Something Borrowed, Something Bleu (A Home Crafting Mystery) [Paperback]

Cricket McRae (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Home Crafting Mystery | Publication Date: July 8, 2010

Love—and smelly cheese—are in the air. Sophie Mae has accepted Barr’s marriage proposal, and they’re trying to keep her mother, Anna Belle, from taking over their no-fuss, no-muss wedding plans. But when Mom finds a cryptic suicide note that Sophie Mae’s brother wrote two decades earlier, Sophie Mae reluctantly makes a trip back to her hometown of Spring Creek, Colorado, to suss things out. 

As she pokes around in other people’s business while learning the finer points of artisan cheese making, a murderer strikes—with a glass bottle of milk. Soon, Sophie Mae discovers that aging cheese isn’t the only thing in Spring Creek that doesn’t pass the smell test.

Includes cheese-making tips!
Complete recipes on author’s website: www.cricketmcrae.com

 

 

 

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Artisan cheese making and a really stinky cold case (or two) occupy soap maker Sophie Mae Reynolds of Cadyville, Wash., in Macrae's well-constructed fourth Home Crafting mystery (after 2009's Spin a Wicked Web). Sophie heads home to Spring Creek, Colo., after her mother, Anna Belle Watson, receives a disturbing letter, lost for 18 years, that never reached its intended recipient. Sophie Mae's late brother, Bobby Lee, wrote the letter to his teen sweetheart, Tabby Atwood, shortly before hanging himself. Tabby, now married to Joe Bines, Bobby Lee's best friend, is shocked when Sophie shows up at their dairy to take Tabby's cheese-making class and show her the letter. The plot thickens after someone fatally beans Joe with a glass bottle of heavy cream. Likable characters and an easy-to-follow plot that doesn't require knowledge of previous entries in the series are a plus. (July)
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From Booklist

McRae temporarily moves her series from Washington State to Spring Creek, Colorado. Heroine Sophie Mae has accepted policeman Barr Ambrose's marriage proposal, but she is not giving up the family she has created in Cadyville, Washington. Instead, she is renovating her house for the soon-to-be-expanded family, and in order to escape the resultant chaos, the whole cast makes its way to Colorado, where Sophie Mae grew up and where her parents are now in crisis. McRae uses this premise to fill in Sophie Mae's backstory. We learn that her brother, Bobby Lee, committed suicide two decades ago and that a suicide note has just now been found. While trying to unravel this old and heartbreaking mystery, Sophie Mae also takes the opportunity to acquaint herself with another home craft. Her brother's old school friends now make their own artisan cheeses, and Sophie Mae is quick to learn the fine points of mozzarella, cheddar, and bleu. This series continues to add depth to its engaging cast of characters, and the home-crafting details remain a delight and an inspiration. --Judy Coon

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: MIDNIGHT INK; 1 edition (July 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073871996X
• ISBN-13: 978-0738719962
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #937,067 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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun cozy mystery, September 3, 2010

By 

Shala Kerrigan (Anchorage) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Something Borrowed, Something Bleu (A Home Crafting Mystery) (Kindle Edition)

Cozy mysteries are like potato chips for me. I can't ever read just one, so I'll find an author I like and read all the books in one of his or her series in a week or two. My favorite are hobby based cozies.
The author does a good job in this series, she creates a likable cast of characters, the romance is just enough without being main plot and the mystery being incidental and the craft language is spot on. Maybe it's too easy for me to sympathize with and like a character who falls in love with every new skill and just wants to learn how to make more things. But I truly like Sophie. She's opinionated, caring, a good friend, and she makes mistakes.
The blurb and the other reviewers have done a fine job synopsizing the plot so I won't.
What I like best about this whole series is that they are written entertainingly enough to appeal even to people who may not have tried the hobby that makes them cozy. Sometimes a knitting mystery is so much about knitting it throws out a non-knitter, or a miniatures mystery will go into instructional mode about miniatures. This author walks the line well, with a good balance of crafts, romance and mystery and it's all tied up with good and varied characters. It's a good light read if you enjoy these sorts of mysteries.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Cozy Mystery to Move Book Series Forward..., September 11, 2011

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L. Rigod "avid mystery reader" (Nice, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Something Borrowed, Something Bleu (A Home Crafting Mystery) (Paperback)

This was an interesting book. I found it a bit less interesting to me because, as in a Grand Opera, The main mystery ended in sadness. As to the other elements of the story, I really enjoyed learning about homemade cheeses and butters. I wish a recipe and equipment needs for the butter and Mozzarella had been included for us amateur cooks. I enjoyed meeting Sophie Mae's parents and wish we had learned more. I would have enjoyed meeting Barr's parents too. Perhaps the next book out.

The relationships between the the regular cast was realistic and I liked seeing them grow together and in their own relationships. What I did enjoy was seeing the forward motion in the series. It makes you want to continue reading and knowing Sophie Mae and Barr and Kelly, Meghan, and Erin.

I admire the writing and easy to read in one sitting as the story flows so well.

5.0 out of 5 stars home crafting mystery book, November 2, 2010

By 

Richard Fedder (Milpitas, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Something Borrowed, Something Bleu (A Home Crafting Mystery) (Paperback)

This is the 4th of this series that I have read and shared with another friend. We are both hooked on this series of books. Can't wait to read the next one. Would recommend these to those who love mysteries and cooking!
Valerie