This book is set in 1981 in Northern Ireland near the north/south border. In some ways, Fergus is just a typical 17-year-old boy preparing for his A-level exams and his driver's exam. However, his family is caught up in the "Troubles," and his parents have contrasting ideas about their son Joe's involvement with the IRA (Irish Republican Army). Joe is imprisoned an on hunger strike. Meanwhile, Fergus makes a startling discovery in a local peat bog: a dead body. It appears to him that it is the body of a little girl. Who was this bog child? Why was her body in the bog? These are just a few of the questions Fergus is determined to answer.
Listening to the audiobook was a wonderful experience, as it was narrated by an Irish woman (Sile Bermingham). Hearing the story with her Irish accent really helped me feel connected to the setting and the characters. She created different voices for all the characters and stayed true to the dialects of the various geographical areas in the novel.
I loved this author's writing style, and I thought it was interesting that she wove the story of the bog child into Fergus's story. Dowd created interesting and believable characters. This is an excellent piece of historical fiction, and it gave me a good sense of what it was like to live in Ireland in the early 1980s. I did have to look up a few words or phrases, though, since I am not very familiar with that time period.
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