Review: Forget me Knot

Forget me Knot 

by Mary Marks 

Source: eARC from NetGalley 
Publication date: 07 January 2013 
Genre: Cozy Mystery 
Date read:  24 October 2013

Welcome to San Fernando Valley, California, where Martha Rose and her coterie of quilters are enjoying life on the good side of retirement--until murder pulls a stitch out of their plans. . .
Martha and her besties Lucy and Birdie are set to expand their Quilty Tuesdays by inviting newcomer Claire Terry into their group. Though at forty Claire's a tad younger than their average age, her crafty reputation could perk up their patchwork proceedings, especially as they prepare for the fancy quilt show coming to town. But when they arrive at Claire's home and find her dead inside the front door, and her exquisite, prize-winning quilts soon missing, Martha is not one to leave a mystery unraveled. Especially if she wants to stop a killer from establishing a deadly pattern. . .

My thoughts: 
I haven't read a cozy mystery in quite a while, so this was a special kind of fun for me!   

According to Wikipedia cozy mysteries, also referred to simply as "cozies," are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated humorously, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community.   

This just means that cozies are fun reads where the crime solver is not a professional detective. 

Martha Rose is our crime buster in Forget me Knot.  She and her friends, Lucy and Birdie, find Claire, a potential 4th member of their quilting group,  murdered in her own home when they arrive for the Tuesday morning quilting date.  The next day at their quilting show, Claire's quilts are stolen.  Why would someone want to steal her quilts? 

Martha starts snooping and soon uncovers some awful family secrets which makes her look at Claire's life (and her family) with new eyes.  The list of potential murderers are getting more and more interesting.

I liked Martha Rose from the start.  Even though she was nosing around in other people's business, I never felt that she was a busy-body :)  Her friends was also developed throughout the story and they turned into loveable people with a lot of heart.  Their friendship was very believable and even when her friends' husbands were introduced, it just made the story flow easier.

There was a little bit of chemistry between Martha and Lt Arlo Beavers (the homicide detective on the case) but it was just a breath of fresh air in between the break-ins and dog-poop on the stoops :)

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next in the Quilting Mystery series.  It was a fun being part of Martha's world for a few days.   

Thank you NetGalley!