Have you ever wanted to live in a small town, or on an isolated, wind-swept island? Growing up in the city, I once told a co-worker that I sometimes wished I lived in a small town. She scoffed, saying she grew up in a small town and everyone couldn’t wait to get to New York!
I have binge-watched almost all the British murder mysteries, going through the genealogy of Inspector Morse, followed by Inspector Lewis, followed by Inspector Hathaway (and when they ran out of detectives, going back to the future with Endeavour, aka the young Inspector Morse). Some are set in university towns like Oxford; others like Prime Suspect, in gritty London.
I have been “traveling” further and further afield, in increasingly more rural and desolate locales.
One series is actually called “Hinterland.” DCI Tom Mathias (Richard Harrington) is a policeman trying to escape his past in rural Wales, where dark secrets threaten the serenity of the community.
In “Shetland,” DI Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) and his team investigate crimes on an isolated Scottish island. Perez mentors his female sargeant, while co-parenting his step-daughter with her biological father.
“Single-Handed” finds Irish Garda Sargeant Jack Driscoll (Owen McConnell) transplanted from Dublin to Ireland’s rural and desolate west coast. He is the only full-time policeman patrolling the vast area. An additional complication had Jack trying to move out of the shadow of his father, the retired Garda.
If these are not far-flung enough for you, how about New Zealand (unless you live in Australia…then it’s only a stone’s throw). In “The Brokenwood Mysteries,” DI Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea) is a rumpled policeman with a classic car, love of wine and country music and a string of ex-wives. Still, he is affable and solves a surprising amount of crime in the New Zealand hinterlands….well not The Hinterlands…but you get the drift!