Canadian author Jeff Bercuson’s debut, The Queen of Florida, will appeal to those who enjoy their noir gritty. June, the central character is an intriguing flawed protagonist. She is a mother who has put her nurturing side on hold and is looking to make a major lifestyle change by moving to Florida.
The majority of the book is set in Boca Raton, or as the locals call it, Boca. Bercuson does a great job in differentiating between the luxury lifestyle of the snowbirds living in gated communities with access to swimming pools and golf courses and that of those dwelling on the fringes and in the shadows – the criminals, the corrupt cops and the addicts.
Boca represents an escape for June. She is looking to enjoy life after years of putting her children first, especially her youngest son, Jimmy. Over the years, she has spent a pile of money trying to help him. When you are on a fixed income, supporting a drug addict like Jimmy becomes a challenge. Between his bail and lawyer fees, along with doctors and rehab, her savings are depleted.
When Jimmy shows up on her doorstep in Florida, June feels obliged to let him live with her. Their peaceful coexistence comes to an abrupt end when Jimmy falls off the wagon and gets high. For the first time, June takes a stand. She packs up his suitcase with his meagre belongings and leaves it by the front door. When Jimmy leaves, he doesn’t even bother to take his suitcase with him.
June is not disappointed when Jimmy doesn’t return after a couple of months. Her primary concern is the quick injection of cash she needs as her roof must be replaced. After the sacrifices she has made in the past, she now feels entitled to more of everything, no matter what it takes. Her world begins to merge with that of the aforementioned shadow dwellers as she contemplates ways to improve her financial and social position in Florida.
Although June is the central character, the plot unfolds from multiple viewpoints. For the most part this works very well, however the opening chapters of the book are somewhat vague about the where and the when of events and the chapters don’t seem to have a natural flow to them. I found myself needing to reread some parts for clarification. Fortunately, this was not a concern in the rest of the book.
Much of the humour comes from June’s arrival as a newbie in the criminal world. The roles of her new ‘colleagues’ are told from their own perspectives starting with Hank, a PI. She hires him to look for Jimmy, but this is not out of maternal love. It is more to confirm that Jimmy is dead for a possible insurance fraud. Hank can only be described as a sleazeball. When he’s not working a case, he has his nose pressed up against his office window to get a better view of the young women going into the yoga studio below his office.
Vincent is a high school dropout. When an attempted robbery at a gas station did not go well, he ended up in jail. After his release he got a job in a restaurant kitchen. Over time, he shifts to being a right-hand man for restaurant owner Raymond. Truth be told, Vincent would rather be working in the kitchen.
Years ago, Raymond scammed some outdoor furniture from Walmart to set up a chair rental business at the beach. The scam was so successful that Raymond owns several legit businesses now. He supplements his legal earnings with illegal activities like selling drugs.
His drug sales take a hit when a bent cop named Marty robs one of Raymond’s dealers. Marty feels that his corruption makes him a good father as it helps pay support to his ex-wives and children. He always has some illegal activity going on.
Jeff Bercuson’s take on Florida is similar to that of Carl Hiaasen, whose quirky characters were sometimes versions of people he’d written about as a journalist in the state. Bercuson’s are entirely fictional, but with a mixed bag like this, you know that you’re in for a treat. June takes to her new role like a fish to water. She gets extra pleasure out of spending and flaunting money that is not legally hers. Her transition into the Queen of Florida captured my attention. I was curious to see if these grifters and criminals could pull off their assorted connected crimes.
For more Canadian noir see The Broken Detective by Joel Nedecky and Sunset and Jericho along with Ocean Drive. Both books are by Sam Wiebe.
ECW Press
Print/Kindle
£7.99
CFL Rating: 4 Stars
