A new female detective is on the scene

If you like murder mysteries, espceially the old fshioned kind like Murder on the Orient Express, with detectives like Hercule Poirot, or Sir Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes, I think you will enjoy The Residence, on Netflix. It really turns things upside down. For exampe the detective is an old school super observer who sees the details the others miss. Her name is Cordelia Cupp, and what makes her different is that she is an African American! I don't think I have seen a Black Detective before, or a Black female detective. This one plays it just right! She is self-contained, but bold and commanding, sharp eyed and emotionally controlled. Another way this show turns the tables is that the main characters are the STAFF of the White House. The President and the other big shots are all side characters. The murder victim is the Chief Usher who is, in the heirarchy of White House staff, the top man.

This 6 part series is totally engaging and manages to be both amusing and yet serious at the same time. It is remarkably well written by the contemporary script superstar Shonda Rhimes. I saw part of another steamy White House series written by her a few years back, I think it was called SCANDAL. I stopped watching it because it got to grim with shome characters doing torture. Anyhow, Shonda Rhimes has made a name for herself in 21st century television. I say television although I watch only streaming services on my laptop these days.

Side note: For more than 5 years, I have watched ONLY my laptop because my particular vision problems make television, at that distance, too blurry and aso too hard to hear. On my laptop, I can have closed captioning to help when I don't understand what is being said or when the background music drowns out the narration, and I can see perfectly at the distance of my laptop on a lap desk. Just recently I had my verizon bill finally reduced from $!85 a month to $90 by dropping tv service and keeping only the internet and my landline. I keep the landline in case anything should happen with my cell phone and I should need to call for help now that I am old.

Anyhow, I recommend this series The Residence, for entertainment and its potention for provoking thoughts about social hierarchy, how the White House functions, and both race and gender.

Happy Trails! Jo Ann

wrightj45@yahoo.com