Heaven Preserve Us: A Home Crafting Mystery (Wheeler Large Print Cozy Mystery)

From Booklist This is the second outing for Sophie Mae Reynolds in McRaes 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, salteabags, air fresheners, wine jelly, pickles, and preservesand 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 Tag : e ISBN : 9781597228374

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!

kirkus Reviews

is A Case Of Death By Botulism A Terrible Accident Or Murder?while Doing Volunteer Work Answering The Heaven House Helpline, Soapmaker Sophie Mae Reynolds Is Disturbed By A Caller Who Seems To Be Stalking Her Rather Than Asking For Professional Help. Her Concerns For Herself Pale, However, When Heaven House Director Philip Heaven Dies A Nasty Death In Front Of Her Eyes. Her Boyfriend, Policeman Barr Ambrose, Ends Up In The Hospital With The Same Symptoms But Survives. The Authorities Blame These Developments On A Bad Jar Of Home-canned Beets. But Sophie Mae, Fresh From Recently Solving A Murder, Has A Feeling This Was No Accident. It Turns Out That All The Programs Philip Heaven Was Pledged To Support Went By The Wayside So That He Could Spend The Funds On Himself. Sophie Mae Is Also Worried About Her Housemate Meghan Bly, Who's Dating Another Volunteer At Heaven House, A Man Who Seems To Have No Past. As Barr Rests Up In Sophie Mae's Spare Bedroom, The Local Force, Stretched Tight, Has Brought In A Gorgeous, Supercilious Seattle Detective To Help Find The Serial Attacker Plaguing The Area. With No Help Forthcoming From The Police, It Is Up To Sophie Mae To Track Down A Killer And Expose Her Stalker. Stubborn Sophie Mae's Sophomore Case Provides Her With More Intriguing Opportunities For Sleuthing Than Her Debut (lye In Wait, 2007) Ever Did.

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! "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?"--Publisher After solving the messy mystery of her neighborhood handyman's lye-induced death, thirty-something Sophie Mae Reynolds makes preserves by day and answers phones at a crisis center by night. After solving the messy mystery of her neighborhood handyman's lye-induced death, thirty-something Sophie Mae Reynolds makes preserves by day and answers phones at a crisis center by night But on her very first night, Sophie Mae gets a call from a man who is threatening suicide ... and her. Overhearing the caller's irate outbursts, her morally bankrupt boss Philip Heaven severs the line. As harassing calls to her home increase, Philip comes down with a deadly case of food poisoning. And his eerie last words keep ringing in Sophie Mae's ears: Threat. Meant it After solving the messy mystery of her handyman's lye-induced death, thirty-something Sophie Mae Reyonlds makes preserves by day and answers a crisis hotline by night. What better way to keep a low profile? But during her first shift, she gets a call from a man who is threatening suicide ... and her Calling her babe. Now a suicidal phone stalker? Great. After solving the messy mystery of her neighbourhood handyman's lye-induced death, thirty-something Sophie Mae Reynolds makes preserves by day and answers phones at a crisis centre by night. What better way to keep a low profile? Sophie Mae investigates the death of her boss after he dies of food poisoning, helps her boyfriend recouperate from a similar kind of food poisoning, and worries about a houseguest's new boyfriend, who seems to have no past