It may not be for everyone, yet in its way, it is.

A young woman, Clara Marsh, has had a hard life. She is content to live her life among the dead - she is the person who retrieves bodies from homes, hospitals, and then prepares them for the funerals. Reading about the process a person uses to prepare the bodies isn't easy to read, particularly if a loss is fresh, but Clara treats these people with dignity and kindness. She prefers to stay in her world, where she has some control - she grows amazing flowers, has the respect of the people she deals with - the funeral director and his wife treat her as one of their own - and there is a widower policeman who seems to be attracted to her.

Clara finds a young girl, Trecie, playing in the funeral parlor. The child is haunting...she reminds Clara of her own despair, and something about the child reminds her of a past unsolved murder of a girl that Clara prepared for burial.

This book touched many chords in me. Maybe weird curiosity how one prepares the dead - maybe the brilliant way MacKinnon brings her characters to life - you feel their pain, their hopes, the loneliness...

The total affect of this book reminds me when I was in college taking an art appreciation course - we had to go to see an art exhibit featuring a Polish artist. The paintings were so stark, they hit you and the whole experience was visceral. It is that feeling I get from Tethered - a visceral experience.

I must say it was the cover that initially drew me to this book. You are caught between curiosity and empathy and you want to see what this book is about.

A brilliant debut novel, with something for everyone - part mystery, part character portrait, part romance. And so much more.

MacKinnon's writing style is like one of the Mozart works Clara listens to keep her company as she performs the service for the dead - it is heartfelt, captivating, and oh, so amazing.

ellen george

Tethered by Amy MacKinnon, ISBN 978-0-307-40896-9, Shaye Areheart Books,  review by ellen george