In The Plumber, Lee W. Hickok, MD, an alcoholic urologist, is faced with case after case of patients from the skid row of Galveston, Texas, who have had one or both kidneys removed by a surgeon who calls himself the Plumber. These victims are from the dregs of society and drug addiction. Together with law enforcement, he must solve the mystery and stop this butcher. Suspects range from a local urologist to a mysterious Russian emigrant and his esoteric wife to one of his own residency staff. Lee W. Hickok is the protagonist in this series, which goes by his name and includes the novels 606 University and Sweet Amber. He is continuously plagued by resisting his desires for alcohol, which he has given up after sustaining a course of D/Ts in Sweet Amber. The Plumber is a fast-paced who-done-it novel that will leave the reader wanting more.
