On a misty, windswept day in Brontë country, Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire), the protagonist of “Happy Valley,” makes the kind of arrest that sets her apart from other TV cops. After entering a blood-soaked farmhouse, she elicits—softly but persistently—a murder confession from Alison (Susan Lynch), the fortysomething mother of a maladjusted adult son. The previous night, Alison’s son had admitted that he was wanted by the police for the killing of several local prostitutes; in the morning, to spare him from prison, Alison shot him before attempting suicide through an over-dose of pills and alcohol. As the sergeant pieces together what happened, she wraps her arms around the dazed mother and cradles her head. Catherine’s recitation of a police caution, the U.K.’s version of the Miranda warning, is as gentle and as absolving as a prayer.
This story is from the July 03, 2023 edition of The New Yorker.
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This story is from the July 03, 2023 edition of The New Yorker.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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