Elliott’s debut novel Iman Marshall Authentic Jersey , Lakepoint: Murder on the Everglades Frontier, profiles a fictional winter farming community on Lake Okeechobee in Florida, based on real towns in the area. These communities were developed during World War I and have been little thought of since; however, they have recently resurfaced into the national spotlight, coming under attack from environmental conservation groups.


The novel’s protagonist, Lakepoint’s Chief of Police Charles Lockhart Ben Powers Authentic Jersey , reflects on the founding of the town and the determined “Glades pioneers” who settled the area of rich coal-black soil called “muck.” They came as a result of European farmers going to fight during World War I, leaving rampant food shortages on the continent. The American government set out to “help feed its allies while they were fighting a war.” That meant seeking “new sources of food that could be easily shipped overseas with minimum refrigeration.” The vegetables that could be grown on the eastern and southern shores of Florida’s Lake Okeechobee “fit the bill perfectly.”


Readers experience the culture of the unique region as Chief Lockhart investigates and solves two murders. One is a 10 year-old cold case double murder drawn from an actual crime that remains unsolved to this day. The other involves the killing of a black man, which was not considered significant by the townspeople in the segregated society of the 1950s.


The Glades’ winter-farming region’s muck is unparalleled in richness among any other soil in the world, including “that of the fabled Nile River Valley in Egypt.” The crops that grow from the muck do so with “astonishing speed and in remarkable abundance.” In addition, the tropical climate permits the crops to be grown and harvested like few other areas in the country can.


The region was built from nothing by hardy pioneers who faced great adversity in doing so, and the area continues to have a thriving agricultural culture to this day. The Everglades Foundation Justice Hill Authentic Jersey , UWF, and other environmental conservation groups have thrust the area back into the national spotlight, finding that the Everglades ecosystem is now half of what it once was due to runoff from the agricultural land, Florida’s population growth placing increasing demand upon water supplies, and other factors.


The state of Florida is in the process of securing 73,000 acres of agricultural land owned by the U.S. Sugar Corporation on the southern side of Lake Okeechobee for Everglades restoration Miles Boykin Authentic Jersey , converting the land into water storage and water treatment areas with a ten year option to procure an addition 107,500 acres. They assert that this purchase will solve the problems of water quality and water supply that pervade the area, leaving them only to resolve the issue of water distribution.


Tom Elliott, a native of the area, offers a romanticized account of the frontier-like lifestyle of the area and the pioneering that led to its creation, giving one the sense that while part of the ecosystem is being restored Jaylon Ferguson Authentic Jersey , a small piece of history is in jeopardy. Whether the land is more valuable as part of The Everglades ecosystem or a part of the thriving farming industry, full of rich soil and crops in winter, is a matter of personal debate; however, Lakepoint’s depiction of the area, through the eyes of Chief Lockhart, highlights an area that has generally escaped recognition Marquise Brown Authentic Jersey , not only nationally, but also in Florida. Lakepoint is available on , the Kindle e-reader, and the web site: createspace3471748.


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