Crafts and Life

Funerals can be patchy affairs for Martha Rose and her close-knit circle of friends–especially in the case of a missing body. . .

When Birdie Watson's husband Russell is killed during a bank robbery, Martha just wants to support her grieving friend. But en route to the burial plot in Oregon, Martha makes a harrowing discovery about the casket's contents–instead of Russell, she finds an unidentified man. Now Martha and her quilting klatch can't rest in peace until they unspool the truth behind the macabre mix up. . .

When a bank robbery goes seriously wrong Birdie Watson finds herself suddenly widowed as Russell was killed by the bank robber.  Whilst preparing for the funeral it comes out that Russell was gay and had been living (with the assent of Birdie) a double life for over 20 years.  Jazz Fletcher (the boyfriend/fiance) joins Birdie, Lucy, Martha and Arthur the German Shepherd on the car journey to bury Russell, when the driver of the hearse suffers a heart attack Martha takes over driving it and then she is run off the road.  This spills the coffin out and there was more than one corpse in there!

Now the FBI are helping out, Birdie is trying to decipher a diary of codes she found, Jazz is trying to come to terms with everything, oh and Birdie's ex from the commune is back on the scene.  Can Martha find out what happened and why and allow Jazz and Birdie to have some peace and closure?

Wow! This story took me round the houses and back again, Mary Marks has done it again, whilst there was less quilting in the one it was more than made up with the back story to Birdie, one that NO-ONE would have imagined in a hundred years (and one that makes me wish that I knew Birdie in real life as she would be a treat to talk to). Roll on number 5!