Knot on Her Life

by Mary Marks

Overview

While quilter Martha Rose awaits the birth of her granddaughter, a neighborhood girl appears at her door with a mystery that can’t be pinned down . . .
  Martha’s eager to finish the baby quilt she’s making for her new granddaughter, but she scraps those plans when a young girl rings her doorbell begging for help. Poppy Halaby, the foster child of Martha’s neighbor, is an orphan whose parents were murdered by a killer who was never caught. When Poppy’s doting foster mom falls suspiciously ill, Martha is determined to keep the child safe. But she’ll have to unravel more about Poppy’s parents to stitch a broken family back together again—and prevent another crime cut from the same cloth . . .
 
Praise for Mary Marks and her Quilting Mysteries
 
“A pleasurable and satisfying addition to any quilting mystery fan’s reading list.”
—Library Journal on Knot in My Backyard
 
“A mystery combined with wry humor.”
—Kirkus Reviews on Knot My Sister’s Keeper

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496720504
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	07/30/2019
Series:	A Quilting Mystery , #7
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.70(h) x 0.90(d)

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. Readers can visit her at www.marymarksmysteries.com and www.facebook.com/mmarks2013.

Editorial Reviews

2019-05-13
An orphaned girl is caught in a clash of religious cultures.

Martha Rose is an observant Jewish woman with a close circle of friends, a passion for quilting, and a surprising amount of experience with detective work through her fiance, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Yossi Levy, and her son-in-law, LAPD detective Noah Kaplan (Knot My Sister's Keeper, 2018, etc.). When Marigold Poppy Sarah Halaby comes to her door to inform her that Martha's neighbor Sonia Spiegelman, Poppy's new foster mother, won't wake up, her visit launches Martha on a complicated and dangerous mission. Sonia recovers from her diabetic coma, but because Poppy's social worker fears she may be unable to care for Poppy, Martha steps in to help. She learns that Poppy's parents, Rachel and Ali Halaby, were murdered, with Poppy a possible witness. Both Rachel's Orthodox Jewish family and Ali's Muslim family disowned the couple and refused to take in Poppy when they were killed. Her parents had agreed to raise the precocious Poppy as Jewish but teach her about her Muslim heritage. Martha's wealthy half sister, Giselle, offers to pay for a bodyguard for Poppy, but when they learn that Poppy's father was an undercover agent for the FBI and his killer may plan to return, Yossi gets ATF agent Hector Fuentes to take the job. Determined to find family members who'll accept Poppy, Martha tracks down the Katzenozen family and discovers that Rachel's sister, Leah, lives in New York. Leah, who's been trying to get her stubborn grandfather to let her adopt Poppy, agrees to meet them secretly but backs off once Martha reveals the danger she's in. Martha approaches the Halabys through the family lawyer, but Marwan Halaby stubbornly resists even though her grandmother is anxious to meet Poppy. Fed up with the self-righteous families mired in distrust, Martha knows she must find the killer if she ever wants to see Poppy settled in a loving home.

A fine combination of detective work and religious bickering presented with wit and style.

Kirkus Reviews