Tethered, is a debut novel (just 257 pages) by Amy MacKinnon; it was released last month. The premise intrigued me: Clara Marsh, is an emotionally fragile woman who works as an undertaker in Brockton, MA. She does not believe in God. When asked what she does believe, she responds by saying "I believe it is important to breathe". 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, possibly abused young girl playing in the funeral parlor, desperate for a friend. Clara's ordered life changes even more when a detective starts questioning her about a body she prepared three years earlier. The body was of an unidentified young girl found murdered in the woods nearby. Unclaimed by family, the community christened her Precious Doe. Is there a link between the young girl who seeks the funeral parlor as a sanctuary to the same people who killed Precious Doe? The best parts of this book for me were its fabulous cover art, and the detailed descriptions of life as an undertaker. I'm not disappointed that I read this book, however, the story itself I found boring. Perhaps it was because, I just finished another new debut novel that I totally loved: Tomato Girl; Jayne Pupek. RATING - 3/5 - COMPLETED - 9/21/08
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for taking the time to visit and double thanks for any comments. If you ask a question in your comments, I will try to reply to it here, or by email if your settings allow me to do so. Thanks again for visiting.