Spin a Wicked Web

January 15, 2009
Crafter Sophie Mae ("Lye in Wait; Heaven Preserve Us") lands in a mess when the yarn that she has spun in her spinning class ends up as the murder weapon in the strangulation death of a very unpopular woman. For libraries where crafting novels are in demand.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2009
Soapmaker Sophie Mae Reynolds and police detective Barr Ambrose are back in their third enjoyable adventure in small-town Washington State. Sophie has become involved in the Cadyville Regional Arts Co-op (CRAC), where she is learning how to spin wool from one of the other crafters. Then a fellow member of the co-op is strangledusing Sophies first skein of yarn. To make things worse, Barr wants to have a talk. While the first two mysteries in this series involved crimes that looked like accidents, this time it is a straightforward murder, and it looks like the killer is going to get away with it. Ultimately, of course, Sophie and Barr sort it all out, and along the way, we learn more about fibers, weaving, and soap lore, and we are entertained by McRaes clever analogies linking weaving yarn and unraveling the clues that will unmask the murderer. The wide variety of interesting hobbiesrepresented among the co-op members leaves the door open for Sophie Mae to explore additional crafts and more lovably eccentric small-town characters in her future outings.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)