A murder-mystery with some nice twists and although the final one is easily guessable, it was satisfying discovering that I was right. See what you think. Clara, our reclusive heroine, enjoys her work preparing the dead for their loved ones and families to view. She is still haunted by memories of an unidentified and horribly murdered child whom she prepared a few years ago. The crime was never solved and the death of an apparently innocent man now reopens the case. What ensues has echoes of The Lovely Bones to it. Atmospheric and dark, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable read and a highly accomplished first novel.
Daisies for innocence; Irises for hope; Asphodel for eternal sorrow.
Clara Marsh is an undertaker. She spends her solitary life among the dead and bids them farewell with a bouquet from her own garden. But Clara's carefully structured life shifts when she discovers a neglected little girl, Trecie, playing in the funeral parlour, desperate for a friend.
It changes even more when Detective Mike Sullivan starts questioning her again about a body she prepared three years ago, an unidentified girl found murdered in a nearby strip of woods. Unclaimed by family, the community christened her Precious Doe. When Clara and Mike learn Trecie may be involved with the same people who killed Precious Doe, Clara must choose between her solitary but steadfast existence and the perils of binding one's life to another.
Clara's search for the girl pulls her into a spiralling series of events that threaten to endanger the few people Clara has grown to love - and finally brings her own tragic and long-buried past to the surface.
'an atmospheric book with nicely understated writing' THE GUARDIAN
"Part thrilling murder mystery, part psycho-dramatic rendition of how Clara came to be who she is, Tethered succeeds on every level - superb." THE BOOK BAG
'I couldn't put this book down when I read it... It's a book that shows us an America we are not all that familiar with, written by someone who sees a strangeness in ordinary things.' ADELE GERAS
'a stealthily compelling meditation on love, loss and duty.' THE LIST
Author
About Amy Mackinnon
Amy MacKinnon is a former congressional aide and freelance writer. She lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts with her husband and their three young children.
