Heaven Preserve Us (Home Crafting Mystery Series #2) »

A former resident of the Pacific Northwest where her novels are set, Cricket McRae has 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 her since childhood.

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.