While building a moat for a former Microsoft engineer’s new castle, Georgiana sees the last person she ever expected or hoped to see, her ex-boyfriend Blake Weston. Blake not only broke Georgiana’s heart when he dumped her, he also stole her company.  She has never told anyone in Pine Ridge what happened in San Francisco that prompted her to move home and now her past has found her. 

Georgiana does her best to avoid Blake, but when he turns up dead in the bottom of the moat, he’s hard to avoid.  The police say Blake was killed with a lead pipe, but Georgiana knows better:  no one uses lead pipes anymore, it was more likely a galvanized pipe that killed Blake.  People witnessed Georgiana and Blake having words prior to his death and she becomes the prime suspect.  With the help of her mother and her best friend Sue, Georgiana sets out to prove her innocence and regain some of the dignity she lost when she lost her business.  

Reader’s learn more about Georgiana and why she returned home in this second book of the series, and though it is easier to understand why she wanted a slower paced, simpler life, it is harder to understand why she chose plumbing as her new vocation.  Georgiana is slowly working toward a new relationship with city councilman Wade and is learning to deal with her mother who doesn’t understand Georgiana’s choices and her new life.   

Georgiana has a vested interest in finding Blake’s killer and in trying to find who else hated him enough to kill him; she not only uncovers a killer, but she uncovers the truth of what happened to her company and her life.  She also learns something very concerning about her mother’s new beau, and real estate colleague, Gregory, and wonders how, and if, she should break the news to her mother. 

A heroine with an interesting profession, a well-plotted mystery with a few surprises and some helpful home plumbing tips make this a good choice for the do-it-yourself crowd.                                                                            

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry