Heaven Preserve Us: A Home Crafting Mystery (A Home Crafting Mystery) [Paperback]

Cricket McRae (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2008

Praise for Lye in Wait, the first Home Crafting Mystery:
"McRae crafts strong characters [and] spins a credible, enjoyable plot." —Library Journal

"[A] wonderful start to a mystery series." —Cozy Library

Wine jelly. Watermelon pickles. And a suicidal stalker? Great.

Thirty-something crafter extraordinaire Sophie Mae Reynolds makes preserves by day and answers a crisis center help referral line by night. What better way to help people while still keeping a low profile? But on her very first night, she gets a call from a man who is threatening suicide . . . and her. Angrily deeming the caller a crank, her boss, Philip Heaven, disconnects the line. Days later, Philip dies from a nasty case of botulism. Now, as a stalker singles out Sophie Mae, Philip's eerie last words keep coming back to haunt her: Threat. Meant it.

Stirring up the town with talk of murder by preserves, can Sophie Mae and her handsome boyfriend Detective Barr Ambrose spoil a mad murderer's poisonous plans?

This dangerously delicious second book in the Home Crafting Mystery series also includes recipes for preserves and beauty products!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This is the second outing for Sophie Mae Reynolds in McRae’s Home Crafting series, set in small-town Washington State. After helping to solve the murder of her handyman in Lye in Wait (2007), Sophie Mae assumes she can go back to her normal occupation of making soap, bath salts, lip-balm lotion bars, saltea bags, air fresheners, wine jelly, pickles, and preserves—and perhaps even find time to volunteer at a crisis center. The next thing she knows, her boss at Heaven House is dead from food poisoning, and Sophie Mae is being stalked. To make matters worse, her boyfriend, detective Barr Ambrose, is also a victim of the food poisoning, fortunately not fatal in his case. McRae writes about characters that we really care about, and her plot is thoroughly credible. Like many popular cooking mystery series, the books also include recipes. Sophie Mae and her friends deserve many more adventures. --Judy Coon

Review

"Sophie Mae is a confident woman with an appetite for mystery and Heaven Preserve Us is a good one. The characters are engaging, the story intriguing, and the book a pleasure to read." -- Mysterious Reviews, August 21, 2008

"McRae writes about characters that we really care about, and her plot is thoroughly credible. Sophie Mae and her friends deserve many more adventures." -- Booklist, August 2008

"Nicely paced without any time wasted, Heaven Preserve Us does a fine job of leading the readers through the investigation with no false starts or cheap side trips...solid and entertaining." -- Reviewing the Evidence

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 299 pages
• Publisher: MIDNIGHT INK (August 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738711225
• ISBN-13: 978-0738711225
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A former resident of the Pacific Northwest where my mystery novels are set, I've always dabbled in the kind of practical home crafts that were once necessary to everyday life. The magical chemistry of making soap, the satisfaction of canning garden produce, and the sensuous side of fiber arts like spinning and knitting are just a few of the reasons these activities have fascinated me since childhood. As much an early fan of Nancy Drew as of Laura Ingalls Wilder, it's no surprise that my contemporary cozy series features a soap maker with a nose for investigation.

For two years I managed my own soap making business, including all product design, manufacturing and marketing. I've also worked at a variety of other jobs, ranging from driver's license examiner to software program manager. This fulfills my mother's warning that I'd never have a "regular" job if I insisted on studying philosophy and English in college.

Now I live in Colorado, fitting my interest in all things domestic around writing, hiking, biking and, currently, learning how to play golf.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book from Cricket McRae, September 30, 2008

By 

Love to read (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heaven Preserve Us: A Home Crafting Mystery (A Home Crafting Mystery) (Paperback)

I had a blast reading this book! Ms. McRae has a witty writing style that holds my interest and makes reading fun ~ what a concept! I enjoyed the twists and turns of the mystery and felt the story moved along at a quick pace. Once again, she had me guessing until the end. I can't wait for the next one, I think it's called Spin a Wicked Web and sounds great!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cricket McRae does it again., December 10, 2008

By 

S. Ivy (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heaven Preserve Us: A Home Crafting Mystery (A Home Crafting Mystery) (Paperback)

Lye in Wait was a fun light hearted mystery that left me wondering what Sophie Mae was going to do next. Well I was not disappointed. Heaven Preserve Us was even better. I enjoyed the craftyness of this mystery and how the plot twisted and turned. I am looking forward to further adventures of Sophie as she is quite a character.

4.0 out of 5 stars Beet to death, September 26, 2011

By 

video addict (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heaven Preserve Us: A Home Crafting Mystery (A Home Crafting Mystery) (Kindle Edition)

Sorry, I could not resist the pun. Second in the Sophie Mae series is just as good as the first. When a local community center head unexpectedly dies and Barr is ill it's up to Sophie Mae to discover if it's murder and who might have done it. I've just started the next book in the series and find them perfect for reading before bed, light, well written and entertaining.