Forget me Knot, (A Quilting Mystery) by Mary Marks

This book will be released by Kensington Books on the 7th January 2014

Some years ago I stopped reading crime novels. For me the stories were too dark, the murders too nasty and the killings too merciless.  Just when you thought, or hoped, you had reached the ultimate depths of depravity, the crimes became more heinous by the page. I didn’t want these characters in my head!

Recently, I discovered “cozies” or cozy mysteries (please forgive the US spelling) defined by Wikipedia as a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated humorously.  They are often set in small communities, the “detective” is frequently an amateur and a woman.

Meet Ms Martha Rose, mother of Quincy, ex-wife of Aaron and enthusiastic quilter. For Martha and her besties Lucy and Birdie, “Tuesdays are sacred”. It’s the day they get together to quilt!  They are considering adding a new member to their circle, the extremely talented Claire whose last quilt sold for $10,000!  So it’s Tuesday morning and they are outside Claire’s house, but Claire is not answering the door.  Martha looks through the glass at the side of the door, but all she can see is red shoes.  Claire won’t be joining the quilting circle this Tuesday, or ever.

The next day at the Annual Quilt show, three prize winning quilts belonging to Claire, Martha and Lucy are stolen from the wall by a masked man, what is happening in the world?  Is the theft of the quilts linked to Claire’s death? How and why did she die? Was it suicide or murder?

The police have their way of investigating, but Martha promised Claire’s mother she would find out who murdered her daughter.  Despite the intervention (interference?) of Detective Arlo Beavers, Martha is determined to keep her promise.

This book is full of delightful humour, some produces smiles, some giggles and still more outright laughter. For example Martha describes neighbourhood gossip Sonia Spielgeman thus, “Yentas are like Google and Wikipedia in human form.  Just give them a click and they’ll tell you much more than you ever wanted to know.”

I’ve spoken before of the part serendipity can play in your enjoyment of a book.  In Forget me Knot, Martha says “He called me Faigela” which awakened a very sweet memory for me of a gentle lady I knew as Frances. She once confided to me that Frances was the anglicanised version of her name, Faigela (it means little bird).

At the end of the book we are treated to the first chapter of the next Quilting Mystery due for release November 2014.  From the author’s Facebook page, I learned number 3 is well on the way.  Terrific!!  I am really looking forward to reading more about Martha, Detective Arlo, her friends and her quilts.

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About the Author       

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.