Gone But Knot Forgotten - Blog Tour Review + Giveaway

Gone But Knot Forgotten by Mary Marks (Amazon Link)
Rating: 4 Stars
Source: Blog Tour

Description:  Sorting through the estate of a wealthy recluse may sound like a fascinating task, but when the skeletons in the closets turn out to be real, Martha and her quilting pals wish they'd stuck to basting and batting...
Martha Rose is stunned when she hears that her best friend from high school has passed away.  Her shock doubles when she learns that Harriet Oliver made her the executor of her estate.  But when investigators determine that Harriet was murdered, Martha recruits her fellow quilters to help find the culprit.  She's mastered the art of piecing together blocks to create intricate quilts, but piecing together her friend's murder will prove farm more challenging.  (from Goodreads)

Genre: Mystery

Why I Picked This Book: Quilting and old houses filled with skeletons both figuratively and not so much.  How could I pass that up?

My Impression:  I've been on fire with cozy mysteries lately and Gone But Knot Forgotten keeps the streak going.  To start with the mystery is excellent and there are so many bits and pieces that it was really fun to watch them all come together.  There's the mystery of Harriet's death and how it was 10 months before she was discovered, then there's who was in her house after her death, where are some of her priceless possessions, what happened to Nathan Oliver, and several more.  I was genuinely surprised by the ending and I thoroughly enjoyed getting there.
Martha was an interesting main character and though she has a TSTL moment she does try to tell the police first but doesn't feel like they're listening to her and she does try to take precautions even though her behavior is risky. We see quite a bit of Martha's personal life between her quilting friends, her health and her religion but at no point did it seem like the focus shifted too far away from the mystery.  I also really liked learning a little more about Jewish culture and thought that was fairly unique in this genre.
While there are a few references to Martha discovering other bodies in the past this isn't a series that has to be read in order.  This was my first book by Marks and I was able to jump right into Martha's world and get to know Martha, Yossi, Birdie, and the rest of her friends without any confusion.  If you enjoy a good cozy mystery with a solid story and likable characters this is a great book to add to your collection.

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Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Definitely!  I'm looking forward to seeing what trouble Martha and her quilting group can get into next.

Would I Recommend this Book?:  I think cozy mystery fans would enjoy this one.

Challenges Met?