The novel that Precious Doe inspired

As fiction writers tend to, author Amy MacKinnon spins a fair amount of true-ish things into her literary creation. Example: A major character in Tethered, her debut novel, is an elderly undertaker, who with his wife, inhabits a lovely, welcoming home above his funeral parlor. In real life, that’s how MacKinnon’s aunt and uncle lived. A less personal element of truth that MacKinnon spins into fancy: an unidentified dead child dubbed Precious Doe by the community.

In Tethered, though, that community is Boston — not Kansas City. Within that gritty city setting, MacKinnon adheres to many of the real case details — and there’s even an Alonzo Washington-like character named Rev. Greene. The book is dedicated “To Erica Michelle Maria Green and all the other children who were never loved enough.” But mainly, MacKinnon just co-opts the name and spirit of Precious Doe for an exercise in creativity.

The search for the child’s identity and killers becomes a vehicle through which the protagonist, a lonely mortician named Clara Marsh, peers into her own past and heart. Marsh is a vulnerable and complex character — a withdrawn woman more at ease with the dead than the living due to the abuses she suffered through the years. The secret garden that Marsh nurtures in her home is a symbol of the vibrance that’s still possible for her as a person. But of course, she cannot see that until she is — reluctantly — drawn deeper into the mystery of Precious Doe.

There are some trite elements to this novel. Without giving anything away, suffice it to say the villain turns out to be drawn with a heavy hand. And at times — maybe more for those who are familiar with the real Precious Doe story — the violence and suggested violence can approach gratuitousness. But ultimately, MacKinnon presents a captivating work of fiction that starts out like a murder mystery but twists into a thriller that is poetic and affecting. And just a little bit true.