Book review: The Unquiet Grave by Dervla McTiernan

The Unquiet Grave by Dervla McTiernan sees the return of detective Cormac Reilly along with his partner Peter Fisher, who I recall featured prominently in the last book in the series The Good Turn. Here McTiernan again throws in several plots for the price of one, mostly unconnected but all as intriguing as the main investigation involving a body in a bog. And no, NOT a typo with me erroneously typing BOG instead of BAG, and… also not something I have the chance to say often! (Also googles ‘bog’ to check exactly what it means.)

For years the boglands of Northern Europe have given up bodies of the long-deceased. Bodies that are thousands of years old, uncannily preserved. Bodies with strange injuries that suggest ritual torture and human sacrifice.

When a corpse is found in a bog in Galway, Cormac Reilly assumes the find is historical. But closer examination reveals a more recent story. The dead man is Thaddeus Grey, a local secondary school principal who disappeared two years prior.

There's nothing in Grey's past that would explain why he was murdered, or why his body was mutilated in a ritual manner. At first, progress on the case is frustratingly slow and Cormac struggles to keep his mind on the job. His ex-girlfriend, Emma Sweeney, is in trouble, and she's reached out to him for help - Emma's new husband has gone missing in Paris, and the French police are refusing to open an investigation into his disappearance.

Cormac is sure that he has found Grey's killer, and is within hours of an arrest, when another mutilated body is discovered on the other side of the country. Two days later, a third body is found. Press attention is intense. Is there a serial killer at work in Ireland? Has Cormac been on the wrong trail? And if so, can he find the murderer before they strike again?

As someone who quite enjoys random facts I was fascinated by some of the details McTiernan throws in here, like a bog’s ability to preserve a body. It’s because of the peat… or something. Anyhoo this bog body belonged to the local principal who seemingly disappeared suddenly.

As usual we spend some time with Cormac and Peter on the case, the former being forced to realise here he’s treading water and not really getting on with his life. As the book opens he gets a job offer to head up the police complaints team (akin to Internal Affairs). He’s reluctant as it’d further alienate him from his counterparts, but he realises he needs the change. Even more so when he learns Peter intends to move to Australia. Also confronting here, his ex Emma reappears, resplendent with a baby bump and a missing husband. Unable to turn Emma down he agrees to help and reach out to connections at Interpol to track her husband’s whereabouts.

We also spend some time with Cecilia, a neighbour of the missing principal and an artist returned home to look after her dying mother. It’s obvious she’s keeping secrets but McTiernan again does an excellent job at revealing them in fits and starts so we’re also kept guessing for some time. There are also varying accounts of the principal who reportedly had a bit of a chip on his shoulder and got some pleasure out of doling out petty punishments to students he disliked.

Also in the mix is a menacing voice and again McTiernan keeps us in the dark before we start to see where he fits into the mire of happenings here. I liked where she takes the plot threads and am intrigued as to what comes next (for McTiernan whose 2024 standalone What Happened to Nina? I ADORED!) but also for Cormac, in his new role and perhaps even for Peter who’s heading off (like McTiernan herself) to West Australia!

The Unquiet Grave by Dervla McTiernan was published in Australia by Harper Collins.

I received a copy of this book thanks to Dervla, who reached out to her publicist to get me a copy when I missed out. Very much appreciated!