Ridley Pearson's novel Middle of Nowhere reflects twin concerns in American society today: our growing preoccupation with the negative consequences of rising affluence and technological progress and the desire for law and order. The plot follows the attempts of Lou Boldt, homicide detective, and his colleagues to solve the mysteries of an assault on a policewoman and a rash of burglaries while much of the police force is on a sick-out—the "Blue Flu." The novel takes place in Seattle, home of Microsoft and Starbucks, two emblems of late-twentieth-century capitalism. The city itself symbolizes the New Economy, powered by the Internet and increasingly globalized. The novel reflects the ambivalence felt throughout society at these changes, particularly the havoc wreaked on communities and the rights and privacy of individuals. The narrator describes the home—a houseboat—of Daphne Matthews, cop psychologist and onetime lover...