It's Apparently Elementary

I don't know about you, but I'm having one of those weeks where it's very how do we sleep when our beds are burning? We couldn't even get a week into 2026 without a naked, totally unhinged exercise of power where the American government just kind of casually violated international law because they felt like it, and that's just one thing.

Misuse of power is not new, but it's still disgusting. A lot of people are scared and angry, for very good reason, and my own emotional state is veering wildly. One actually pretty useful thing about having chronic anxiety is that I am used to being afraid and getting shit done anyway. But it's still exhausting! And resistance is a marathon, not a sprint. Gotta be in it for the long haul.

So what I'm saying is, even if the world won't give me a break, I need to remember to take them anyway, because burnout doesn't help anyone.

Something I've been doing lately in my breaks is watching Elementary, a modern day take on the crime-solving pair of Holmes and Watson from the olden days (2012-2019). Like any crime procedural, it is in many ways an apologia for the police, and features a lot of illegally acquired evidence that is absolutely inadmissible in court being used to pressure suspects into "making a deal". This is all right because of course our heroes are good and righteous and the suspects are indeed who dun it. (TIL over ninety percent of American criminal cases are settled by plea bargain rather than trial by jury, good lord.)

Anyway, despite the copaganda, I'm really enjoying the show and am into the third season now. Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu are both incredible actors in very different ways - Miller jerks and twitches and stares, and Liu turns her head and shifts her weight and regards someone with cool appraisal - and both convey a firm impression of the emotions under the surface. The costumes are fun and a wonderful example of passive character work: Watson regularly repeats items, particularly outer layers and her many pairs of cute ankle boots, and Holmes will never, not ever, not even under pain of death, unbutton his top button. The cases are a mixed bag, but when they're good, they're very very good, and when they're far-fetched or far too obvious, I can still watch excellent acting1 .

And I can do research! Unlike a lot of shows that ostensibly take place in New York, Elementary was largely shot in New York. The streets might belong to a different borough or neighborhood than the one claimed, but they're nearly all authentic NY spaces, and that's very handy for someone writing a series set in New York who can't visit right now. Some of my research is very granular nitpicky stuff (what would the bedrock be in this neighborhood? when do the cherry trees in Riverside Park bloom?) but a lot of it is vibes, and Elementary is excellent at supplying setting vibes.

Also, while I don't object to a Holmes/Watson romance in theory (and will certainly go looking for the fic), I am very pleased that the canonical relationship between Joan and Sherlock is entirely platonic. More TV about cross-gender complex friendships, please!

If you, like me, would like an occasional break, you might want to sample this collection of free books! I have Penelope Pops The Question in there, and amongst the inevitable billionaires, one may also find an adorable paranormal romantic comedy at a haunted inn, a steamy dark academia rivals-to-lovers, and a sweet single dad hockey romance2.

You might also be interested in my Patreon - patrons at all tiers get free early copies of all my books, and I have just released The Trojan Women, a collection of the three Trojan Women romantic suspenses PLUS bonus novella The Love Labyrinth.

The collection is available to members for the next thirteen days, including people who join in those days so now is an excellent time to become a patron and reap the rewards!

I hope you are finding hope and purpose, wherever you are and whatever you're doing.

Love,

Karen/Kate.

That Healey Girl is the newsletter of Karen (or Kate) Healey, a romance and speculative fiction author who lives in Ōtautahi, New Zealand and shakes plots loose by wandering along the river. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think might like it!

1 And Lucy Liu's face. Like, not to be a creeper, but she is so beautiful! At least once an episode I get caught in a momentary reverie of how beautiful she is.

2 No, I have not watched Heated Rivalry yet. As my Elementary adventure shows, I am not really a TV early-adopter. I'll get there!