the Blackwood B&B Mysteries: VOL2: Malice in Mortar.

You can't build a future without understanding your past especially when that past is hidden behind a brick wall.Elara's restoration of Blackwood Manor is heating up as she and her ruggedly handsome contractor, Hayes, tackle the estate's massive 19th-century central fireplace. But the dust really starts flying when a nervous guest drops a mysterious antique locket holding a photograph of a woman who looks exactly like Elara.Before the guest can reveal the locket's secrets, he is found dead in the study, struck by a heavy fireplace brick. Bumbling Chief Higgins is quick to declare it a botched robbery, but Elara with the help of her sassy Maine Coon cat, Corbel knows the killer was hunting for the locket.Determined to uncover why her face is tied to a century-old mystery, Elara recruits a grumbling (but fiercely protective) Hayes. Between sweet, soot-covered diner dates and carefully chipping away old mortar, they uncover hidden love letters and a shocking truth: Elara's great-grandmother secretly owned the deed to the entire Blackwood beachfront before it was stolen. The killer isn't just a random thief; they are desperate to keep the town's darkest historical secret buried.With the help of a unique "maker's mark" on the murder weapon and Hayes's contractor expertise, Elara must lay a daring trap. Can she outsmart a killer and reclaim her family's legacy before her dream B&B crumbles to ashes?Fans of grumpy-meets-sunshine romance, DIY fixer-uppers, and clever amateur sleuths will devour this second installment in the Blackwood B&B Mysteries!