Review: Something's Knot Kosher

Something’s Knot Kosher
By Mary Marks
A Quilting Mystery, #4
Kensington, 2016


Summary

Funerals can be patchy affairs for Martha Rose and her close-knit circle of friends--especially in the case of a missing body . . .

When Birdie Watson's husband Russell is killed during a bank robbery, Martha just wants to support her grieving friend. But en route to the burial plot in Oregon, Martha makes a harrowing discovery about the casket's contents--instead of Russell, she finds an unidentified man. Now Martha and her quilting klatch can't rest in peace until they unspool the truth behind the macabre mix up . . .


My thoughts

Something’s Knot Kosher, #4 in Mary Mark’s quilting series, is an enjoyable cozy mystery. Character development takes place through the series, but enough background is given that each story stands alone. Rather than feeling lost by starting with the fourth book, I’m just eager to read the previous books. I don’t expect books published in the general market to meet the same standards as the Christian fiction I review, but I was pleased that there was no profanity or explicit scenes. I didn’t particularly care for the alternative lifestyle element, although it was handled tastefully.

This series is about the adventures of Martha Rose - a sassy, sarcastic woman of a certain age - and her two quilting friends Lucy and Birdie, who have quilted together every Tuesday for sixteen years. I adore older characters and these ladies are charming, caring, and downright funny at times. And when you add Martha’s cat and a retired police German Shepherd owned by her former love interest to that quirky mix, anything can happen! I’d like to know more about Martha, especially her Jewish heritage – for while she follows Jewish dietary restrictions, nothing is revealed as to her faith.

The mystery plot surrounding the death of Birdie’s husband, Russell, is well developed and I enjoyed the logical, step-by-step searching for clues, especially the road trip from Encino, California to McMinnville, Oregon.

Baltimore Album Quilt

Something’s Knot Kosher is sure to delight quilters (beautiful cover art, by the way) – and while I don’t sew, I do love quilts. Quilting features prominently and I enjoyed all the tidbits of information scattered throughout. I had never heard of the Baltimore Album quilt that Birdie used to cover Russell’s body and had to look into it further. It was also interesting to learn that quilters often bought fabric based on their emotional reaction to it … “Either the colors or the print touched something inside that evoked a pleasant memory or feeling.”

I read somewhere that Mary Marks is a grandma who likes to quilt and tell funny stories – and her humor and knowledge shine through beautifully. I would like to read more from this series.

Purchase links:
Amazon - http://amzn.to/1V9B7zB
B&N - http://bit.ly/29U4t4h

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Born and raised in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, Mary Marks earned a B.A. in Anthropology from UCLA and an M.A. in Public Administration from the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. In 2004 she enrolled in the UCLA Extension Writers Program. Her first novel, Forget Me Knot, was a finalist in a national writing competition in 2011. She is currently a reviewer of cozy mysteries for The New York Journal of Books at www.nyjournalofbooks.com.

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Thank you to Great Escapes Book Tours for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.