Gone but Knot Forgotten

On one of my Amazon reviews a person posted that they felt they could not trust my review of the book because I received it for free. My review of a book is not influenced in any way.  I write a book on every book I read.  It does not change my review.  I do not feel obligated to write a good review just because I received a complimentary book.  Do you trust reviews if the reviewer received a free book?  What are your thoughts on this issue?  I would love to hear from you!

Gone but Knot Forgotten by Mary Marks is the third book in A Quilting Mystery series.  Martha Rose is fifty-six, Jewish, suffers from migraines and fibromyalgia (I know how she feels).  Martha receives a letter stating she is the executor of Harriet Gordon Oliver’s will.  Martha has not seen Harriet in over twenty years.  They drifted apart after her divorce from Aaron Rose.  Martha immediately contact the attorney, Deke Abernathy.  Turns out that Martha and Deke were at UCLA at the same time (Deke was a football star).  Martha will be responsible for disposing of the assets of the estate and following Harriet’s wishes in her will.  Martha feels she should do this for her friend, but she has no idea what she is getting into.  Harriet’s only son, Jonah died when he was five years old and her husband disappeared many years ago.  Nathan, her husband, was declared dead when he did not return after seven years (and they could not locate him). 

After arranging for Harriet’s funeral, Martha then checks out Harriet’s house.  When she starts checking the insurance inventory against items in the house, there are several Early American antiques missing as well as Harriet’s jewelry.    Martha gets help from her weekly quilting group members Lucy and Bertie.  They start going through the house item by item.  Martha is dog sitting her ex-boyfriend’s dog (he used to be a police dog).  The dog starts digging in the backyard.  Upon investigation they discover a body.  Looks like the have solved the mystery of the disappearing Nathan Oliver.  Before Harriet can be buried, it is discovered that Harriet was murdered.  Martha feels she needs to find out who killed her friend as well as took items from her house.  Martha, Birdie, and Lucy set out to solve the murders as well as discover who took the Early American antiques.

Martha decides to keep Harriet’s house under guard. She calls her friend, Yossi Levy (aka Crusher).  Crusher is a member of the Valley Eagles (motorcycle club).  Two of the members agree to watch the house.  Yossi is hoping to get closer to Martha.  He proposed once and is determined to get Martha to commit.  He slowly starts leaving a few items at Martha’s house each time he stays the night.  Martha feels that Yossi is rushing and needs him to back off (I have no idea why).  When she finds out something that Yossi kept secret, will Martha break it off? 

I found Gone but Knot Forgotten to be a pleasurable book to read (nicely written and the book just flowed so well).  It has fun characters and a good mystery.  I did not understand why Martha kept pushing away Yossi (maybe something in her past or commitment issues).  I wish that it had been explained in the book (it could have been mentioned in the first two books which I have not had a chance to read).  Gone but Knot Forgotten can be enjoyed without having read the first two books in the series.  I give Gone but Knot Forgotten 4.5 out of 5 stars.  It was a pleasure to read this book and I liked a main character that I could really relate to (her migraines and fibromyalgia).  

I received a complimentary copy of Gone but Knot Forgotten from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  The review and opinions expressed are my own.

The second book in the series Knot in Your Backyard is currently $1.99 on Amazon (for a limited time).  Have a lovely evening and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader