Customer Reviews

Sink Trap (A GEORGIANA NEVERALL MYSTERY)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Georgiana Neverall, former Silicon Valley CEO, leaves a decidedly murky past to become a plumber's apprentice in her old home town of Pine Ridge, Oregon. But the day she discovers a piece of jewelry in a sink trap is the day she's ensnared in an old-fashioned whodunnit. For this piece of jewelry isn't one that a woman would leave behind...unless she was unable to come back.

Christy Evans spins a fun tale full of quirky characters out to fix their lives, unclog the pipes, and (in fine cozy fashion) solve the mystery along the way. Georgiana is by far the best and most fun of all the folks who people this book, a woman who's struggling to remake her life, put a troubled past behind her, and reconnect with her old crowd of friends. As she describes her plumbing technique - and her approach to life, one suspects - it's one where she has the right tools, and 'a whole lot of stubborn'.

The mystery plot is less a matter of winnowing out the suspects and more about finding proof that will stick. And speaking of 'stick', it's likely that a lot of readers are going to be sticking around to see what further trouble Ms. Neverall will encounter in the course of keeping the taps running in the Pacific Northwest.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!! Christy Evans is my new favorite author!! Her character Georgie is a strong woman. No whining from her. I've already pre-ordered her next book. Look forward to more in the future. I had a tough time putting it down, even lost some sleep. What a wonderful read. kg

I'm a brain candy literature junkie. Sink Trap was the clove jellybean in my recent bag of book goodies. It was icky tasting and disappointing. I had to force myself to finish it. The plot was thin and most of the characters bland.

Plumber's assistant Georgiana Neverall has potential. She's a strong woman and hard worker. However, her amateur sleuth status matches this unskilled mystery story. Sink Trap comes close but misses a three-star rating. I want more pizzazz, pop, and plot in my mystery reading munching.

Georgie Neverall moves back home to Pine Ridge, Oregon and leaves her corporate image behind. She apprentices herself to Barry the Plumber, scandalizing her mother!

Georgie never realized that she'd love plumbing and all the intricacies involved with fixing sinks! She finds the town librarian's brooch in a sink trap--the librarian who supposedly moved to Arizona without her favorite brooch! Georgie goes to the police and tries to convince them of foul play, but they don't listen. She is sure she is on the right track as she has several near accidents.

My biggest issue with the story was the implausibility of the mystery itself. The police surely in "real life" would have become involved far more quickly than they did--especially in a small town where everyone knows everyone else and their business. Martha, the town librarian, was known by all and she left behind her belongings, didn't forward her mail etc. Kind of a glaring clue that she is dead?! The characters are fun and quirky, but some of the relationships need strengthening which will probably occur as Christy Evans develops the series. Definitely worth a read.

I just finished reading SINK TRAP - and thoroughly enjoyed it. Georgiana Neverall is a fun new amateur sleuth winning lots of well-deserved praise. The cute cover caught my eye, but it was the story that drew me in - and every time I had to stop reading, I couldn't wait to get back to see what was going to happen next. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the plumbing tips, too. Georgiana and this new group of characters are interesting, genuine, and people I want to learn more about - Sue, Wade, Barry, and even Sandra, her mom. I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series - there's a lot of more to Georgie than first meets the eye. Christy Evans has crafted an excellent mystery with a very plausible plot, and more than a few red herrings. Ms. Evans is definitely on my auto-buy list!

She was the CEO of Samurai Security, a computer security firm; that was before someone she loved and trusted nuked her world. She does not believe she can trust men ever again, but she needs a job doing something she likes. In Pine Ridge, Oregon, Georgiana Neverall becomes a plumber's apprentice in Barry's company.

Retired librarian Miss Martha Tepper hires lawyers Rich and Rachel Gladstone to get her house and warehouse fixed for sale. They in turn employ Barry's firm to do the plumbing part of the job. While at the warehouse, Georgiana finds Miss Tepper's broach in the trap of a utility sink; she begins to think something nasty happened to the former librarian as the spinster wore that broach everyday of her life and would never be seen without it. She also left the rest of her favorite jewelry, clothing and make-up behind. Someone tries to run Georgie off the road and she has incidents involving plumbing fixtures and that have been sabotaged. The plumber falls down steps that someone tampered with. She not only believes Miss Tepper is dead, but now is convinced someone wants her dead too. The apprentice investigates seeking to ferret out a killer who clogs sinks.

This first book of a new amateur sleuth series appears to indicate that Christy Evans has a hit on her hands. The townsfolk seem genuine and rustically charming as they are neighborly and welcome the queen of distrust Georgie into their warm fold. Georgie is emotionally battered and shattered, but at the same time logically moves on as she has no time for self-pity. Although the investigative plot is a bit thin, it is fun to follow as Georgie goes where no computer security specialist goes before into the world of crap and killers.

Harriet Klausner

The mystery in this book is pretty predictable. Even as far in to the book as about 1/2 (pg 133 to be exact), they STILL are in the discussion/wonderment phase of "Where is Martha?". You find yourself reading each person's rendition to the next person of how Martha left w/o her beloved brooch and how curious that is. It goes through several town residents and you still are not ANY closer to action being taken. IE: it drags in the first half.
Unlike some others, I enjoy Georgie's "relationship" with her mother. No it's not perfect but whose is? The mom obviously cares for Georgie and vice versa. You have to have some spice in there and , since there is NO romance in this book (stress: NONE), well the spice comes in G's dealings with her mom. I also liked the quirky character of Janis.
This is a somewhat bland book overall, but strangely enjoyable nonetheless. I agree with O.P. that you get NO description of Georgie and you really are left to your own imagination of what she looks like. Makes it hard to put her in mind's eye. There is also a lot of tea being heated, steeped and served, and you are treated to many passages of the dogs being let in/let out/given treats. I mean, it's a cozy so not high literature. I will try book 2 in this series but as another poster mentioned, if it's not a bit better, I won't buy book 3.

Titles in this promising cozy series are: (1)Sink Trap (A GEORGIANA NEVERALL MYSTERY), (2)Lead-Pipe Cinch (A GEORGIANA NEVERALL MYSTERY), and (3)Drip Dead (A GEORGIANA NEVERALL MYSTERY).

The Publisher's Blurb set the scene: "When Georgiana Neverall's fast-
paced lifestyle goes down the drain, She moves back home, to Pine Ridge, Oregon, and
apprentices herself to Barry the Plumber. Her uptight super-successful realtor mother is
disgusted, but Gerogiana loves her new occupation. She's surprised, however, when she
finds Martha Tepper's favorite brooch clogging a sink. The town's former librarian
supposedly retired to Arizona, but everyone who knew her says she would never have left
without that brooch."

What I liked from the start was the idea of a woman plumber. She worked
hard and in the process provided several plumbing hints. For example: "To keep your
garbage disposal odor-free, run a citrus rind - orange, lemon, grapefruit - through it
about once a week." {Page 59}

I also liked the small-town setting in a state not often featured in a
mystery. And, although there was a lack of strong character development, I liked most
I met, both human and animal. {Every good cozy should include an animal}. A list
follows: (1)WADE: Georgie's boyfriend, city council member, accountant. (2)SUE:
Georgie's best girlfriend, owner and operator of Doggy Day Spa. (3)BARRY: Georgie's
boss, owner and operator of Hickey & Hickey Plumbing. (4)PAULA: Georgie's friend, new
librarian, wife of Barry. (5)SEAN: Georgie's divorced co-worker. (6)JANIS: Georgie's
newest friend, former cook and housekeeper for Martha. (7)SANDRA: Georgie's widowed
mother, employee of Whitlock Estates Realty. (8)GREGORY: Sandra's boss and boyfriend.
(9)DAISY and (10)BUDDHA: Georgie's airedales.

