A grisly murder introduces newly-recruited detective Simon Goodyear to the less salubrious underside of Barrettsport, Nova Scotia. It sends Simon and Constable Diana Jackson on a three-month-long search for a devious manipulator who entangles much of the town in his nefarious schemes. Along the way, the town, a school teacher, and a young graphic artist draw Simon into their much more personal intrigues.Tilting at Windmills is the second in my a series of soft-boiled Barrettsport Mysteries. Like A Body in the Sacristy, this story combines Detective Simon Goodyear's investigation of a crime, romantic elements involving young women in the town, and Barrettsport itself, a small community whose quirky character plays an important role. The intertwining of these three themes like traditional hawser-laid ropes that have played such large roles in maritime history will be an ongoing feature of this series set in a coastal Nova Scotia community.