkies are seals that have slipped from their skins and walk about land as humans; they are considered mermaids by some. Roz is particularly interested a Donegal woman who disappeared in 1896 and is believed to be a selkie who found her skin. The disappearance of Mary Heaney in Donegal parallels the investigation of Triona's murder in Saint Paul. Hart solves both mysteries but spends too much time in America. Her description of the landscapes and seascapes of Western Ireland only partially evoke the Irish sense of place so prominent in her other novels, HAUNTED GROUNDS and LAKE OF SORROWS. But the Irish myths, songs, and stories of seals and selkies are fascinating.

Enjoyable Read

I've been a fan of Erin Hart since I read her first book, "Haunted Ground" and have been waiting for her latest book for a while. Nora Gavin returns in this book back in the states, and is dealing with any unfinished business she left behind. As usual it was a great story with lots of Irish historical facts and mythology thrown in!

Atmospheric mystery

I became a fan of Erin Hart's writing after reading Haunted Ground: A Novel which had as its central character American forensic pathologist Nora Gavin, and the story in Haunted Ground was set in Ireland, centering around the mystery of a decapitated head belonging to a flame-haired lass nicknamed the Cailin Rua found in a peat bog. Together with Irish archaeologist Cormac Macguire, the pair attempt to solve the mystery, whilst finding themselves involved in another mystery of a missing mother and son. Then in Lake of Sorrows: A Novel, Nora and Cormac are back, once again investigating bodies found in the Irish peat bogs. In "False Mermaid", Nora returns to the United States, having come to the realization that she can only find peace of mind once she resolves what actually happened to her younger sister, Triona, who was found murdered in St. Paul a couple of years back. Nora is convinced that it was Triona's husband, Peter Hallett, who is responsible, though she needs to find compelling evidence. Peter has since moved on and remarried Miranda Staunton, the sister of Nora's ex-fiance. Nora is particularly concerned about the welfare of her young niece, 11-year-old Elizabeth. Some people from Nora's past are also featured here such as police detective Frank Cordova who still has a thing for Nora. Back in Ireland, Cormac hopes to be together with Nora, but his father's illness proves a strong deterrent, and then he gets intrigued by studies of Irish folklore conducted by a female acquaintance, Roz. The focus of the study is on the selkie, a mythical creature, part-human and part-seal. Interestingly, there's a local story about a woman who was reputed to be a selkie who disappeared sometime in 1896, believed to have been murdered by her husband. This parallels Nora's own beliefs about her brother-in-law's guilt in her sister's murder. Just as in her previous novels, this book is rich in atmosphere as well as in-depth characterizations. Though the story itself may seem rather complex, Ms. Hart credibly weaves the various story arcs together. The two main settings, St. Paul and Ireland are vividly portrayed, which further enhance the story. However, despite all these strengths, there is one complaint on my part - the fact that Nora's investigation seems to be helped along mainly by coincidences. This gets to the point where it seems almost incredulous (if she is able to find all these helpful bits of info, how is it that they were not as easily found five years ago?). It also seemed rather remiss on the part of the detectives investigating the case to have missed all these clues in the first place. I also found myself missing the lush descriptions of the Irish landscape which were bountiful in the previous two novels (which were set entirely in Ireland).This particular installment favors the American setting more, and Ireland itself is not covered much. Yet, on the whole, I enjoyed this novel as I did the previous two mainly because I love atmosphe

terrific cross Atlantic investigative tale

Three years ago Triona Hallet was murdered in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The police never solved the homicide. Now Triona's sister, forensic archaeologist Dr. Nora Galvin comes home after spending two years in Ireland working cases (see Haunted Ground and Lake of Sorrows) and loving Cormac Maguire, who is in Donegal spending time with his father who deserted the family when he was a child. Nora is positive that her brother-in-law Peter killed his wife by smashing her face in before stuffing her in her car trunk. Neither her parents nor the local cops believe sly slick Peter would kill his wife as everyone insists he loved her. Nora's former lover and police detective is the only who believes her, but has no evidence linking Peter to Triona's murder. While Cormac investigates a reported half Selkie human, Nora finds the corpse of who appears to be a missing female member of the Twin Cities Rowing Club in a shallow grave. The case is eerily similar to that of Triona as both had the seeds of the false mermaid plant. Nora thinks if her former lover connects the second woman to Peter she has the chance to reopen the closed case; but she fears time is running out as Peter is remarrying. Although mostly in Minnesota, this terrific cross Atlantic investigative tale is a fast-paced must read for fans due to predominantly Nora, but also Cormac. Redemption and vengeance are the twin engines that propel the action in the States as Nora is on a vendetta that turns to desperation to protect a mother and daughter from the man she believes is a killer. Readers will enjoy False Mermaid as Erin Hart is at the top of her game with this homecoming. Harriet Klausner