What I did not like from start to finish, and what made it three-stars
for me, was Georgiana's peevish, spoiled-brat demeanor. In this coffee shop scene for
example: "The people at the counter had gone back to their lunches, and the waitress
was busy at the other end of the room. No one was paying any more attention to us.
'No one's looking, Wade, ' I said. They all know it's just Doc Neverall's nutty
daughter. You know, the one that went away to that fancy school and then decided to come
back here and be a plumber.' Bitterness rose in my throat and I washed it down with a
gulp of scalding coffee. 'I've heard them. This is a small town, as you remind me.
Often. Everybody has an opinion, and a lot of them are quite happy to share it with you
whether you want to know or not.' Wade sighed and stared into his coffee cup."
{Page 283}.

I found Georgiana's attitude toward her mother especially disturbing and
shameful. Witness the book's opening scene: " 'Georgiana, Georgiana Neverall, is that
you under there?' My mother, Sandra Neverall, the doyenne of Whitlock Estates Realty
and one of the more demanding customers of Hickey & Hickey Plumbing, stood in the doorway. Her stylish stiletto heels, the only part of her visible from my position under
the utility sink, looked impossibly out of place on the dirty concrete of the warehouse
floor. My mother could turn a simple hello into a referencum on my entire life. 'Yes,
Mother, who else would it be but your only daughter.' I regretted it the instant the
words left my mouth. She knew how to push my buttons, and I knew she knew, but it didn't stop me from rising to her bait." {Page 11}.

She called her "Sandra aka Mother," {Page 47} and at the book's end, her
Helpful Top Ten Tools For Most Home Repairs concluded: "One final note: If I ever find
a tool (a legal one!) that will help me deal with my mother, I'm adding it to the
list." {Page 368}.

I'm adding the second book to my list, and, hopefully, the third.
Thank you.

First Line: "Georgiana? Georgiana Neverall, is that you under there?"

Former computer security expert Georgiana Neverall is now a plumber's apprentice and is enjoying every minute of it until she finds Martha Tepper's favorite brooch clogging a drain in an old warehouse. No one else seems to think it's a big deal, so Georgiana decides to do a bit of sleuthing on her own. It's not long at all before she needs more than a bit of plumber's tape and a wrench to keep out of danger.

This is a light, fun mystery with plenty in it to bring me back for more. Georgiana isn't afraid of hard work and brings a welcome sense of humor to her new profession: "Plumbers, in my limited experience, spent an inordinate amount of time underneath sinks.... Lately, I identified everyone by their shoes." She's coming down from the high anxiety of her former business and learning to like the woman she's becoming. She's enjoying life being owned by her two Airedales, Daisy and Buddha, and after all those childhood summers camped out in the mystery section of the local library, Georgiana has learned to be observant and notice significant details.

The only two real drawbacks to me were Georgiana's nagging, fault finding mother, and the plain and simple fact that everyone else took so long to figure out that Martha Tepper hadn't retired to Arizona.

It's common for most cozy mysteries to have some sort of theme and recipes or helpful tips. To be honest, for the most part, I tend to skim over them all because they hold very little interest for me. I have to make an exception for Sink Trap. I found Evans' plumbing tips to be interesting and worthwhile.

A main character I'd like to invite over for coffee (and not to take a look at that dripping faucet), two great dogs, a fun cast of secondary characters, an interesting whodunit to solve and free plumbing tips? Where's the next book in this series?

Here we go again, another small town girl returns home from the big bad city after being badly burned. Father dead, domineering mother, old friends, old high school flame. Yes, it's a cliche but doesn't mean that it's a bad book.

What does make it bad is that there's very little mystery to this book. No investigation, few suspects, book wraps up really quickly, the ending didn't make sense; there was no reason for the showdown. Other than the author had written the the requisite number of pages and so the book had to end.