I faithfully read several newspapers every morning. The war and devastation in Ukraine are heartbreaking. I am also upset and angered by the power-grabbing actions of our state governor. For diversion, I turn to solid TV drama and well-written literature. Here is what I’ve delved into most recently.

MY NEW FAVORITE CRIME SERIES

The Chelsea Detective (Acorn)

There are so many aspects of this series I like that I almost don’t know where to start.  First, it’s set in London and filmed in the affluent Chelsea neighborhood.  Second, the main characters are colleagues in the best sense of the word and like each other.  It’s a series with warmth and some humor as we see the home lives of several of them. Third, the cases they are confronted with, murder generally, are complex and involve multiple leads and dead ends. 

 Max Arnold, detective chief inspector, lives on a houseboat and has recently parted ways with his girlfriend Astrid.  His house is messy, but his approach to a case and his work desk are neat and orderly.  Priya Shamsie, another detective and his sidekick, is adapting to being a new mother while still loving the job she does very well.   Connor and Jess, two detective constables, round out the team along with Ashley Wilton, the pathologist.  What is noteworthy about Ashley (played by Sophie Stone) is that she is a deaf person in the role of a deaf pathologist.  There are only 4 episodes in Season 1, but each is 90 minutes long.  No definitive word yet on a second season.  Highly recommended!

FLORIDA CRACKERS—HISTORICAL NOVEL

A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith

Published in 1984, Smith’s A Land Remembered, is set in Florida.   It spans a hundred years from near the end of the Civil War to 1968 and follows three generations of the McIvey family as they settle the land, raise cattle, plant orange groves, and more.  Early cattle ranchers were called Florida crackers after the sound of the whips as they drove their cattle long distances to market.  The patriarch, Tobias, came from Georgia to Florida in the late 1850’s with his wife Emma and his infant son, Zech.  Wild cattle roamed freely, land was there for the taking, and despite battling weather and outlaws, Tobias and his family were successful.  

Zech and his son Solomon eventually traded cattle for oranges and real estate and Sol became very wealthy.  The novel is both a family saga and a history of early Florida and its transformation from open land to fenced ranches to hotels and high rises on the coast.  As a somewhat recent transplant to Florida, I appreciated this history through fiction. It was the April selection for my local book group and received positive reviews from the members.

SLICE OF BOSTON—CONTEMPORARY NOVEL

Mercy Street by Jennifer Haigh

Jennifer Haigh is an author whose work I have enjoyed and admired.  Her earlier novels include Mrs. Kimble, The Condition, and Baker Towers, and often deal with controversial or contentious issues.  Mercy Street is no exception.  In exquisitely detailed prose, Haigh creates a Boston that is gritty and grotty and locked into an unending winter with nor’easter after nor’easter.   The focus is on an abortion clinic on Mercy Street—its staff, the protestors, and others connected to them or it in some way.  

Claudia, a social worker, who has been on the clinic staff for ten years, is the main character.  Divorced and stressed by her job, she seeks solace and companionship from Timmy, a childhood friend and now her source of pot.  There are regular protestors outside the clinic every day.  Anthony comes daily to photograph patients entering and leaving and then shares them online with Victor, an antiabortion activist who compiles them on a website.  

Apart from Claudia, most of these people I would never associate with nor have any desire to meet.  As the novel progressed, I kept expecting a tragic event.  Instead, what Haigh delivers is more a study in humanity.  While detached, she treats her characters, all of whom have been disadvantaged or treated badly earlier in life, kindly.  With its unexpected ending, I feel as if I should go back and re-read this timely novel from beginning to end. (~JWFarrington)

Note: Header photo of rowboat at the edge of the bay ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).