Jules Crittenden

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Blighty Launch

The wife’s novel, out last August in the United States, published today in the UK, gets a rave review from Adele Geras:

What I admire most in all novels is the writer’s ability to put together a whole universe ready for me to step into. I like detail. I like a book to have a strong sense of place. I like an involving plot and I do admire good writing. And if there’s some element in the narrative of the unusual, of a part of the fictional forest that hasn’t been much explored, then so much the better.

…

I couldn’t put this book down when I read it and I do recommend it to anyone who likes crime fiction with the kind of attention to real-life detail at which the Scandinavians excel – and with something of that bleakness too. 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.

But don’t just take Adele’s word for it.

“…[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 Review of Books“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“MacKinnon’s writing is compelling, the book is distinctive, and the characters are memorable.”
—Kathleen McGonagle of Buttonwood Books in the Boston Globe

“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