Tethered, Amy MacKinnon
Tethered, Amy MacKinnon
5 Rating(s)
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

Tethered

Author: Amy MacKinnon

Narrator: Rebecca Lowman

Unabridged: 9 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/12/2008

Synopsis

At times both haunting and thrilling, a woman is forced to reconcile with her own haunted past to save a child from an abusive household in this novel that explores the ties that bind us together

Clara Marsh is an undertaker who doesn’t believe in God. She spends her solitary life among the dead, preparing their last baths and bidding them farewell with a bouquet from her own garden. Her carefully structured life shifts when she discovers a neglected little girl, Trecie, playing in the funeral parlor, 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 the stead-fast existence of loneliness and the perils of binding one’s life to another.

About The Author

Amy McKinnon is a former congressional aide whose commentaries have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, the Boston Globe, the Seattle Times, and on National Public Radio and This American Life. This is her first novel.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Vicki on January 09, 2025

Breathe... one... two... three... TETHERED by Amy MacKinnon No spoilers. 5 stars. This is my third time reading this remarkable little book. I would classify this story as a thought-provoking mystery... Clara Marsh... ... is an introverted mortician. She has had some serious hard knocks for her young a......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on October 16, 2018

As soon as I read the blurb for this book I knew it was one I had to read. I don't think I've ever read a book where the main character has worked in an undertakers and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has a bit of a morbid fascination with what the role entails. I have to say that when I die, I hop......more

Goodreads review by Debbie on August 11, 2008

This book came into the library yesterday and I read the first few pages while cataloging it--I can't wait to read more! Ms. MacKinnon has put together beautiful sentences, paragraphs and I'm confident a beautiful novel. I can't think of any other novels with undertakers as the main character, althou......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on July 22, 2008

This was a very compelling and multilayered novel with beautiful, damaged characters. The story was so intriguing that, much to my dismay because I had to get up early, I found myself reading into the morning hours because I couldn't close the book without knowing what happened next. I also found it......more

Goodreads review by Liz on October 31, 2018

An emotionally charged read with a unique insight via the character of Clara, both a joy to read but very melancholy. Looking forward to expanding my review for the upcoming tour. One to watch. Beautifully different and prose that digs deep.......more

Quotes

“…[an] hypnotic debut… There’s a quiet, almost stealthy quality to the writing…Clara is an astonishing character, and with language as blunt as the death she sees every day, she expresses herself with devastating simplicity.”
—New York Times Book Review
“This is a brilliant debut from a gifted author, who has created an unforgettable central character...Amy MacKinnon is definitely a writer to watch.” —Globe and Mail
“Clara's perfectly rendered cold, cautious, frightened voice lifts the novel above mere entertainment…an elegant illustration of a nature that letting nothing in, gives nothing out” —Boston Globe

“Clara is an intriguingly drawn character….By the final pages, I found myself thoroughly absorbed in Clara’s journey.”
—Sarasota Herald-Tribune

"[A] haunting read…[Tethered] is rich in sensory details without losing immediacy in its plotting.”
— Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“A new talent who shines as bright as a star. Highly recommended”
—Armchair Interviews.com

“MacKinnon’s fascination with the inner workings of her uncle’s funeral business inspired this haunting, gracefully rendered, debut.”
— Booklist
“Fans of Kathy Reichs will relish this haunting and multi-layered debut novel, which contains a killer twist.” —Marie Claire, Australia
“Haunting, thrilling, and beautifully drawn, Tethered is a novel full of heart. Love, and the search for love, fuels MacKinnon’s cast of characters. Settle somewhere comfortable: you’ll be reading all night.”
—Amanda Eyre Ward, author of Forgive Me

“In Tethered, Amy MacKinnon starts with an unlikely narrator and an unlikely setting and delivers up that most unlikely (and sought-after) of results: a deeply engaging and memorable book. Brava.”
—Jon Clinch, author of Finn

“Amy MacKinnon is a rarity among debut authors. Not only does she possess the raw talent, she already knows how to use it. Tethered is as good as it gets: a haunting plot, an exquisitely flawed heroine, and sophisticated, powerful prose that deftly explores the ties that bind us all—to each other, and to the complex worlds around us. A brilliant debut.”
—Kristy Kiernan, author of Catching Genius and Matters of Faith

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