Forget Me Knot (A Quilting Mystery)
By: Mary Marks
Rating: 4.5 of 5
“Forget Me Knot” is the first book I have read by Mary Marks and it is the first in her series of Quilting Mysteries. It was a really good first book. I just wish the author had stepped off the political soapbox as it probably offended some readers early enough in the book that they put it down and didn’t finish it. That is a real shame as the story, plot, and characters made the book a really worthwhile read. This is the primary reason I rate it 4.5 instead of a solid 5.
I don’t like being preached at by either political side in my light reading, so it was a bit of a turn-off; however, it became obvious that the main character (who is extremely liberal) has friends who are conservative who essentially are the ones who have her back and take care of her when problems come up. They are the ones that teach her how to take care of herself when the chips are down. The unfortunate thing is that some readers may never have gotten far enough in because of the weird little political slaps in the first few chapters. My advice to the author is to drop it in ensuing books unless it is necessary for plot development. If so, then bring it on. If not, drop it as it is a cheap device that lessens the quality of the book.
On to the story. The cozy mystery is a little less cozy than some. There are some very serious issues being dealt with in the book. The author has a light hand, though, and has made the book humorous even though it has its dark side. I must admit I spent a few hours before falling asleep thinking about how the plot developed and what had happened to a number of the characters in their lives. I had to remind myself that the book is a work of fiction because it was bothering me a little too much. I guess that is a way of saying that the author made the characters come alive for me and made me care for them. That doesn’t happen all that often in the first read of a cozy mystery, so it shows the skill of the author in making it all real to me.
I solved the whodunnit fairly early but not the whydunnit. As long as there is an element which I can’t decipher quickly and which, once revealed, makes sense, I am happy with a mystery.
I am looking forward to reading the next couple of books in this series.
“Forget Me Knot” is the first book I have read by Mary Marks and it is the first in her series of Quilting Mysteries. It was a really good first book. I just wish the author had stepped off the political soapbox as it probably offended some readers early enough in the book that they put it down and didn’t finish it. That is a real shame as the story, plot, and characters made the book a really worthwhile read. This is the primary reason I rate it 4.5 instead of a solid 5.